Blazing Revolution
by TheSib
Summary: Sequel to I Will Not Bow. Ren is back in the real world, along with everyone else. Well, all except for Asuna and 300 other players. But when Asuna is spotted in a new game, Alfheim Online, Ren, Kirito, and everyone must go back to the VRMMO world to bring her back. Stories after ALO arc come after chapter 9. I don't own Sword Art Online. All rights go to their respective owners.
1. A New Adventure

**A/N: Alright everyone. It's finally time. The sequel to I Will Not Bow is finally here! (massive cheering in background). Unfortunately, chapter updates will be once a month or so now. Its college time again, so I'll be busy with school stuff. I'll try to update whenever I can.**

After two whole years of being trapped in the death game known as Sword Art Online, we had finally been set free. We had returned to the real world. We had survived.

A few days after we all escaped, we were allowed to contact friends we had within the game. Luckily for me, all of Wyvern Inferno was in the same hospital as me. Once I was able to walk again, the first person I went to see was Alice. She lit up when she saw me. I went to see the rest of the guild later that day.

A couple weeks or so after that, a party was made at the hospital lobby for us SAO survivors. Helios, Mai, Dagger, Alice, and I got together there and talked. Eventually we saw Kirito. He wasn't looking all that cheerful, and I couldn't blame him. After all, Asuna was still trapped in her coma along with another 300 SAO survivors.

At the party, we all exchanged contact information. We spent another few days recovering until we were finally able to go home. My little sister Clair was ecstatic. While she was interested in hearing about my adventures in SAO, she was also worried about me reliving the bad experiences in SAO. I made the compromise to tell her the stories I wanted to tell when she wanted me to. I didn't have much else to do lately.

Two months have gone by since SAO ended. Alice and I were having a date at a park. My little sister came along too since my mother needed me to watch her while she was at work. Clair was running around the park while Alice and I sat on a bench.

"Your sister's pretty energetic." Alice laughed.

"Yeah. She's always been like that." I agreed.

"She's lucky to have a caring brother like you." Alice added kissing me on the cheek.

"Well I'm lucky to have a great girlfriend like you." I smiled, kissing her on the lips. Our lips stayed locked for a bit until a noise broke us up.

"Ahem!"

We turned our heads to see Clair right in front of us with a devilish grin on her face.

"Aren't you supposed to be keeping an eye on me Dan?" Clair asked.

"Yes, and that's what I've been doing." I responded.

"No you haven't. You've been kissing Alice for a full 30 seconds. You have no idea what I've been doing that entire..."

"You were over at the swings a minute ago." I interrupted. "You then took the path through those trees so that you could try to sneak up on us and catch us by surprise." I said, tracing her path back by pointing.

Clair stood there speechless with her mouth wide open. "No fair. How'd you do that?" she complained.

"I was the top tactician in SAO. Being observant comes naturally." I said with a smirk.

Clair sighed and took a seat next to us. She turned her head to us and asked a question. "Come to think of it, how did you and Alice meet anyway?"

"He saved me and my sister Mai during the early days of SAO. We formed a guild together afterwards. We didn't become a couple till much later." Alice explained.

"Wow! You're like some awesome hero, big brother!" Clair exclaimed.

Alice and I talked with Clair about some of the many adventures we had in SAO. On the way home, my phone buzzed. I pulled it out to check what was up.

"What is it?" Alice asked.

"It's a message from Agil." I said. "He wants us to come to his cafe tomorrow at noon."

"I wonder what's up." Alice said.

"Guess we'll find out tomorrow." I said.

The next day, Alice and I headed over to Agil's bar, the Dicey Cafe. It wasn't much, but the food was pretty good. I'd been here a couple of times to talk with friends from SAO.

When we entered, we found Mai, Riku, and Kirito already there. The only ones not here yet were Dagger and Helios. The two of them showed up 20 minutes later.

"You're late." Alice complained.

"Sorry. I was helping Dagger escape from an angry mob of people she ripped off." Helios explained.

"Again!? That's like the third time this week." I sighed.

"What can I say? I love money." Dagger smiled.

"Now that everyone's here, can we get down to business." Agil interrupted. We all sat down as Agil brought out a picture.

"I already explained everything to Kirito. I'm sure you all recognize this person." Agil said. The picture was blurry but the person in it could only be one person. It was Asuna!

"Asuna!? Where is this?" Mai gasped.

"That picture was taken in a game known as Alfheim Online. It was in an area called the World Tree."

We all sat there speechless. Asuna was in another game? That made no sense. How did she end up there?

"I'm going in to rescue her." Kirito said, standing up. He walked over towards the door.

"Wait!" I said. He turned around. "What's wrong Ren?" Kirito asked.

"Do you honestly think we're going to just let you have all the fun?" I said with a grin. "We're coming too."

Kirito looked at us, shocked. "You don't have to do that guys. I'll be ok on my own."

"Asuna's our friend too. You're not a beta tester this time. We're coming with you."

Kirito stood there for a few moments before cracking a smile. "Thanks guys. I really appreciate it. You're the best."

We sat down together and formulated a plan. ALO had nine races to choose from. Our best bet was to split up into groups and make our way to the World Tree individually to avoid attracting too much attention. We each picked our races. Kirito and Dagger chose the Spriggan race. Alice and I picked Imps. Helios went with Salamander. Mai decided to be a Sylph. Agil and Riku stayed behind to gather info on the game.

Luckily for me, my mother was going on a vacation for the week. Since it was still the middle of the school year, I volunteered to watch Clair. Now all I had to do was try to explain things to her and try not to worry her.

"Hey Clair, you got a minute?" I asked after she finished up her homework. She came over and I gave her a quick explanation of the situation. She shed a few tears, but I was able to keep her from worrying too much or calling our mother.

I had already bought the game and Agil said it was compatible with Nerve Gear. Kirito had already gone in. He told us that his SAO stats were converted over, but his items were corrupted. On the bright side, he was able to revive Yui. We were all ecstatic to hear that.

At 7 pm I put the Nerve Gear on, closed my eyes, and said the words I thought would never come out of my mouth again.

"Link Start!"

**A/N: Well that's chapter 1 everybody. I hope you all enjoyed it. Look forward to the rest of the story. I decided to just have everyone call each other by their SAO name (except for Ren's real name when talking to Clair) to keep away any confusion.**


	2. Alfheim Online

**A/N: Sorry it took so long to post this everyone. The connection on my laptop has been on the sucky side here. On the bright side, I should be able to change my posting schedule from once a month to once every 2 weeks. Enjoy the chapter everybody. And remember, reviews, comments, and suggestions are always welcome.**

I entered the game and found myself in a small room. An electronic female voice spoke up.

"Welcome to Alfheim Online. Please enter your name and the race you choose to be."

We all decided to go with our old SAO names to make it easier for us to locate each other. I entered the name Ren and selected Imp. The voice wished me luck and my vision went white. When I could see again, I was in the sky, falling. Looking down, I could see several interconnecting caves. Two large, dark violet, bat wings extended from my back. The electronic female voice returned.

"This is the controlled flight tutorial. Please follow these instructions to learn how to fly with your controller."

I did several tasks midair. After about five minutes I finished the tutorial and was teleported once again. I found myself inside the caves. The entire place was illuminated up by blue-green lights. The buildings and shops were made entirely out of stone and were connected to the cave walls. Thousands of players walked around the cave city. One player I recognized right away. It would be hard to miss that long flowing black hair.

"Hey! Alice!" I called out, waving. Alice turned her head and smiled as she waved back.

"This place is so cool!" Alice exclaimed.

"I know! The design is so different from an SAO city." I agreed.

The two of us walked around and explored the city. We checked our menus as well. Just like Kirito said, our items were corrupted. It hurt to ditch them, but we couldn't risk alerting the error detection program. Luckily we still had the same amount of money we had in SAO. The two of us went to several shops and bought new equipment.

I now had a long black coat, and a violet shirt under it. My pants were black as well. I got a one-handed long sword with a black handle and dark violet blade. Alice was dressed in a violet dress with a red trim. She had a scythe with a violet handle and a red and white blade.

"You look pretty cool in that outfit Ren." Alice said.

"Thanks. Same to you." I replied.

The two of us continued to walk around the gigantic city. We eventually saw a large crowd formed in one area. When we got closer, we saw that the were all surrounding a female player. Shouts could be heard all over the crowd.

"Suiko! I love you!"

"Marry me, Suiko!"

You're my idol, Suiko!"

Alice and I stood there puzzled. "Excuse me, what's going on? Who is she?" Alice asked one of the players in the crowd.

"That's Suiko." the love struck player responded. "She's the most beautiful and most popular girl in the Imp race."

"She can't be that great." Alice said, rolling her eyes.

"Who said that?!" a voice spoke up. The crowd made a path and the girl named Suiko was now clearly visible. She seemed to be in her late teens. Her hair was red and in a ponytail. Her outfit consisted of a dark red dress with a black miniskirt at the end and long black boots. At her side was a katana. She made her way towards us.

"You think an ugly loser like you is better than me?" Suiko laughed.

"What did you say to me!?" Alice glared.

Suiko turned her gaze towards me. "It's such a shame. Such a handsome guy like you shouldn't be with trash like her." she smiled seductively. "Why don't you ditch this loser and have some fun with me."

"Sorry. I'm taken." I replied.

"Maybe you don't realize who I am. Guys kill to have a date with me. Compared to me, that girl you're with is garbage." Suiko added. "Now come on and..." Suiko's words were interrupted by Alice's large scythe swung right in front of her.

"HE SAID HE'S TAKEN! NOW BACK OFF BITCH!" Alice yelled.

"Who do you think you are?!" Suiko glared. "Why don't you show me what you've got with a duel?"

"Bring it! It'll be my pleasure to stomp you into the dirt!" Alice replied.

"Hold it." I interrupted. "I'll fight her."

"Heh makes no difference to me." Suiko smirked. "But if I win, you ditch that loser and go out with me."

"Fine. But when I win, you back off and leave us alone." I said.

"Deal. But I think you mean IF you win."

"No. I meant when." I smirked.

The two of us stood about 10 meters from each other. The crowd formed a circle around us. They cheered like a fan club.

"Go Suiko!"

"You can beat this loser!"

Alice stood right behind me. She didn't need to cheer me. When our eyes locked we grinned at each other cause we both knew how this was going to end. The timer slowly went down.

5...4...3...2...1...START!

And with that, Suiko charged right at me with her katana. She was definitely a speed type player. Her speed was pretty high... for an ALO player I assumed. Most amateurs probably couldn't keep up with that speed. The fact that I wasn't one of those amateurs was proven when I blocked her katana without even flinching. When she saw her attack had failed, Suiko leaped back to put some distance between us.

"So was that a warm up, or is that really the best you've got?" I smirked. Suiko's eyes lit up with rage as she charged at me even faster this time. It was still far too slow. I knocked her weapon up into the air, and attacked with a barrage of slashes. My final hit sent he flying back. Her hp hit yellow and the duel was decided.

"No way! That's impossible! How could you keep up with my speed?!" Suiko gasped.

"You act like that was fast." I said. "But this..." I continued as I closed the distance between us in the blink of an eye with my blade inches from her. "This is speed." The entire crowd gasped in shock. Alice and I walked away from the crowd.

"You'll regret this! No one rejects me and gets away with it!" Suiko yelled.

"I think he just did." Alice responded teasingly. We walked out of the cave. The vast blue sky seemed to stretch for miles.

"Come to think of it, didn't Kirito say something about voluntary flight?" Alice asked.

"Yeah. He said the trick was to imagine we had bones and muscles stretching out from our backs." I replied.

The two of us tried to move our wings on our own. After about ten minutes, we finally got the hang of it.

"Wow! This is so cool!" Alice exclaimed.

"Yeah! We can get anywhere easily with this!" I agreed. We used the map on the menu to find the best path to take to the World Tree. The two of us spread our wings and took off into the sky.

**A/N: Time for the journey through Alfheim to begin! Look forward to the next chapters everyone.**

**On another note, for those of you who have been watching SAO 2, I hope you all love it as much as I have. As someone who has read all the light novels so far, I already know what's going to happen, but I still love how well they're doing with the anime. A fan of mine suggested I use Sinnon in the next chapter of Adventures of Dagger, and I loved the idea of doing something with her. I will be starting work on that story ASAP. Don't worry though. Blazing Revolution will still be posted on a regular routine (once every two weeks).**


	3. Magic

**A/N: Sorry this chapter took so long. I'll try to get the next one up in about a week. I hope you all enjoy it. As always reviews, comments, and suggestions are always welcome.**

Alice and I flew across the vast sky. Mobs of flying monsters appeared every few minutes or so. Our first midair fight felt a little weird but we adjusted quickly. We had been flying for nearly 10 minutes in total. Suddenly our wings seemed to lose their glow a little. We began losing altitude as well.

"Ren, what's going on?" Alice wondered.

"I don't know." I replied. At that moment, out wings vanished completely.

_Crap!_

Alice and I began plummeting down towards the trees beneath us. Alice screamed as we fell. I maneuvered myself near her and grabbed her. I warped myself around her as we hit the trees.

"Hang on Alice!" I yelled.

We hit the trees. and eventually the ground, pretty hard. I was able to cushion most of the fall for Alice. My body however was screaming in pain.

"Ren! Ren, are you ok?!" Alice asked worried as she kneeled over me.

"Yeah. I'll live." I replied weakly. Looking up, I saw that I had lost about half my hp.

"You idiot! How many times have I told you to stop being so reckless?!" Alice scolded me, hitting my arm.

"Ow! That hurt!" I said.

"See, your not ok! You lost a lot of hp in that fall!" Alice took out a bottle with a red liquid in it. It was a health potion. "Drink this." she said, passing me the bottle.

"Thanks." I said gulping down the potion. Most of the hp I had lost was recovered.

"What happened anyway? Why did our wings suddenly vanish?" Alice wondered.

"No clue." I replied. Suddenly a window appeared in front of me.

Flight time expired. Recovery time for wings: 30 minutes.

"So we can only fly continuously for a limited time. Afterwards we have to rest our wings." I figured.

"A little warning ahead of time would have been nice." Alice complained.

We decided to spend our recovery time looking through our menus. For the most part, they seemed similar to the ones in SAO. One difference was the addition of a spells tab. I opened it and found two spells there. One was a night vision spell. The other was a basic healing spell. I tapped the healing spell and several words appeared. I couldn't understand any of them.

"Su... Feila... Heil... Astelu... what language is this?" Alice asked.

"Here, let me try." I said. I closed my menu, raised my hand, and recited the words to the healing spell. My hand became veiled in a light green light. Alice's body became veiled in the same light. Her hp became completely restored.

"Wow! That's so cool!" Alice exclaimed.

We spent the rest of the time practicing magic. We had gotten the hang of it by the time our wings were restored.

"Ok let's take off." I said. We spread our wings and were about to take off when we heard a large splash in the distance.

"What was that?" Alice wondered. The two of us flew over towards the noise. We found ourselves over a large lake. Looking down, we saw a female player crawling out of the water.

"Looks like we're not the only ones bad at landing." Alice said. We flew down towards the player. She wore a green dress with a yellow miniskirt at the end and long white boots. At her side was a rapier with a white flower shaped handle and a yellow blade.

"Are you ok?" Alice asked the girl.

"Yeah I'm... Wait. Is that you Alice?" the girl asked.

"That voice. Oh my god is that you Mai?!" Alice exclaimed. The two sisters were excited to see each other again.

Mai told us her story of how she got here. When she logged in, she heard people talking about a player that matched Kirito's description. Mai quickly flew in the direction they mentioned him going. As she was flying, her wings suddenly vanished and she plummeted into the lake.

Alice and I told Mai about our journey here. Once Mai's wings were recovered, we all took off towards the World Tree together.

_Meanwhile..._

Multiple players stood in the forest by the lakeside. The majority of them were Salamanders. Three of the players in the group stood out among the rest. The first was a Salamander with a large battle axe. The second was a girl Spriggan with a long dagger at her waist. They both turned towards the final player in the shadows: their boss. She hid in the darkness well, almost as if she was one with it.

"When do we get to strike?" the axe-wielding Salamander asked.

"Soon. Very soon." the mystery female player said.

"Just remember our deal. We kill these guys and you pay us the rest of the money." the Spriggan warned.

"You'll get the rest of your money in due time. Just make sure you leave the Imp girl for me. I want to make her taste the edge of my blade as her friends die in front of her." the shadowy female spoke.

"Don't worry. These guys are toast." the Salamander grinned.

They watched as the three players took off into the sky, unaware of the others watching them. The group now left the cover of the trees.

"Now. Follow them."

**A/N: Oh boy. Shit is gonna go down. Look forward to the upcoming chapters everyone.**


	4. Reunited

**A/N: Hello again everybody. It's time for another chapter of Blazing Revolution. Please enjoy and remember, comments, reviews, and suggestions are always welcome.**

The three of us had been flying for a few minutes since we left the lake. Mai was still struggling a little with voluntary flight, but Alice was able to help her for the most part.

"I wish we had this in SAO." Mai said. "Getting to dungeons would have been a breeze if we could have flown there."

"Yeah. Flying is so much fun too." Alice added.

They had a point. Flying was pretty cool. But I was tuning them out. My attention was focused on a strange noise. It sounded like the rustling of leaves.

_Where is it coming from? We're in the middle of the air. The only thing around us is... oh crap!_

I immediately looked down. Several red dots slowly came into view from the trees. They were planning to ambush us!

"We've got company guys!" I yelled. "They're right below us!" Alice and Mai looked down and gasped. There had to be about 20 players there.

Seeing there cover was blown, our new enemies came out of hiding. They started chanting spells. Then the fireballs started flying.

"Look out!" I warned. The three of us maneuvered around in the air, barely dodging the balls of fire aimed at us. As the barrage of spells started to slow down, we were faced with a new problem. Three players started charging at us. One was a female Spriggan going towards Mai. The second had a cloak on, but the player's wings showed they were an Imp, and he or she was heading towards Alice. The last was a large male Salamander charging right at me.

"Split up guys!" I ordered. The three of us dived into the trees followed by our pursuers. We soon lost sight of each other. I silently wished Mai and Alice good luck and turned to face my opponent. The Salamander had ashy red hair. His equipment consisted of a full set of red armor with a yellow trim and a large battle axe.

"Looks like I'm fighting you." the Salamander grinned.

"No shit Sherlock." I replied.

"Keep digging Watson." the Salamander countered.

"What's your deal anyway? Why are you attacking us?" I asked.

"Well a few reasons. One, to make some quick cash. Two, there's nothing more satisfying than the look I see before I kill someone. And three, kicking ass is one of the best ways to preserve the temple that is my body."

_Ok... so I'm dealing with a psychopath. Why does that arrogant personality seem familiar though?_

I didn't have much time for myself to think as the Salamander charged straight at me. "I'm a gonna kill you now bitch!" he smirked.

I dodged the attack by jumping over him, using my wings to get a little higher than an average jump. I landed right behind him and drew my sword. I kicked the ground and charged at him with a diagonal slash. He was able to turn around and block my sword with his axe before I could hit him though. The two of us jumped back to put some distance between us.

"Bitch please. I'm a master." the Salamander grinned. He prepared to charge again.

_Ok that settles it. There's only one guy who could be this annoying, arrogant, and psychotic._

"Is that you Helios?" I sighed as he prepared to attack. In surprise, he tripped over and fell down.

"How do you know my name... oh god, is that you Ren?!" Helios gasped. I helped Helios to his feet and we started talking.

"So I'm guessing that Spriggan was Dagger?" I asked. Helios nodded in confirmation.

"So why were you two acting as mercenaries?" I asked.

"I thought it might make it quicker to get ahead with a group. Dagger wanted to make a quick buck." Helios answered.

"So whose the Imp?"

"The Imp is the one that hired us. She said she'd give us some good cash if we helped her take out you guys. I had no idea who you really were at the time though."

"In any case we need to get to Mai and Dagger. They should be fighting each other somewhere in the woods here." I said.

"Oh don't worry about us." a voice suddenly appeared. We looked up to see Mai and Dagger sitting on a branch in the trees above us.

"How did you know who each of you were?" Helios asked.

"When Dagger attacked me, she kept screaming about money. I put two and two together." Mai answered.

"So all that's left is Alice's opponent. Let's get going." I said. The four of us jumped through the trees in search of our teammate.

**Alice POV:**

The player chasing after me was definitely quick. I was forced to slow down to avoid ramming into the trees. The two of us landed near a clearing.

"Who the heck are you? What do you want with us?" I asked the cloaked figure. The player grabbed her cloak and tossed it away, revealing her identity. I noticed her instantly. It was Suiko!

"Suiko?! What are you doing here?!" I gasped.

"I'm here to get my revenge on you!" Suiko glared. "I'm going to show that boyfriend of yours just how weak you are!"

"You know I'm glad you did this." I grinned. "Now I get to beat you into the dirt personally."

Suiko glared at me. She pulled out her katana and rushed at me. Before she could even swing her blade, I used my speed to get right in front of her. I kept my body low and kicked her in the face. She was sent flying straight up. I then used my wings to quickly get above her and kick her into the side of a tree. Before Suiko's falling body could reach the ground, I once again kicked her. This time I kicked her right into the ground. I then leaped back and watched Suiko slowly get to her feet.

"Would you stop with the kicking!" Suiko yelled.

"Fine by me." I smirked. I pulled out my scythe and charged at Suiko. She got into a defensive stance with her katana, but I was still able to knock her weapon into the air. I then attacked her with a barrage of slashes. My final hit sent her flying into another tree. I swung my scythe into the tree before she could fall over. I looked her right in the eye.

"Stay. Away. From. Ren. He's. Mine." I glared.

"You trashy bitch." Suiko snarled.

There are two things you should never do. The first is insult me. The second is try to steal Ren from me. Suiko had done both. Her mistake in judgment was shown as I removed my scythe, hooked her in the face, and sent her flying back a few hundred feet. Suiko's body burst into flames leaving a single violet flame standing there.

**Ren POV:**

We followed the loud sounds of banging in the distance. I knew that was where Alice was. I burst through the trees into the clearing.

"Alice, are you... what the hell happened here?!" I gasped. The entire clearing had been trashed. The only ones there were Alice and a remain light. Alice explained that Suiko was behind the attack. The rest of the Salamanders turned tail and ran after their boss died.

"Darn. I really wanted the rest of that cash." Dagger complained.

"Well at least we're all back together now. We should be able to reach the World Tree in no time!" Mai cheered.

We all nodded as we spread our wings and took off into the sky once again.

**A/N: Note to self: Never piss off Alice. I hope you all liked this chapter. I will try to keep up a once per week update.**

**On a side note: for all of you who haven't, I suggest reading the SAO light novels. I have just finished volume 14 and it has been AMAZING so far. If you have any questions on where to start from in comparison to the anime, feel free to PM me. I will be more than happy to direct you to the correct volume. Try and read them if you haven't yet.**


	5. Ruger Corridor

**A/N: Hello again everybody. It's that time of week again! Please enjoy. As always, comments, reviews and suggestions are always welcome.**

The Ruger Corridor was a full set of interconnecting caves. It was one giant maze. More importantly, it was our only way to get to the World Tree. The five of us walked through the dark caves.

"Its pitch black in here! How are we supposed to see?" Mai complained.

"Simple. Watch this." I said. I raised my hand and recited a spell. Within seconds, the room became brighter.

"Cool night vision magic!" Mai exclaimed.

"What would you guys do without me?" I smirked.

We continued walking through the caves for a couple of hours. We eventually reached a large intersection in the corridor. Several holes opened around us.

"Great. Where do we go now?" Helios sighed. We stood there considering which path to take. Suddenly, a pitch black smokescreen surrounded us. I couldn't see Alice, Helios, or anyone.

"What the hell?!" I gasped. Out of nowhere, players began to surround me. They were all Spriggans. As I wondered what was going on, a scream entered my ears.

"Ren! Help!"

I frantically looked around. The scream came from Alice. The smokescreen and players clouded my vision, but I could still see shadows moving through the black fog. Thank god for Imp's night vision boost. I immediately charged at that direction, only to be blocked by several players.

"Get out of my way!" I yelled. I slashed my blade through them and continued on ahead. I went through the tunnel I saw the Spriggans taking Alice. I lost sight of them, but the tunnel hadn't intersected yet so I knew this was the right path. I stopped for a moment when a message window appeared in front of me.

Where the heck are you?!

\- Helios

I was so focused on Alice, I forgot the others. It's not like I had any time to lose back there. I was still barely on their tracks. I messaged back Helios telling him to track me through the menu. After another few minutes, I found an exit of the tunnel. It opened up to a large hollow cave. I was on a ledge above the ground. Down bellow, I saw the group of Spriggans from earlier. There were about 20 in total. Alice was tied up and gagged near a rock.

"So what should we do with this one?" one of the Spriggans asked.

"We haven't had fun with a girl in forever. Let's take her stuff and watch her cry." another one suggested.

"Yeah. With her hands tied up, she can't alert any harassment warnings." a third player spoke up. He walked over and took the cloth out of Alice's mouth. Alice spit in his face, and he slapped her across the face.

"Just shut up and have some fun. Resist, and you'll be beaten to a pulp as well."

"You bastards!" Alice screamed. "When Ren gets here he's going to cut you in half!"

"You mean that Imp that was with you? Is he your boyfriend? That's adorable." laughed one of the players.

"Yeah. What's he gonna do to us? Beat us senseless all on his own?" another one laughed.

"Oh that's just the beginning of what I'm going to do to you assholes." I said, jumping off the ledge and revealing my presence. "But please, don't mind me. Go on. Give me some other ideas." The group of Spriggans turned around in shock. Alice looked up at me with joy on her face.

"How did you find us?!" gasped one of the members.

"You guys really shouldn't escape into a tunnel that doesn't branch off at all. That much should be common sense." I grinned.

"Who cares if he found us?! He's all alone! Kill him!" yelled another member. The group charged at me. As they approached, I pulled out my sword. I charged at them at full speed, slashing through player after player, skidding to a halt as I passed the full group. About 10 of them burned away into remain lights. The others turned around with a look of fear on their faces.

"Who wants to be next?" I smirked.

The Spriggans ran away in terror. As they neared the ledge to escape, a strong force knocked them all back. They fell to the ground. Looking up I saw what knocked them off. Helios, Dagger, and Mai stood on top of the ledge.

"What would you do without me?" Helios grinned.

_We would get a little peace and quiet._

The Spriggans now stood up, realizing that they were cornered. "Please! We give up! Have mercy!" one of them cried. I sped at him and grabbed him by the throat.

"I don't give mercy to perverted assholes." I glared. His friends tried to attack me, but Helios, Dagger, and Mai intercepted their attacks. The four of us quickly finished them off. Their screams of agony were probably heard all over Alfheim. Once they were all beaten, I walked over and cut Alice loose.

"Ren! Thank you so much! I was so scared!" Alice cried into my coat.

"Awwww that's adorable!" laughed Helios, walking up to us.

"Shut up!" Alice glared at him.

"Are you saying you wouldn't comfort me if I felt scared?" Dagger spoke up.

"W-What?! O-Of course I would Dagger!" Helios stuttered. We all cracked up laughing at him.

"Awwww Helios! That is so cute!" teased Alice.

"Shut up!"

We all left the cave together. After about half an hour, we arrived at a midway point of the caves. It was a small miner town. We took a brief rest there. Afterwards we set out and continued on to the World Tree.

After another hour or so, we finally reached the city of Alne, home of the World Tree.

"Finally!" Mai cheered.

The trip here had been long, tedious, and definitely filled with obstacles. But we still managed to make it. Looking at the time, we could see it was 7 pm. We went to an inn, rented a room, and logged out. We planned to meet up at 5:00 tomorrow afternoon.

When I opened my eyes, I took a big yawn. It felt like I had taken a long nap. I heard an odd noise on the side of my bed. I turned my head to see Clair asleep next to me. I guess she was really worried about me. I nudged her a little and she woke up with a jolt, rolling off the bed.

"Dan?! I-I'm sorry! I just..."

"It's ok Clair. Relax." I assured her. "Thanks for watching over me."

"Can we eat now? I'm starving."

"Geez. Straight to the point as always huh sis? Come on. I'll put something together." I said, getting off my bed.

After a quick dinner, I put Clair to bed and hit the hay myself. Sleep didn't come easy though. I was anxious about tomorrow. Would we find Asuna? What challenges will we have to face? I tried not to let it bother me and eventually fell asleep.

**A/N: I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter. Look forward to next week for a new one.**

**From the Richard Stockton College (Go Ospreys!), I'm TheSib signing off.**


	6. Getting Ready

**A/N: Another week, another chapter. I bet you've all been looking forward to an incredible fight in Alfheim at the World Tree. WELL TOO BAD! THAT'S NEXT WEEK'S CHAPTER! For now, please enjoy this week's exciting chapter.**

**Helios: Dude, stop with the overdramatic crap. It makes you look like a loser.**

**Me: Shut up Helios. I made your character and I can take him out in an instant.**

**Helios: Oh please. We all know that without me, this fanfiction would suck.**

**Me: Damn it. He's right.**

**Have fun reading everyone. **

Morning came a lot quicker than I expected. Looking at my alarm clock, I saw it was 8 am. Clair would be getting hungry by now. I got out of bed and got dressed. By the time Clair got down, I had a plate of eggs set up. We sat down and ate together. Since it was Saturday, I didn't have to send Clair off to school. I decided to tell Clair about our adventures in ALO so far. Clair was ecstatic to hear them.

"Wow! You're so cool Dan! How did you get so skilled that quickly?" Clair asked.

"I learned how to fight with a sword in SAO. The skills kinda stick with you." I explained.

"Oh... I see." Clair said. Her expression quickly turned sad.

"Clair? What's wrong?" I asked.

"I'm sorry. I'm just so useless." Clair said with tears rolling down her eyes.

I immediately got out of my chair and came next to her. I kneeled down to get her at eye level. "You're not useless Clair. Why would you think that?"

"I haven't been any help in your mission to save Asuna. I couldn't do anything to help you while you were in SAO. So many times I wished I could have gone in to help you in SAO."

I held her head and forced her gaze towards me. "Don't ever say something like that again. Got it?" I said. "I would have never wanted you in SAO. I'd do anything to keep you safe."

"So what? I'm supposed to be just some sideline cheerleader?" Clair cried.

"You did help me in SAO actually." I said.

Clair looked up towards me, a bit surprised. "How did I help you?"

"When I was in SAO, you were my biggest inspiration to clear the game. I was able to keep going, because I knew you were waiting for me." I wiped away the tears on Clair's face. She leaped into my arms and wrapped herself around me.

"Thanks big brother. You're the best." Clair said.

After Clair calmed down a bit, I sat back down and we continued to talk about my SAO adventures. Eventually, the time came for me to go back to the virtual world. I laid down in my bed and put my Nerve Gear on.

"Good luck Dan." Clair said. She stood next to me as I closed my eyes and entered the virtual world once again.

"Link Start!"

**Alice POV:**

I woke up yawning loudly as I stretched my arms. As I walked out of my room, I could see Mai getting up as well. We headed downstairs and had some coffee to wake up. When our parents woke up, we sat down for breakfast.

"So what are you doing today?" Mom asked us.

We weren't going into ALO till five. That gave us a lot of time to kill. Mai thought it would be a good idea for the two of us to go shopping. Mom was happy to see us getting out of the house.

After breakfast, Mai and I left and headed to the mall. The two of us hadn't done much outside of the house since we got back from SAO. It felt nice to do something normal again. When we got to the mall, we headed for our favorite clothing shop. Mai came out of the dressing room wearing a light green shirt and blue jeans.

"Wow Mai! You look great in that!" I exclaimed.

"I know right?! Its perfect!" Mai agreed. "You look amazing too."

I had come out of the dressing room wearing a red tang top and a pair of skinny blue jeans. The two of us bought these and a few other dresses.

"Where should we go next?" Mai wondered.

"How about Victoria's Secret?" I suggested.

"Gonna buy something to seduce Ren?" Mai teased.

"Excuse me for actually getting a boyfriend in SAO." I countered.

"I got a boyfriend when Helios, Riku, and I had that competition! I told you that."

"Helios told me you paid a guy to be your date." I said.

"Damn it. I told him never to tell anyone about that." Mai pouted.

"Don't worry. You'll get a boyfriend some day." I assured her. "I'll go some other time. Let's head home."

The two of us left the mall and headed home. We were walking along the city streets a voice called out to us.

"Alice! Mai! How's it going?" We turned our heads to see a familiar face, although it wasn't one I wanted to ever see again. It was Noboru. He had been in a party with me and Mai in the beginning of SAO, until he ran away and left us to die. If Ren hadn't shown up, we would have died.

"What do you want?" Mai asked.

"I was wondering if either of you two would like to have dinner some time." Noboru said.

"You have GOT to be kidding me!" I gasped. "Maybe you forgot about what you did to us?"

"Come on, Alice. Its been forever since then. Can't you forgive me?"

"You're lucky Alice didn't rip your head off that day. Get lost Noboru." Mai said.

"Come on. You could use a boyfriend now that your back in the real world. You need a man in your life." Noboru said. "We've known each other for years. We'd make a great couple."

"For your information I HAVE a boyfriend!" I yelled. "And he's more of a man than you'll ever be! He doesn't run out on his friends and let them be killed just to SAVE HIS OWN ASS!"

"You mean that tactician guy from SAO? I think Ren was his name, right?" Noboru asked. "Why would you want to be with that loser? He's probably just some stupid nerd." It took all of two seconds after that comment came out for Noboru to regret it. I decked him across the face and he fell over on the sidewalk.

"Did you just hit me?" Noboru gasped.

"No that was a different person. His name was No Shit Sherlock." I glared.

"But we're friends. We have been since we were kids." Noboru said.

"Our friendship died back in SAO. You're nothing but trash in my eyes now." I said. Mai and I walked away and left Noboru to get his sorry ass off the ground.

"That guy REALLY pisses me off!" I growled as we walked back home.

"You know with those one-liners you keep saying, I think Helios's asshole personality is starting to rub off on you." Mai joked.

"Oh god, don't even make me think about turning into that guy." I shivered.

When Mai and I arrived back home, we put our bags down. 5:00 was fast approaching so we headed to our rooms, put our Nerve Gear helmets on, and entered the virtual world once again.

"Link Start!"

**A/N: I hope you all enjoyed this chapter everyone. Look forward to next week for the battle at the World Tree. See you then everybody.**


	7. Grand Quest

**A/N: It's time for another round of Blazing Revolution. I wanted to go a little further with the story than I did with this chapter, but it's been a busy week with exams and everything. I hope you all enjoy this still. As always, reviews, comments, and suggestions are more than welcome.**

I opened my eyes and found myself in the inn we all logged out of last night. After a few minutes, Alice and Mai showed up as well. Helios arrived soon after along with Dagger.

"Looks like everyone's here. Kirito said he was coming early so he should already be in the city. Let's meet him at the World Tree." I suggested. We left the inn and walked towards the gigantic tree. The city was incredibly large and was filled with all kinds of fairy races.

"This is amazing." Alice said in awe. We eventually reached the World Tree in a few minutes. When we arrived at the stairs a voice called out behind us.

"Hey guys. You sure took your time getting here." We all turned our heads to see Kirito behind us. On his shoulder was a small pixie that I guessed was Yui. Next to him was a Sylph with blonde hair and a green dress.

"Who's the girl? Are you cheating on Asuna? Way to go player!" Helios teased. A quick jab to the stomach from Alice shut him up though as he kneeled over in pain. "Ignore him please." Alice apologized.

"No problem. But next time, give me a chance to take a swing at him." the Sylph girl smiled. "My name's Lyfa by the way."

"Helios please say another dick comment to her. Please, for me! I really want to see your ass get kicked by two girls in one day." Mai begged.

"You are so going to be cannon fodder if I ever take over as leader." Helios glared as he slowly got back up.

"As if anyone would follow YOUR orders. We all know Alice is the second in command." Mai laughed.

"It's not like there's anyone else suited for the job." Alice said. "Besides me, we have Mai who is too young, Dagger who would probably sell us to make a quick buck, Helios who is too much of a psycho, and Riku who is... Riku."

"Well fuck you too Alice." Helios replied.

"You sure have some interesting friends Kirito." Lyfa said.

We all introduced ourselves and got reacquainted with Kirito. Apparently, he already tried to clear the World Tree... and promptly got his ass handed to him. We climbed the stairs to the World Tree. At the top, we found a male Sylph in a hooded outfit. Lyfa told us he was her friend Recon.

"So what's our plan?" Alice asked.

"I've got a great idea!" Helios exclaimed. "I call it Operation: Piss and Vinegar. Ren, Kirito, Dagger, and me will charge in and attack the guardians. Everyone else will stay close to us and act as meat shields."

We all stared at Helios with annoyed expressions on our faces. "See, this is why you don't make the plans." Mai sighed.

"Ok here's what we're really going to do." I said. "Kirito will charge towards the top of the tree at full speed. Alice, Helios and I will cover him and keep away as many guardians as we can. The rest of you will stay in the rear of the group and heal us from afar."

We were all in agreement so we entered through the doors of the World Tree. Everything was dark when we first entered. Once the lights came on, we all gasped in shock. Several hundred humanoid enemies floated above us. The top must have been a mile up. This wasn't going to be easy.

We all got into position and charged in. Several guardians flew in to intercept us. Alice, Helios, and I slashed through their first wave of guardians and Kirito flew on ahead with his incredible speed. The three of us flew after him. We got closer and closer to the top until a wall of guardians blocked us. Their numbers quickly overwhelmed us. Multiple blades slashed at us and we fell down the tree quite a bit before we recovered.

"Great. What do we do now?" Helios said. Suddenly, Lyfa's friend Recon flew past us. He flew into the swarm of guardians and started chanting a spell. A sphere of flames slowly began to surround him and grow in size. It engulfed a large amount of guardians in a huge explosion. Guardians quickly replaced the lost ones though Recon was gone.

"Well he died for nothing. At least he went out with a bang." Helios joked. A bang to the head from Lyfa soon followed.

"My god you're an ass!" Lyfa yelled.

"You have no idea." Alice added. "But we need a new plan. We can't keep this up."

"So what do we..." Mai began to ask, but several shouts from bellow us caught our attention. Several hundred players flew up the tree. They consisted of Sylph and Cait Sith players.

"Please tell me they're on our side." I said.

"Yeah. They're with us." Lyfa assured us. The army of players quickly came up and joined the fight. Two females flew near us. The first was a Sylph who introduced herself as Sakuya. The second was a Cait Sith that flew on a large dragon. She was called Alicia.

"Sorry we're late Kirito. You guys can take a break if you want." Alicia smirked.

"Hell no! This party's just getting started. There's no way I'm missing this." I replied. We all charged in again. The Cait Sith's dragons burned away a large amount of guardians. A large horde charged at Kirito, but he smashed right through them, breaking through the horde and reached the top.

"Alright! He did it!" Lyfa cheered.

We flew down and retreated. The rest was up to Kirito now. We all stood outside the World Tree exhausted. "He actually did it. That Kirito sure is something." Sakuya said.

"Well he did save everyone in SAO. Conquering amazing things like this is nothing to him." Lyfa smiled.

"Wait. Did you say SAO? The death game?" Sakuya interrupted. Lyfa covered her mouth realizing her mistake.

"Oh well. No point hiding it now." I sighed. I went on to explain how we were SAO survivors and why we were here. The others were shocked to hear everything.

"So this Asuna is at the top of the World Tree? Why is she there in the first place?" Sakuya wondered.

We all stood there pondering the question. Like Sakuya said, the fact that Asuna was in ALO at all made no sense. Suddenly a scream from Sakuya interrupted us. We looked over and saw he fall over. A long dagger was sticking out from her shoulder. Alicia soon did the same with another dagger stabbed into her shoulder. A voice spoke to us from the sky.

"So you want to know what's going on at the top of the World Tree do you? I think I can help you with that."

We looked up to see a lone player up in the sky. He had a large amount of armor on. It was a tan color with a white trim. His wings were a silver color. He had dark brown hair and a large two-handed sword in his hand.

"Who the heck are you?!" I asked.

"You may refer to me as Yamato, right hand man to his majesty, Lord Oberon! And I'll refer to the lot of you as trash." the player responded.

"Ok Mr. Full Of Himself, what do you know about Asuna?" Helios said.

"What I know is that you have no chance of saving her. Neither does that Spriggan friend of yours running around up there." Yamato replied. "But you do deserve a reward for clearing the World Tree, so I'll treat you to my full hospitality!" Yamato snapped his fingers and several dots appeared from the clouds above. When the clouds parted, an army of guardians we just faced were visible in the sky.

"Oh and I can't forget the best part!" Yamato laughed. He stretched his arms out and shouted. "System Command! Cancel all log out attempts inside area Alne! Set pain absorber to level five!"

We all stood there in awe. This guy had full control of the system. And to make things worse, we couldn't escape by logging out.

"Now here's what's going to happen. Since players don't lose hp in cities, I'll just beat you until you're unconscious. Then you can join the other 300 SAO players." Yamato smirked. He looked towards his army of guardians.

"Ok guardians, time for the scavenger hunt. Here's the rules. Heads of regular players are one point. Fairy race leaders are fifty points. SAO survivors will be one hundred points. Now go have fun!" At his command, several guardians descended towards us. A large amount of players stood there paralyzed with fear. The guardians were about to be within striking distance of us until I charged at them and slashed them in the blink if an eye, reducing them to dust.

"So... How many points are those?" I smirked.

The other incoming guardians froze themselves in their tracks. Yamato put a smirk on his face. "Futile resistance. One of my favorite types of opponents." Yamato chuckled.

"I'll give you one chance. Leave now and return Asuna and the other SAO survivors." I glared.

"Oh an ultimatum! I love ultimatums. Here's mine." Yamato said looking towards his guardians. "Either kill them or be killed by me!" The guardians charged at us once again. I looked towards the players around me.

"Get ready to fight everyone!" I said.

"How? There's no way we can beat all of them." one player said.

"Yeah. Plus that guy is a GM! We don't have a chance." another player trembled.

"So what?!" Helios yelled at them. "I'd rather fight and die than just give up like a sissy!"

"Wow. For once you and I agree on something Helios." Alice smirked.

"I agree. I refuse to surrender without even trying." Sakuya said, slowly getting to her feet.

"Yeah. Giving up isn't my style." Alicia added as she got up too. Players began to nod their heads in agreement. We were ready to fight.

"Alright everyone! Charge!" I yelled. With that, we all flew up and charged into battle.

**A/N: Once again, I would like to apologize. I know most of this was a recap of SAO episodes in the anime. I wanted to add the final battle to be in this, but like I said before, school has kept me busy. I will try to post the next chapter as soon as I can. Until then everyone.**


	8. Yamato

**A/N: It's time for the big battle at the World Tree everyone has been waiting for. I hope you all enjoy it.**

Our army of players flew through the air, cutting down guardian after guardian. Unfortunately, we wouldn't be able to last forever. There was no end to the unending swarm of guardians. Our only chance at victory was to take down Yamato. Alice, Helios, and I charged at him while the others kept the guardians busy. As we got in close, Yamato swung his massive sword at us. The three of us quickly moved our weapons into a defensive position. Yamato's sword sent us flying back several meters.

"I'm surprised to see SAO survivors here." Yamato said. "But you still have no chance. I'm going to destroy all of you."

"Let's see you try!" Alice yelled, charging at Yamato with her scythe. He was able to easily deflect her scythe and swung his blade yet again, sending Alice flying into the side of the World Tree.

"Alice!" I called out, flying over to her. Yamato hovered over and blocked my path, knocking me back with his sword. Helios attacked soon after. Yamato knocked his axe into the air and followed up by kneeing Helios in the coconuts.

_Ow! That one's gonna hurt him later._

The three of us continued attacking Yamato, but were unable to land any hits. Eventually, Yamato hit me with a powerful slash, plummeting me into the ground bellow. I didn't even have the strength to get on my feet. After another minute or so, Helios came crashing down as well.

"He keeps kicking me in the dick. Why... why does it have to be the dick?" Helios said weakly.

Looking around as I laid on the ground, I could see the others weren't doing so well either. The guardians overwhelming numbers were beginning to overpower everyone. A sudden scream from Alice snapped me out of my thoughts.

"Ren! Help!"

I looked up into the sky and saw Alice in serious trouble. She seemed to be completely paralyzed. Yamato hovered over towards her.

"You know, I find it unfair that the boss gets to have all the fun with that girl. I'm sure he won't mind me turning you into my own personal doll." Yamato smirked.

"Get away from me!" Alice screamed. She couldn't move and Yamato was practically right next to her.

_Damn it! Move you shitty excuse for a body!_

"Yes. I'm positive we'll be able to have loads of fun!" Yamato laughed menacingly.

"Ren! Please, help!" Alice cried out.

_Move damn it! I don't care how, just move!_

"HELP!"

_MOVE DAMN IT!_

I got up with my legs wobbling from lack of strength. But I was not going to let Yamato do whatever he wanted with Alice.

"You can actually stand? I'm impressed." Yamato grinned.

"Get away from Alice NOW!" I glared.

"Why don't you come up here and make me?" Yamato laughed.

I grabbed my sword off the ground. My eyes went from anger to hatred and I spread my wings, ready to take off.

"You just made a big mistake." I glared.

"Oh? What's that? Yamato asked.

"You lost any chance of me keeping you're pain to a minimum."

"Oooooo I'm SO scared." Yamato laughed.

"You should be." a voice spoke up. Looking up next to the world tree, a screen popped up. On the other side of it was Kirito.

"No way... impossible... What about Lord Oberon?"

"Taken care of." Kirito replied. He looked over towards me. "Let me guess. Pain absorber set to zero and allow everyone to log out?"

"I'd appreciate it." I responded.

"Done." Kirito said. He maneuvered his menu and tapped several buttons. With that his screen disappeared. As I prepared to take off, Helios chocked out a few words.

"Sorry Ren. I can't even stand. You'll have to do this on your own."

"You just need the right motivation." I said. "Think of it this way. Do you really want to stay there looking like a piece of trash. Just like..."

"Don't you say it." Helios warned.

"Just like Riku."

Helios immediately got to his feet with a roar. "You can kick me in the dick. You can pound me into the dirt. But you do NOT make me look like Riku!"

"Impossible... Lord Oberon... There's no way..." Yamato was speechless. I charged straight up and Yamato turned his gaze towards me with an expression of fear on his face. He put his blade into a defensive stance. I swung my sword and slashed his hand off that was holding the sword. I grabbed the massive blade before it could fall.

"I always wanted to give dual wielding a try. Kirito makes it look so fun." I grinned. "I hope you don't mind being my practice dummy." Yamato's fear was more intense than ever. He began to fly away, until a hit from Helios sent him falling down.

"That... was for... me dick. Vengeance... is... mine." Helios said exhausted.

I flew down at Yamato, assaulting him with a barrage of slashes. My final hit sent him crashing into the ground. I was standing on top of him before he could get up.

"We're gonna play a little game." I glared. "Here's the rules. I ask a question. You answer. Break the rules..." I said as I drived Yamato's massive sword into his right arm. "And that will happen." Yamato cried out in pain. His suffering was probably immense, but after what he did to Alice, I didn't care.

"First question: where are the 300 SAO players?" I asked.

"I-I don't know!" Yamato pleaded. "I swung my sword into him as well.

"I forgot one other rule: No lying. Now where are they?"

"In the top of the World Tree, there's a hidden lab. They're in there." Yamato replied.

I got some more answers out of Yamato. When I was done interrogating him, I kicked him in the face before walking away.

"Thanks for playing." I said. Yamato fell unconscious due to the pain. I looked up towards Alice. Her paralysis seemed to have vanished. Suddenly, her wings vanished and she began to fall. She screamed in terror, until I caught her midair.

"Ren?! I was so worried! Are you ok?!" Alice asked.

"I'll be fine. I'm more worried about you. Are you alright?" I asked.

"Yeah. I'm fine thanks to you." Alice replied. When we got to the ground, I helped Alice get to her feet and she grabbed me and pulled me in for a kiss. My face lit up bright red.

"Oh. Am I embarrassing you Mr. Hero?" Alice smiled.

"W-What?! N-No!" I stuttered. Everyone cracked up laughing. Dagger walked over to Helios and kissed his cheek. His face was redder than mine.

"What's this? Are you embarrassed too Helios?" Dagger laughed.

"What?! No I... Oh what the hell?" Helios shrugged leaning Dagger over for a kiss.

Recon walked over towards Lyfa. He gave her a kiss on the lips. Lyfa responded by sending him flying back with her fist.

"What are you doing?! Give a girl some warning first!" Lyfa blushed.

"Ow! You do know the pain absorber is still at zero right?" Recon complained.

"That's what you get!"

"Aw man! Everyone has someone to kiss except me!" Mai complained.

"I think Riku's available." I joked.

"On second thought, maybe being single isn't so bad." Mai shivered.

I looked over to Alice and looked into her beautiful smiling face. "Well I like being in a relationship. Especially one with you." I said.

"Well I am pretty great." Alice laughed. We all had a quick celebration and then logged out. I awoke to find Clair right next to my bed.

"You're back!" Clair exclaimed cheerfully. "How did it go? Did you save Asuna?"

"Yeah. It's all over now." I replied.

"That's great!" Clair's face was covered with joy. I suddenly heard footsteps coming. But Clair and I were the only ones supposed to be in the house. Clair looked at me with a foreboding expression on her face.

_Don't tell me..._

The footsteps subsided as their owner walked into the room. At the door to my bedroom was my mother.

_I'd like to go back to fighting Yamato and his army of guardians now, please._

"I thought I should surprise you by coming home early." my mom explained with a subtle angry tone. "I didn't expect to be the one surprised by seeing my son wearing that death trap again."

"Look mom I can explain. I was..."

"Your sister already explained why you were wearing it." my mom interrupted. Her face lit up with rage. "What were you thinking?! Did you learn nothing from being trapped in SAO for two years?!"

"Listen. I..."

"I don't want to hear your excuses!" My mom screamed. "Do you have any idea how dangerous that was?!"

"DAMMIT LISTEN TO ME!" I yelled. "Asuna was one of my best friends in SAO. I finally got a clue to her whereabouts. Did you expect me to sit on my ass and do nothing?! If there's one lesson I learned in SAO it was to never turn my back on my friends, no matter how dangerous it was!"

My mom was taken back by my outburst. She stood there shocked. Tears began to roll down her eyes. "I just... I was so worried every day you were in SAO. When I came home and saw you wearing that again, I..."

"I'm not a little kid anymore." I said. A faint smile appeared on her face.

"No... I suppose you're not." she admitted.

I refrained from going into too much detail when I explained what happened in ALO. It wouldn't help me much to admit how close I was to not coming back. After dinner, I headed to bed and quickly drifted to sleep, exhausted from everything that happened today.

**A/N: Next chapter will be the end of the ALO arc everybody. But do not worry. I will be going further on in this story with various new adventures. I hope everyone enjoys what is to come. If you have any ideas for future chapters, please feel free to PM me. Comments and reviews are welcome as well.**


	9. Celebrations

**A/N: It's time for the finale of Blazing Revolution's ALO arc. But do not worry readers. I will be posting more chapters of Wyvern Inferno's adventures after the events of ALO. This story is far from finished. **

The day after we finished our rescue mission in ALO, we went over to the hospital to see Asuna. Clair was really excited to meet her. While the two of them chatted, I talked with Kirito later about the details we had gotten together from Yamato and Oberon, who I learned was actually a guy named Sugou that worked for Asuna's dad. The group of scientists were arrested and we were able to free all of the 300 SAO players.

A couple months later, we had a party to celebrate Asuna finishing her rehabilitation. We all met up at Agil's bar. Clair wanted to meet everyone, so I brought her along as well. She and the others really got along, especially her and Kirito's sister Suguha. When Kirito and Asuna arrived, we all cheered for the guests of honor. After the cheering died down, we all sat down and chatted. Clair was talking and giggling with Silica, Liz, and Suguha. Alice, Helios, Mai, and I were busy chatting about ALO at another table.

"I gotta say it's gotten kind of boring now that there's no big heroic adventure for us. I miss the action." Helios sighed.

"You mean you LIKED Yamato kicking your ass and doing... that... to you?" I said.

"Of course not! I liked it when I was the one kicking ass. And please try not to make me think about that." Helios replied.

"What did he do?" Kirito asked, coming over and taking a seat at our table.

"Yamato kicked him in the balls repeatedly. It was painful to watch back then, but now it's pretty funny." Mai explained. Helios glared over at the young brunette while Kirito used all of his self control to not burst out laughing.

"Yeah, you guys really got your butts kicked." Kirito said.

"Wait, how would you know how badly we were losing?" Helios wondered.

Kirito sat there stuttering. "Um... well I..."

"YOU DICK! YOU WERE WATCHING US THE WHOLE TIME!" Helios realized. He swung a punch at Kirito, but the black-haired swordsman caught the punch with his hand.

"Bitch please. I'm Kirito." the black haired swordsman smirked. "Look, to make it up to you guys, the food's on me... wait where's my wallet?"

A snicker from another table caught our attention. Over there, we saw Dagger casually sitting there with Kirito's wallet in her hand, and a devilish smile painted on her face. "Bitch please. I'm Dagger."

"That's my girl!" Helios cheered.

_A few months later..._

"Come on Dan! Hurry up!" Clair called out to me.

"Chill Clair. We'll be there in time." I assured her. "You ready?" After Clair nodded, we spread our wings and took off into the night sky.

After the events in ALO, the game was sold to another group that was able to keep it running. Clair had shown a lot of interest in VRMMOs due to listening to my stories, so I had gotten her an Amu Sphere and a copy of ALO for her birthday. Clair was ecstatic. I was hoping for that reaction, since the money it cost almost made me broke. She decided to make her avatar an Imp, like me and Alice. Her avatar had the same height as her real self with dark-violet hair that fell slightly past her shoulders. She had a violet shirt with a red trim and a black miniskirt. The leather boots she wore were a dark red. Her weapon was a katana with a violet handle and a shiny silver blade that I had gotten Lisbeth to forge for her. She was struggling with moving around and fighting for the first few weeks, but now she had become pretty skilled with it thanks to some lessons from me and Lyfa. Helping her master voluntary flight was a challenge all on it's own, but she was now fairly skilled at it.

My sister and I flew through the skies of Alne, further and further up in the clouds. We met up with Alice, Kirito, and the others midair. At a glance, it didn't seem like anyplace special. The only thing around us were clouds.

"So what's going on? Why are we here?" Clair asked. As she spoke, a bell began to ring, signaling midnight. As the bell tolled, a humungous figure began to cover the moon. Clair gasped in awe as the giant castle blocked out the moon's light, but soon replaced it with several golden shining lights of its own.

"What is that?" Clair gasped.

"That is the floating castle of Aincrad." I answered.

"You're kidding!" Clair exclaimed. "What the heck is that doing here?!"

"Yeah! We wanted a rematch! We never got to clear all hundred floors last time." Helios added.

"So many unopened treasure chests! They're all going to be mine!" Dagger grinned.

"I'm going to become stronger than anyone! I'll be the one to clear floor 100!" Riku said.

"Keep dreaming Riku. Its going to be that much more amusing when you fall flat on your face." Mai laughed.

"Its time for Wyvern Inferno's return! Let's go Ren." Alice smiled.

"You ready Clair?" I asked. Clair nodded with excitement and we took off towards the giant castle in the sky.

**A/N: Ok I know this chapter was really short and I apologize for that. I just wanted to wrap everything up and move on to the next series of adventures in Blazing Revolution. I've gotten some great ideas from readers. If you have any ideas for the future chapters of this story, please feel free to PM me.**


	10. Dancing

**A/N: It's everybody's favorite time of the week again folks. Now that the ALO arc is finished, I will be doing chapters that don't pertain to the anime's story. Some will be simple one chapter stories, like today's chapter. Other's will go on for multiple chapters into their own arc. I have gotten many ideas from readers. I hope you enjoy today's chapter and what is to come.**

"Alright class, your homework is due on Monday." the teacher spoke as the bell rang. I got out of my chair and left the classroom. English class was one of my least favorite classes. I had almost fallen asleep on multiple occasions in there. I walked to the courtyard of the school. Sitting on the bench there next to some flowers was Alice. She looked my way with her long black hair flowing through the breeze as she smiled beautifully.

"Hey Ren." Alice greeted.

"Hey Alice." I replied. We sat down together on the bench, with Alice leaning her head on my shoulder. The scenery around us was breathtaking. Flowers decorated the entire courtyard. It had become a popular spot for couples.

"Man it's been a busy week." Alice sighed.

"Yeah. English has been torture all week." I agreed.

"You don't even realize what I'm talking about do you?" Alice said with a pout on her face.

"What?"

"Ren! The school homecoming dance is tomorrow night! I've been helping plan all week, along with Asuna, Liz, and Silica. I told you about this!" Alice scolded.

I had totally forgot! Class and homework had kept me occupied for most of my free time lately. Alice had also been getting really excited about the upcoming event.

"I'm sorry." I apologized with my head bowed down.

"It's hard to believe you were once one of the top players in SAO." Alice giggled.

"Please don't. I get that line enough from Clair." I complained.

We sat there talking about the dance and other school stuff. Eventually it came time to head home. I walked Alice back to her place and then headed back to my house. Saturday night came pretty quickly. I had rented a tux for the big event. My mom was taking pictures of me and Alice together in front of the school. She was wearing an elegant long red dress.

"Ok now smile!" my mom told us, holding her camera.

"Mom, you've taken like twenty pictures! Can we go now?" I asked.

"Oh come on. Just a few more!" my mother begged.

"Hey mom, there's something up with the car." Clair said walking over to us. My mom sighed and told us to stay there so she could take the last few pictures when she got back. She walked over towards where she parked.

"What's wrong with the car?" I asked Clair.

"I lied. Now run, or you'll be here posing all night! I'll cover for you when she gets back." Clair told us once my mom was out of earshot.

"Thanks Clair. I owe you big time!" I said. Alice and I ran into the school before my mom could get back. When we got in, we saw Kirito and Asuna at a table along with Helios and Dagger. We walked over and talked while we ate dinner. After an hour or so, the dances started. I grabbed Alice's hand and walked her over to the dance floor. We danced through a few songs before heading back to the table. When we got back to the table, we saw Dagger sitting there alone with a frown on her face.

"What's wrong Dagger?" Alice asked.

"Helios said he was going to get some punch right after I asked to dance with him. I just checked the punch bowl, and he wasn't there." Dagger answered in a depressed tone.

"Helios? I just saw him standing by the courtyard." Mai said, walking over to us.

Alice had a look of annoyance on her face when her sister revealed Helios's location. "Don't worry Dagger. I'll make Helios come back here even if I have to drag him here." she assured the red haired girl. Alice stormed off towards the courtyard in pursuit of Helios. She looked like a wolf moving towards its prey.

"Guess I better go too. Can't have Alice killing Helios." I sighed.

"Yeah. Too many witnesses." Mai agreed.

I ran after Alice, catching up with her right before we reached the courtyard. We saw Helios sitting on a bench by himself, holding a glass of punch.

"Hey guys." Helios said in a hollow tone when he noticed us.

"Don't 'Hey guys' me you jerk!" Alice yelled. She grabbed Helios by the collar and lifted him off the bench.

"Hey! What's wrong with you?!" Helios asked.

"What's wrong with YOU?! Dagger's been sitting there sulking cause you left her alone! What reason could you possibly have to excuse you from-"

"I can't dance!" Helios interrupted. We all stood there in silence awkwardly. Alice finally broke it by slapping Helios in the face.

"That's a shitty answer Helios. This is low, even for you." Alice scolded. "What is more important to you? Your stupid pride or Dagger?" Once again we stood there in silence. "You actually need to THINK about your answer?!" Alice said, shocked.

Helios finally stepped away from Alice. He handed her his cup. Before leaving, he uttered three words.

"Hold. My. Punch."

We watched as Helios walked inside. I was about to go in as well, but Alice grabbed my arm.

"What is it?" I asked.

"We're all alone in a field of flowers under the night sky. We should have a slow dance here." Alice suggested.

"Oh I plan on dancing with you here for quite a bit later tonight. But first, you wanna see Helios dance?"

"I like the way you think." Alice giggled. The two of us walked inside to find Helios dancing with Dagger... if you could call what Helios was doing dancing. Lots of people had their phones out, videotaping the comedy gold. Alice and I joined them.

"Oh Internet, this is so going all over you." I laughed as I recorded the moment everybody would be talking about for the rest of the night.

After Helios and Dagger were done, I brought Alice back out to the courtyard. We danced together, swaying in the night and illuminated by the stars. When the dance was over, Alice came home with me. We had already gotten permission from our folks ahead of time. Alice went straight for my room after taking a shower. I was getting a quick drink of water before I went to bed until my mom came downstairs.

"Are you sure the both of you will be alright in the same bed together?" my mom asked.

"We'll be fine mom. We're seventeen. We aren't little kids anymore." I assured her.

"Alright just use protection." my mom warned. My face went absolutely red at her comment.

"Mom! I didn't mean it like that!"

"I'm just joking dear." my mom laughed.

"Mom, what did you mean by protection?" Clair asked. We turned out heads towards her, just realizing she was there. I have been in many awkward scenes in my life, but this one takes the cake by a landslide. I immediately walked away.

"Dan?! Don't leave me here like this! Help." my mother begged.

"You started this mess. You can dig yourself out of this." I told my her. I walked away upstairs and left my mom to clean up the mess she made.

**A/N: Like I said, hope you enjoyed this chapter. As always please feel free to post any comments, reviews, or suggestions you have or PM me if you have ideas for future chapters.**


	11. Historia (Part 1)

**A/N: Hello again readers of Blazing Revolution. Time again for another chapter. Just like before, if anyone has any comments, reviews, or suggestions for future chapters please feel free to post them or PM me.**

**On another note, I have recently got the PS Vita game _Sword Art Online: Hollow Fragment_. Let me just say that any fan of SAO will LOVE this game! For those of you that haven't heard of it, the game is basically a 'What If' scenario of Kirito and everyone advancing from floors 75 to 100 instead of the original story line of everyone being set free at floor 75. Kirito and Asuna don't die, Yui is brought back, and Lyfa and Sinnon are brought into the game, as well as new original characters not in the anime. Long story short, a lot happens. So I got to thinking, 'What if Ren and Wyvern Inferno were set in it'? I would like to hear your oppinions of whether you would all like to see a new story with this scenario. Whether I make it or not will be based on your feedback so if you want to see this, please PM me.**

_Where am I?_

I walked through a long beautiful field. It seemed to go on forever. I walked across the plains until I came to a large tree. When I walked up to the tree, I could see something carved into the trunk. It was a date.

January 3, 2023.

The second I recognized the date, the entire scenery changed. The vast blue sky became coated with the color of blood. The fields of grass were replaced by a wasteland. A tombstone emerged from the ground. It looked old and withered. Inscribed on it was the same date as the one on the tree. A voice echoed through my head.

_"Why... why didn't you protect me? Why Ren?"_

I kneeled down covering my ears, trying to block out the voice. But no matter what I did, the voice wouldn't leave me. Instead, it just echoed louder and louder.

_"Why Ren... Why?"_

"Please! Just go away! Go away!" I screamed. The noise continued on and on.

_"Ren... Ren... Ren..."_

"Shut up! Just shut up!" I yelled. My vision slowly faded to black.

When I could see again, I found myself in my room. I was sweating like crazy and short of breath. It was just a bad dream. That's all it was. I looked over to my digital clock. It read 8:00 am... January 3. Clair came running into my room.

"Dan, are you ok? You were screaming like crazy." Clair told me. I was still catching my breath.

"Yeah... I'm fine Clair... don't worry." I assured her.

After breakfast, I told my parents I was going to hang with Alice and headed out. It was snowing out so I grabbed a winter coat and scarf. I walked through the streets and took the bus to a few blocks from my destination. When I arrived, I looked up at the sign at the entrance.

SAO Memorial Cemetery

I walked through the cemetery dedicated to those that died in SAO. Their real bodies weren't buried here, but it was set up so those of us that survived the death game could come to pay our respects. When I eventually reached the tombstone I was looking for, Alice was already there. She was dressed up in her own winter clothing. We greeted each other with halfhearted smiles. Neither of us felt overly cheerful today. We gazed upon the tombstone, looking at the name inscribed.

Historia

Date of death: January 3, 2024

"Its already been two years. It's hard to believe." Alice said.

"Yeah. I still wish I could have done something." I sulked.

"You did everything you could Ren. You can't blame yourself." Alice replied.

Two years... two years since the death of Historia. The seventh member of Wyvern Inferno.

_XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX_

**June 12, 2023**

"Finish it Ren!" Alice cheered. I charged at the Inferno Spider as my blade lit up with a green aura and slashed right across the monster's underbelly. The last monster in the mob shattered and I sheathed my blade. A window popped up in front of me, presenting my item drops and exp amount.

Alice, Helios, Mai, Riku, and I had been grinding through the fields of floor 43, the current front lines, for the past few days. The monsters here weren't much of a problem for us, although we were a bit exhausted from fighting Inferno Spiders and Dire Wolves for the whole day. We continued walking through the fields until a voice entered our hearing.

_"I was never right for the hero type of role. I admit it with my heart."_

We followed the singing to the edge of a hill. We found a girl with long blonde hair sitting there.

_"Once in my dreams I rose and soared. No matter how I'm knocked around or beaten down, I will stand up restored."_

We stood there and listened to her melodious voice. When she finished, she turned our way and smiled.

"Oh, hello there. I didn't realize anyone was listening. Did you like the song?" she asked

"Yeah." I said. "You have a great voice. What's the name of that song?"

"It's an original song I created. I call it Crossing Field." the blonde girl responded, standing up. She looked about 15. Her equipment consisted of a blue shirt, green pants, and black boots. She had a long spear slung across her back.

"Oh I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Historia." the blonde girl told us. We all introduced ourselves. Suddenly, I heard a low growl. I turned around to see several Dire Wolves coming our way. They were closing in fast.

"We've got company guys!" I warned. The others turned around to see the pack of wolves approaching, lead by a Head Dire Wolf. It let out a loud howl, and we soon found more wolves coming from multiple directions. There seemed to be about twelve wolves in total. We all got our weapons out and charged at the incoming wolf packs.

I prepared to take out the pack leader. My blade became coated with a blue light and I spun myself like a cyclone. The blade was about to cut down the wolf. However, right before impact, my sword was caught by the wolf's fangs. We stood there deadlocked, each of us waiting for the other's strength to give out. More wolves came from behind, preparing to rip me apart as my blade was trapped inside their leader's mouth. Just as they leaped at me, a flash of red appeared and Historia skewered the wolves behind me with her spear.

"Thanks for the save." I said.

"Don't mention it." Historia replied.

The stalemate between the wolf and I continued. I don't know if these monsters had any feelings, but if they did, I know that this wolf was filled with a powerful sense of pride. It would fight on till its dying breath. I finally got it to give in as I pushed my blade further and further, finally cutting through the fangs and slashing the wolf in half. The pack leader shattered into fragments. The wolves around us soon ran away, as all Dire Wolves do once their leader is taken out. We all collapsed from exhaustion.

"Well... that was unexpected." Alice said.

"Yeah. I was surprised by that attack there, Historia." I complemented. "Not many people can take down three Dire Wolves with one strike."

"Thanks. I've actually been a solo player for quite a bit, so my level and skills are pretty high." Historia replied.

"Have you ever thought about joining a guild?" Mai asked.

"Yeah, but not a lot of front line guilds are recruiting right now."

"If you'd like, we'd be happy to have you join us." I invited.

"Really?!" Historia gasped.

"Sure. You're obviously good with that spear. You'd be a great addition to the team." Alice insisted.

"Well in that case, I'd love to join you." Historia replied.

"Alright then." I smiled. "Historia, welcome to Wyvern Inferno."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

A few weeks passed by quickly. Historia had now become a full fledged member of Wyvern Inferno. Her clothes were now red and black to match the guild's colors. She had been a big help to us. She also was great off the battlefield. Historia seemed to have this optimistic personality that could cheer up even the most depressed people. Her singing voice also made the parties a lot more fun. She would get on a table and dance across the tavern while singing various original songs. Dozens of players cheered whenever they heard the blonde player's melodious voice.

Alice and I were walking through the town area of floor 41. The landscape was filled with an ashy red look. Showers of black dust came frequently. It made sense since the main dungeon on this floor was a volcano.

"Why did you want to have our date here?" I asked. "It's not exactly the most romantic of floors."

"It's just up ahead." Alice explained. We turned a corner and I found the reason Alice chose this place. A wide field filled with hundreds of crimson red flowers bloomed across the area. It seemed to stretch out quite a bit. "They call these flowers Fire Lilies. I liked the look because they remind me of you."

"How so?" I asked.

"Even in a desolate area where flowers usually shouldn't be able to survive, these lilies still bloom beautifully. Kinda like how you can always pull us through a situation no matter how bad things seem."

"That's because I've got you to watch my back." I smiled. I picked up one of the Fire Lilies and put it in the side of her hair. The flower kept its blooming figure, making Alice seem even more beautiful.

"You always know the best things to keep me smiling." Alice giggled. She leaned in and we kissed.

On the way back to the teleport gate, we walked past the center of the town. We stopped when we saw two familiar faces sitting on a bench: Historia and Helios.

"You wanna hear a joke Helios?" Historia asked.

"Sure." Helios responded.

"Oh no. This is bad! When Helios hears a bad joke, things never end well." Alice gasped. We quickly ran over to Historia to try and stop her, but we stopped in our tracks when we saw something we had never seen before. Helios, of all people, was smiling.

"Did... did Helios just give a heartfelt smile?" Alice gasped, looking at me.

"I know... it's kinda weird." I agreed. Helios continued to surprise us by giving a laugh.

"I've only heard Helios laugh when he's just slaughtered an enemy. WHAT SORT OF BLACK MAGIC IS AT WORK HERE?!" We stood there dumbfounded as the two enjoyed a pleasant conversation. Historia's incredible power of optimism was not something to be underestimated.

Weeks continued to go by and we steadily climbed up the floors. Before we knew it, we were at floor 49. Things seemed like they would continue going on happily, as if nothing could go wrong.

Until that day...

**A/N: I hope you all enjoyed Historia's character so far. Like I said before, fell free to comment, or PM me if you have ideas for future chapters or would like to give feedback on whether you would like to see a story of Hollow Fragment with Wyvern Inferno in it. And yes, the song is the english version of SAO's opening song. I make no claims of ownership to it.**


	12. Hisotria (Part 2)

**A/N: Time for yet another Blazing Revolution chapter readers. Please post any comments, reviews, or suggestions you have.**

Night was slowly darkening the skies as we walked through the woods back to town. We had gone through a long day of grinding in the fields.

"The stars are so beautiful." Mai smiled, looking up at the night sky. I stared at the sky as well and admired the twinkling white dots scattered across the vast sky.

My head turned to a nearby bush where I thought I heard a noise. I didn't see anything with my detection skill activated so I shrugged it off and continued to walk. Historia was telling jokes as we made our way to town, making us all smile and laugh. Another faint noise entered my hearing. I scanned the area with my detection skill once again. Nothing came up.

"Stop walking guys." I said. Everyone stopped in their tracks and turned towards me with a puzzled look.

"What's wrong Ren?" Alice asked. The sound of rustling got louder. It's owner wasn't going to be hiding anymore.

"Weapons out! Now!" I ordered. We all unsheathed our weapons as several figures jumped out of the trees and bushes and surrounded us. They all wore brown hoods covering their faces. I recognized them instantly by the emblem on their clothes. It was the emblem of Laughing Coffin.

"Pretty bold coming to the front lines and ambushing a top guild." I said.

"What can we say? We like to live on the edge." one of the hooded players smirked. His buddies chuckled in agreement. This was getting worse by the minute.

"What do you want?" Alice asked, maintaining a cold stare.

"Well it's been forever since I had a fun time with a girl. You three chicks will do." another player grinned.

"Not happening." I replied.

"Oh well. I guess we'll just have to settle with... TAKING YOUR LIVES!" the leader of the group yelled. He snapped his fingers and the group of red players pulled out their weapons and charged at us.

I blocked the player that attacked me with my own blade. I forced him back and a new player slashed at me. I continued to block the incoming blades with no openings for me to attack. Several small cuts from the attacks covered my body. My hp was in the yellow zone. A player appeared behind me and lunged his sword towards my back.

"REN! LOOK OUT!" Alice screamed.

The next few seconds felt like an eternity. The red glow of the blade coming closer seemed to move in slow motion. A direct hit would almost surely kill me. The blade made contact, but it wasn't with me. It was with the person who stepped in between me and the red player. Her blonde hair swayed in my face as the sword pierced her body. The spear she held cut her opponent and took out the rest of his hp. My opponents in front of me jumped back as the blonde girl fell into my arms.

"Historia... no... please God no." I gasped. Tears began to roll down my face.

"Don't cry... Ren." Historia said in a weak voice. Her hp was drastically decreasing. There was no saving her now. "I'm happy I got to meet you and everyone. I'm happy I got to have fun at all those parties. Most of all, I'm happy I got to have all those laughs and fun times with you guys. So please... don't cry Ren." She gave a smile and closed her eyes as her body shattered into fragments, leaving nothing behind.

"Historia... why... HISTORIA!" I cried out into the night.

"Good job boys. That's one down." The head of the group grinned. My gaze immediately turned towards them. Every ounce of rage I had was directed into the glare I gave them.

"You bastards aren't getting away with this." I glared.

"Finish him off." the leader commanded.

Several players began to charge at me. They didn't even have time to react as my blade became veiled in a red glow and I slashed past all of them in the blink of an eye. They shattered as I passed by them. My blade kept its glow as I skidded to a halt next to the leader. My blade spun in a full circle and knocked him back into a tree when he blocked the slash at the last second.

"You're better than I thought. Guess we'll just have to settle this another day." he smirked as he jumped back into the trees along with his surviving friends.

I walked back over to the others, my face emptied of anything happy. Historia's death was still sinking in to them. Even Helios was silent.

"Historia... it can't be." Mai said, trying to fool herself into thinking this was all just some bad dream. Tears began to roll down her eyes and she ran into Alice's arms crying.

A memorial service was held for Historia the next day. The weather gave us a downpour as we mourned. Many players showed up, as Historia was popular on the front lines for her optimistic personality. We all grieved for the loss of the fallen player. Afterwards, players slowly began to walk away. I was eventually left alone standing in the rain. Alice walked over to me.

"Ren... you ok?" she asked.

"I was so useless. I couldn't do anything." I said in a depressed tone.

"You can't blame yourself Ren. You did everything you could."

"I'm supposed to be the leader of this guild! What kind of leader lets his friend get killed protecting him?!" I yelled, angry at my worthlessness. Alice grabbed my head and forced me to meet her gaze.

"The human kind. No leader is perfect Ren. No leader can save everyone. What matters is what you do next." Alice said. "No matter what, I still have complete faith in you. Historia wouldn't want you to keep sulking. She'd want you to get back up and keep forging on."

"What if I can't, Alice?! What if I get Helios, Mai, or even you killed?!"

"That won't happen. I promise." Alice spoke as she wrapped her arms around me, embracing me with her warmth as rain poured around us. We walked back to the tavern together.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

January 3, 2026

Alice and I stood in the cemetery, staring at the tombstone of our dead friend. Memories of the times we spent together flashed through my head. After a few minutes, Helios, Mai, and Dagger showed up as well.

"Hey guys." I said. "Did you bring the gift I asked, Mai?"

"Yeah. Here it is." Mai replied, pulling out a small, decorative, wind-up box. She gave it to me. I wound it up and placed the box in front of Historia's tombstone. A melody began to play of Historia's song, Crossing Field.

"How'd you get a recording of that song? I thought it was an original from Historia." Helios wondered.

"I met her family after SAO. She wrote the song before entering the game. I asked them to give me a copy of the melody for this music box." I explained. As we all stood there, we felt as if could hear Historia's voice in the background.

_"Once in my dreams I rose and soared. No matter how I'm knocked around or beaten down, I will stand up restored. All of my love has yet to wake. I know your strength is what I lack. You've got my back. And now that I've got yours. I have you to thank for lighting up the dark. Because you're here with me our dreams will soar free forever."_

**A/N: I hope you all liked this story everyone. For the next one, I will be doing a new flashback to Wyvern Inferno's time in SAO. Look forward to it everyone.**


	13. Thanksgiving Special

**A/N: Ok, I know last week I said this chapter would be a flashback, but with Thanksgiving coming up I decided to do a chapter for the holidays. I ended up finishing early and started working on the flashback chapter right after that. Luckily I ended up finishing both by the end of the week, so I decided to upload both as a gift to all you dedicated fans of the story for Thanksgiving. Hope you all enjoy it. Also, I decided to try changing this story into a third person POV. Please feel free to comment on whether you like it in this style or not.**

The ending bell echoed throughout the school, signaling the end of the day, making students cheer with excitement. The day had seemed like an eternity, but finally school was over and Thanksgiving break could start. Ren and his friends all walked out of the school's front gate together with autumn leaves covering the grass.

"Finally, we get a break!" Helios cheered. "A whole five days of no school. This is exactly what I need."

"I think you're forgetting about that essay that's due when we get back." Alice reminded her excited friend.

"Darn it, I forgot about that! Why did teach have to give us homework over break?"

"Helios, we got the assignment a week ago." Ren pointed out. "You just put it off for too long. The rest of us finished it already."

The dark haired teen sighed at his procrastination. "Yeah, yeah. Whatever. I suppose I'll just have to wing it. See you guys later!" Helios waved goodbye to his friends as he sprinted off towards his house.

"What a guy." Alice said, rolling her eyes. "Well, I gotta get going too. I promised my mom I'd help her cook for Thanksgiving. See you after break, Ren." The black haired female gave her boyfriend a quick kiss and ran off, along with Mai.

Ren continued the rest of his trip home solo. When he walked into his house, his sister Clair greeted him with a warm smile. "Hey big brother! Welcome home!"

Ren rubbed his little sister's hair playfully as he often did. "Hey sis. You have a good day at school?"

"Yeah." Clair replied as she tried to tidy up the mess her brother had made of her brunette hair. The sibling duo walked into the kitchen where their mom was currently cooking a turkey.

"Dan, Clair, you're just in time. Lend me a hand with this thing." the mother asked her two kids.

"Wow Mom. That's a big turkey." Ren said in shock.

"It better be. We've going to have fourteen people total here for Thanksgiving."

Ren and Clair gave their mother a hand with preparing the turkey and getting it into the oven. Afterwards, Ren and Clair sat down and started talking about ALO as they usually did during their free time.

The next day came quickly. It wasn't even two in the afternoon before Ren's house was filled with relatives. Ren, Clair, and a few of their cousins were currently in their basement playing some older video games.

"Geez Dan, you're killing it here." Dent, one of Ren's cousins complained. "I know you've always had a thing for video games, but I can't even keep up."

"Heh, pure skill. Nothing else." Ren grinned in satisfaction that he still hadn't lost his touch at these old games.

"Come to think of it, isn't that new school you're going to filled with survivors from that SAO game." another one of his cousins, Yolko, asked, but soon put her hand over her mouth. "Sorry. I forgot we're not supposed to talk about that."

"No, don't worry. It's fine." Ren assured his cousin. "I don't mind talking about it. But to answer your question, yes. A lot of friends I made in SAO go to there."

"I heard you also got a girlfriend in that game." Dent said with a smirk on his face. "Way to go man."

"What's her name? What's she like?" Yolko asked with her curiosity peaked.

"Her name's Alice. We met early on in SAO and formed a guild together." Ren said. "She's really nice."

"Wow. Really nice? Great description." Yolko said sarcastically. "Come on Dan, I need DETAILS!"

"Chill out Yolko." Clair said. "Dan gets really nervous when talking about Alice. The first time I met her, he didn't even know how to introduce her. I guess that's to be expected since he's always been like that."

"Clair! Come on, did you really have to say that?" Ren complained as Clair and his two cousins started laughing at the teen's expense.

"Kids, dinners ready!" Ren's mom called down. The group of four came upstairs and took their seats at the long table set up for the family, already covered with food for the meal. Dinner quickly got under way as everyone filled their plates with food. By the time everyone was finished, barely anything was left.

"Wow. That meal was great! I'm stuffed." Dent complimented. "Your mom's a great cook, Dan."

"Too bad those cooking skills didn't rub off on him though." Clair giggled. "Remember that time you tried to cook for Alice? Mom had to end up bailing you out."

"What can I say? Cooking's not my thing." her brother shrugged.

"Wow, cooking for this girl now? She must be pretty special." Yolko grinned. "Never thought you to be a ladies man."

"Yolko come on. Knock it off alre-" Ren was cut off as his phone started ringing. He glanced at it to see it was Alice. "Excuse me." Ren got up from the table and walked into another room so he could hear. "Hello?"

"Is this Dan?" an unfamiliar voice that definitely didn't belong to Alice asked.

"Yes. Who is this?" Ren asked.

"My name is Officer Johnson." the man said. "I'm sorry to bother you on Thanksgiving sir, but you were listed in this phone's emergency contact list."

"Is something wrong?" Ren asked, suddenly worried.

"I'm afraid there is." the officer explained. "Your friend's been in an accident."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The drive down to the hospital was only thirty minutes, but to Ren it seemed like thirty hours. When his mom pulled up to the front of the hospital, Ren immediately got out of the car and ran through the automatic doors, ignoring his mother's call for him to wait up for her. He told the receptionist his name and was directed to room 214 of the hospital. When he got into the room, he could see Alice in a hospital bed. Mai was sleeping in the bed next to her, with only a few scratches on her.

"Alice! Are you ok?! What happened?!" Ren asked his girlfriend.

The black haired teen gave a smile to him in response. "I'm fine, Ren. Don't worry." she assured him. "It's nothing serious. Just a few cuts and bruises."

Alice's mother walked towards Ren. "Thank you for coming to see my daughter." The woman said, quickly bowing her head for a second. "I'm sorry we had to bother you on a holiday."

"Don't worry. Alice is more important than some holiday." Ren said. "Is Mai alright too?"

"Yeah. Her injuries were pretty minor." Alice replied. "The guy in the other car got pretty banged up though."

"What happened anyway?" Ren asked.

"We were driving to my aunt's for Thanksgiving dinner." Alice explained. "The roads were a little slippery from the snow, and another car swerved out of control. It crashed into ours and I lost consciousness. When I woke up, I found myself here."

"You sure you're alright?"

"Ren, I said I'm fine. The doctors already checked me out. No serious injuries. A few stiches and I can go home."

Ren breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank god."

"Dan? You here?" a voice called out, entering the room. Everyone turned to see Clair at the doorway, along with Ren's mother. "Seriously, I know she's your girlfriend but try not to be so impatient."

"Sorry." Ren apologized. "I couldn't help it."

"Cut your brother some slack Clair. He was very worried about her." Ren's mom told the girl. "Remember how you acted when you heard he was finally back from SAO? You ran so fast that I considered signing you up for your school's track team."

"I guess you're right." Clair admitted. The small brunette turned towards Alice. "You okay?"

"If one more person asks me that, I'm gonna lose it." Alice sighed. "I'm perfectly fine."

Ren, Clair, and their mother stayed at the hospital for a few more hours. Alice eventually got discharged from the hospital and she walked down to the lobby with Ren. When they got there however, both of them were shocked by what they saw. Dent, Yolko, and the rest of Ren's family was there together in the lobby.

"What's everyone doing here?" Ren asked.

"Thanksgiving is supposed to be a time for family." Yolko explained. "Anyone who means so much to you that you had to leave us in the middle of Thanksgiving must be pretty important. That makes her family too."

"Plus we wanted to see the famous Alice that you've talked so much about." Dent added.

Ren and Alice stood there with shocked expressions on their faces. The two of them were at a loss for words.

"Well? What are you waiting for?" Yolko said. "Introduce us already."

"Oh, right!" Ren said, snapping out of his frozen position. "Everyone, this is Alice. Alice, this is my family."

"It's very nice to meet you all." Alice said, bowing her head.

"Wow, she's pretty cute." Yolko said with a devilish grin. "She's a keeper for sure."

"And this is my cousin Yolko." Ren added. "Try to ignore her."

"Hey! That's a little rude." Ren's cousin pouted.

"Then don't act like that." Dent suggested to the girl, receiving a glare from her in response.

"It's nice to meet you, Yolko." Alice said.

"Likewise Alice." Yolko said, changing her expression to a smile.

After a few minutes of introductions and listening to Yolko, Alice's mother arrived with Mai along with Clair and Ren's mother. The families parted ways and headed home. When they arrived back at Ren's house, Ren's family said their goodbyes as well and headed out, since it was getting late.

"Well it was definitely one eventful holiday." Clair said. "It's good that everything turned out ok."

Ren nodded his head in agreement. "Yeah. But now I'm exhausted. I'm gonna take a shower and hit the hay."

"Ok. 'Night bro." Clair said as her brother headed upstairs for the night, saying goodbye to a Thanksgiving that would be remembered for a long time.


	14. Yaksha

**A/N: Ok time for the flashback chapter. I hope you all enjoy it.**

It was a rather peaceful day on floor 60 in Aincrad as Wyvern's Inferno trained out in the open fields. The boss of the floor had just recently been located and many players, solo and guilds alike were getting stronger and gearing up for the next boss raid.

"Woo! Go Mai!" Alice cheered from the sidelines as she and Ren watched from their seat atop a giant stone.

Mai quickly ducked under the slice of a Deadly Killer Mantis and deftly stabbed her rapier into its head. The monster screamed in pain before its life bar dropped to zero and blew up in a blue flash.

"Haha! I'm getting stronger!" Mai said as she triumphantly waved around her weapon.

A sudden hand patted her on the head. She didn't even have to turn around to know who was giving that mocking pat. "Ah that's cute. She thinks killing an overgrown mantis is a challenge worth celebrating. Come back when you can kill a dragon then we'll celebrate."

Mai knocked away the condescending hand and sent a hard look at Helios. "Shut up! It's not like I only focus on strength like you! I do other stuff for this guild!"

Helios rolled his eyes and walked away from her. "Whatever, why don't you hunt some bigger game then we'll talk about being on even terms."

"That guy pisses me off so much." Alice growled. "Who does he think he is talking to Mai like that?"

Ren put a hand on Alice's shoulder and shook his head. "Don't be mad at the guy. He's an ass I know but he means well with what he's saying. He just doesn't know how to say it without being the way he is."

"I guess your right Ren. Can't expect him to change."

"Hey are we done here!?" Dagger yelled out to them. "I've just ran out of wares to sell to the chumps here on this floor and I need to go back to the base to restock!"

"Can you not think of money for one day!?" Ren yelled back at the clan's merchant.

"Oh why don't we answer your question with another question? Can you go one day without making out with Alice over there?" Dagger retorted. Their blushing faces was answer enough. "Yeah that's what I thought."

"Dagger's right though." Helios said as he walked next to her. "There are no challenges here. We're basically all ready to go kick this floor boss's ass. So why don't we-?"

A sudden boom behind the clan sounded, interrupting Helios. The guild turned around to see numerous trees falling to the ground to reveal a giant monster. It was large purple furred canine esque looking beast with two bull like horns and a yellow flowing mane around its neck and back. The name above its head read: Behemoth, as it yelled a fierce battle cry. The guild was shocked to see it was level 100, making it much stronger than anything on this floor. Probably even more powerful than the boss.

"What the hell is that thing?!" Alice yelled as she jumped off her seat and pulled out her weapon.

Ren did the same and drew his blade. "I don't know but there's no way something like this should be here! This looks like something that should appear on floor 70!"

"DIE YOU MONSTER!" A sudden voice yelled behind the beast. Ren looked to see a player jump in the air and stab the Behemoth in the head. "YOU KILLED MY WIFE AND NOW YOU'RE GONNA PAY!"

The Behemoth didn't even seemed fazed by the stab as it turned around and rammed its head back where the player was standing on and smashed into a tree. The player cried out in pain before the beast smashed its claws against him, sending his health into the red. The Behemoth lifted i's claws once more, ready to finish its victim off.

"NO!" Alice yelled as she rushed forward and parried the claw swipe away from the man and delivered a Rolling Kick to its maw, sending it skidding back a few feet.

"You impulsive idiot!" Helios yelled out as he drew his axe and charged at the monster. He jumped into the air and took a large swing into its back, making it roar in anger.

"Are you alright sir?" Alice said as she handed him a healing crystal. "Here take this."

"Thank you young lady." The player said weakly as he used it on himself, bringing him back to around almost full HP. "That beast just showed up out of nowhere. My wife and I tried to fight it but she... she..."

"Don't say anymore sir." Alice said as she stood up. "We will help to avenge your wife." Alice turned around and charged at the beast.

Helios swiped his axe against the Behemoth's claw, striking it away from him as he switched with Dagger who jumped on top of the beast and dragged her blade across its back, cutting away a good chuck of its health. The beast suddenly bucked its tremendous body forward, flipping the merchant off his back and knocking her away with its tail. Turning towards the fallen girl, the Behemoth made to charge at her but a stab to its chest stopped it.

"Oh no you don't!" Ren yelled as he jumped backwards from a swipe from the monster. His blade turned yellow as he activated a sword skill and pierced its right eye. "Switch!"

Alice rushed forward and sunk her scythe into the Behemoth's neck and yanked forward, giving its neck a huge, gaping slash dragging its HP to the low red zone.

"I got this!" Mai said as she charged with her rapier thrust forward, glowing red with an active skill. "You're mine beast!"

As she rapidly approached the beast, the monster gave a giant bellow and smashed his claw against Mai's body, knocking her far into a tree. As she hit the tree her health dropped downwards into a dangerous zone of red HP.

"NO MAI!" Alice tried to rush forward to her but the Behemoth gave another mighty roar, sending all the other guild members far away from it and Mai.

"NO DAMNIT!" Ren quickly got up and tried to rush at the monster but it was too late as the Behemoth raised its claws once more to finish the job.

Mai closed her eyes shut out of fear, not wanting to see the claw that would kill her. 'So this is how it ends.' Mai thought in her final moments. 'Never thought I'd be killed like this... Goodbye Alice... Ren... Dagger... even you Helios. I love you all...'

Moments passed as she waited for her fate but it never came. Slowly, Mai opened her eyes to see the Behemoth standing deathly still before it suddenly fell to the ground and disintegrated into a flurry of blue fragments.

"Wh-What!? What happened!?"

She looked around but saw nothing other than her friends and the man staring at her with disbelief on their faces. Soon the shock wore off as Mai made a breakneck run for Alice and hugged her while crying. Alice hugged the crying girl back and soothed her with comforting words.

"Well..." Helios started as he looked at Mai with a small smile. "Good job squirt. You really nailed that thing good."

Mai looked up from Alice's embrace with a confused look. "What are you talking about? I didn't kill it, I thought one of you guys did."

"What? Then who did-?"

"Look!" Dagger pointed towards the rock where Ren and Alice were once sitting to see a young man sitting on top of it with a blade drawn. The young man had long black hair which was tied in a ponytail and a mask sat upon the top part of his face, resembling that of a hawk. He wore a purple oriental shirt with a pair of Japanese styled gii pants that was tied with a red and black striped rope belt. The mystery person slowly sheathed his blade onto his back and turned around to the guild. With deft quickness, he jumped forward and landed in front of Mai and the others. Ren, Helios and Dagger stepped back in shock of the guy's speed while Alice's protective grip on Mai tightened.

"Here..." He said lowly and kneeled down as he brought out a healing crystal and shattered it towards Mai, healing her back to green health. "I trust that you are okay now?"

"Y-Yeah I am... Thanks for saving me..." Mai said softly.

The young man then got up and looked at Alice. Well, one would assume he was looking at her as with the mask on his face, it made it hard to tell. "And you. You should be more careful with your sister. Had I not been here, she would have died."

"Excuse me!?" Alice said as she let go of Mai and gave him a glare. "Where do you get off telling me how I should take care of my sister!?"

"He's kinda right you know." A quick glare from Alice made Helios flinch back. "I'm just saying!"

"Regardless, I am only speaking the truth. You were too careless with her." the young man continued. "She was only level 67 fighting a level 100 Behemoth. In any other circumstance she would have been killed, much like the man's wife before. I don't mean to make you mad, I am just stating my honest opinion."

"Well I don't care!"

"Alice stop!" Mai yelled at her sister. "We should be thanking him, not yelling at him! He saved my life and I am thankful for that." She turned to the young man and bowed to him. "Thank you again for saving me."

"Don't mention it though I am sorry for not showing up in time to save your wife sir."

The man shook his head and patted him on the shoulder. "No son, thank you for avenging her. Now her soul can rest in peace... Please, excuse me..." The man then lifted a teleport crystal. "Teleport! Town of Beginnings!" Then a flash of light, the man disappeared from the guild's sight and vanished into the town down at floor 1.

Ren moved forward and looked at the mysterious savior. "My name is Ren and this is my guild Wyvern Inferno."

"I know who you are, tactician of the front lines." The young man said. "Along with the rest of you. The Berserker Lotus, Alice. The Fragile Lily, Mai. The Unrelenting Psychopath, Helios. And The Rip-off Merchant Dagger."

"What did you call me?!" Mai growled.

"Do people really call me a beserker?" Alice wondered.

"Flattery will get you nowhere." Helios smirked.

"Ripoff might be overstating it a bit. But anyway, you wanna see my wares?" Dagger offered.

"He didn't mention me." Riku sobbed.

"Wyvern Inferno is a well-known guild, just like their leader, the head tactitian of the front lines." the mystery man continued.

"Heh, well I guess that makes introductions easier. But who are you?"

The young man brought his hand forward to Ren, as if asking for a handshake. "My name is Yaksha. I am from the clan Amaterasu. It is a pleasure to meet you in person."

Ren smiled as he shook the now known person's hand. "Nice to meet you."

"Wait." Dagger said suddenly. "Did you say Amaterasu? As in; 'The Golden Hunters' Amaterasu!? The clan that focuses on gathering rare equipment!?"

Yaksha nodded his head. "The very same."

Dagger grabbed both a Yaksha's arms and bowed her head low before looking at him with teary eyes. "...You... *hic* you're my heroes!"

Yaksha looked a bit weirded out but he was soon saved as Helios dragged his girlfriend off of him. "Dagger, you know how I get when you get clingy to other guys..."

"Sorry..."

Yaksha turned again to Ren. "Anyway I was wondering, would you honor me with a match Ren?"

"Excuse me?"

"I wish to fight you in a fight Ren." Yaksha said once again. "I have heard of your strength and I wish to pit myself against you. Will you fight me?"

Ren considered Yaksha's challenge for a moment before giving a nod of his head. "Alright i'll fight you. But can we do it later? I think we need some rest from today's excitement."

"Of course." Yaksha said as he opened his screen and send a message to Ren. Ren saw a screen open in front of his face.

'Accept Yaksha's Friend Request?' The screen asked. Ren pressed the yes button and the screen vanished.

"Until we meet again Ren." With that being said, Yaksha suddenly jumped in the air and vanished from their sight.

"He certainly is a character of his own." Alice said as she walked next to Ren.

Ren nodded his head in agreement but smiled. "Even so, the guy looks tough, I can't wait to fight him."

**A/N: Phew. Writing two chapters in one week definitely wasn't easy but it was well worth it. Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving! Till next week readers. **


	15. Rivals

**A/N: Hello readers. I hope you all enjoyed Yaksha's character so far. It is now time for the battle between Ren and our new masked friend. I hope you all enjoy it. Also, I will unfortunately not be able to post a chapter next week. Finals for the first semester are going to be next week, so I will be busy studying. I apologize to all my dedicated fans that look forward to a new chapter of this story each week.**

A few days had passed since Ren and his guild had met the mysterious player known as Yaksha. Anticipation had been building up inside of Ren, waiting for the upcoming duel. The tactician wondered when the masked man would send him a message for the time of their match. Finally that morning, Ren had gotten his answer.

"So he finally gave you a time and place?" Alice said as she walked with her boyfriend to the place Yaksha told Ren about.

"Yeah. I already told the others. They wanted to come watch." Ren explained.

"Just be sure to kick his ass for me." the black haired girl growled, letting her dislike for Yaksha be clearly shown. The two of them stepped onto the teleport gate and called out their destination.

"Teleport! Norende!" A blinding light enveloped the pair and they vanished from the gate. When they reappeared, they found themselves at their destination, the town of Norende on floor 52. The basic layout of the town wasn't all that different from other floors. Multiple buldings poppulated the town, and a gate was present at the north, south, east, and west ends. What was different was the decoration. Plantlife filled the area. Vines were streaming from lightpost to lightpost. If you took away all the buildings, it would feel almost exactly like being in a jungle. One thing in the town was out of the ordinary though: the huge number of players present.

"There he is! It's Ren!" a player screamed. Several other players turned their heads towards Ren and rushed his way.

"W-What the hell?! What's going on?" the surprised tactician wondered.

"What are your comments on your upcoming duel with Yaksha?" one player in the crowd asked. Others began to call out various questions of their own, all about the duel. As Ren and Alice stood there wondering how all these players had found out about the match, a voice yelled out and gave them their answer.

"Alright people, move aside. Let the guy come through." The swarm of players split apart as Dagger walked up towards her guild mates. "Ren will not be taking questions at the moment. He needs time to focus on his match." the merchant explained as she grabbed Ren's arm and pulled him through the opening of the crowd with Alice following right behind.

"You told all of these players about the duel?!" Ren said, annoyed with the merchant's actions.

"And I made a FORTUNE selling tickets! Don't worry I'll split the profits ninety percent me and ten percent you." Dagger smiled.

"Why am I only getting ten percent... never mind. Stupid question."

The group walked through the town and arrived at the coliseum. Hundreds of players were already present. All of the colloseuems in Aincrad had a shape similar to that of the famous Roman colloseum. However, each one had unique features on them that had to do with the floor each one was on. Floor 52 was filled with jungles and forests. As a result, the exterior of the colloseum was covered in ivy and plantlife. The battlefield inside the arena was also surrounded by thorny vines, which would deal damage to a player dueling that touched them. That was a rare occurence though.

Dagger led Ren into the waiting room, while Alice headed to the stands. After a few minutes, the tactician walked out onto the battlefield. The sudden boom of cheers almost deafened him. On the opposite side, stood the player with the hawk-like mask. It was hard to tell what he was thinking with the top half of his face covered.

"I've been looking forward to this duel for a while, tactician of the front lines." Yaksha calmly said to his opponent.

"Yeah. I'm a little excited myself." Ren smirked. "I may owe you for saving Mai, but don't think I plan on holding back."

"I wouldn't have it any other way. My wish is to fight you at your best."

Yaksha maneuvered through his menu and a window popped up in front of Ren reading 'Accept Duel Request From Yaksha?'. Ren pressed the 'Yes' tab and a timer began to count down. The cheers increased in volume. Ren could see Alice, Helios, and the rest of his guild cheering from the stands, except for Dagger who was busy collecting last minute bets. The timer was quickly approaching zero as the two players drew their blades.

5...4...3...2...1... START!

As the sound that signaled the start of the match echoed, Ren and Yaksha sped at each other with their weapons veiled in light. The two blades clashed with their owners standing in the center of the arena, deadlocked in a test of strength. The glow on their swords slowly vanished and both sides jumped back, putting some distance between them. They soon charged at each other once more, this time with the swords streaking across one another. Sparks emerged as the two players passed by each other. The crowd watched in awe as the two continued to strike at each other with blinding speed. Even the streams of colorful light emanating from their blades was hard to follow.

The HP of the two fighters slowly decreased with each clash. Both were getting close to the yellow zone. The duel would be decided with the next few moves. The series of lightning fast clashes stopped as both players skidded to a halt on opposite sides of the arena.

"You're pretty good." Ren said as he took the moment to catch his breath.

"The same goes for you. I have heard of your legendary speed. It seems that those rumors were true." Yaksha replied, just as exhausted as his opponent.

The time to decide the duel had come. The two swordsmen kicked the ground and took one last sprint towards each other. Ren attacked his masked opponent with a horizontal slash. Yaksha quickly ducked under it. His feet gave a violet glow as he spun around and delivered a kick to Ren's chest, sending him up a few feet. He continued the series of swift kicks midair while spinning. Ren recognized the technique as the martial arts skill Tornado Kick. Alice had shown him the move before when she had learned it. Ren's HP was millimeters from going yellow as the final kick came. Ren quickly moved his arms into a cross position and absorbed the final blow of the skill. His HP had barely been spared from the yellow zone. Ren performed a midair backflip as he landed. Yaksha would be frozen for a couple seconds from the side effect of activating a skill. The tactician quickly used this opportunity to charge at the exposed player and delivered a final attack to Yaksha. The masked player fell back and his HP went from green to yellow. The winner icon appeared and the crowd roared in applause for the victor. Ren reached out his hand towards his defeated opponent, who graciously accepted it.

"That was a good duel. I have deemed you worthy, great swordsman." Yaksha said.

"Worthy? Worthy of what?" Ren asked in a confused manner.

"Worthy of being called my rival." the masked man explained. "I have been searching for a player on whom I can test my skills against. You are the one person I have found that is skilled enough to do so."

"Um... thanks I guess." Ren replied.

"I will come to challenge you again after I have honed my skills further. When that time comes, I hope we may do battle once more."

"Just give me a time and place." Ren smirked.

"Until we meet again." Yaksha said. As he began to walk away he turned his head and said one last thing to his new rival. "Next time, let's try to make our duel a bit more private."

"Yeah. Sorry about that. Dagger can be a little... enthusiastic when it comes to money." Ren replied.

After the duel, Ren met up with his guild and they discussed the match as they headed home.

"You were amazing Ren!" Alice exclaimed. "It was great how you kicked his butt after he ripped off my Tornado Kick skill."

"It's just a martial arts skill. That skill isn't exactly rare." Helios pointed out. "Maybe you're just mad that the two of you use similar skills."

"I am not!" Alice glared. "I could have pulled off that skill way better than he did."

"Yeah whatever." Helios replied.

"We should do this kinda thing more often." Dagger suggested. "I made a ton of col with this duel."

"Is money all you think about?" Ren sighed.

"No it isn't. I think about Helios... on occasion." the merchant responded.

"I'm just gonna pretend I didn't hear that last part." her boyfriend said.

**A/N: I hope everyone enjoyed this week's chapter. Again, there will not be an update next week. Look forward to the next chapter, coming in two weeks time. Until then everyone.**


	16. Christmas Special

**A/N: Happy Holidays everybody! I hope everyone has been having a great winter so far. Finals were such a pain, but now there OVER! This week's chapter will be a Christmas chapter in honor of the holidays. I hope everyone enjoys it.**

Snowflakes softly rained down from the morning sky as Ren looked out his bedroom window. The lawn outside his house was already covered with the white powdery dust. No doubt Clair would be playing out there within the hour. It was winter break after all. The brown haired teen fell back into bed to try to catch a few more minutes of sleep. Until his sister came barging into his room that is.

"Big brother! It's snowing! It's snowing!" the little girl exclaimed, shaking her brother from his attempt at sleep.

'_So much for that_' Ren thought to himself as he dragged his tired body out of bed. "Yeah, yeah. I noticed. Now why does this concern me?"

"We can go outside and play! Building snowmen. Having a snowball fight. It'll be just like old times." Clair smiled.

"Can I at least have breakfast first?" Ren begged the excited little girl.

"There's no time! We need General Dan if we're gonna win the war! Now let's move out!" Clair cheered as she marched out of the room in a military fashion. Ren sighed as he got dressed and went downstairs after his sister.

Ren still felt drowsy as he walked outside with Clair. That drowsiness immediately vanished when the teen got hit in the face with the first snowball. "Oh so that's how it's gonna be, huh sis? Take me down before I've even eaten breakfast." Ren smirked.

"You have to earn the right to eat!" Clair grinned. "To eat breakfast, you must first defeat me in the most serious type of battle! A snowball fight!"

The two siblings made their snow forts twenty meters apart as they had always done when they were younger. The second the battle began, Clair immediately went on the offensive. Ren ducked under the safety of his fort, barely avoiding the barrage of snowball fire from his sister. When the attack subsided, Ren poked his head up from his fort of snow to observe the situation. That's when another snowball zoomed past the side of his head. He ducked back under his snow fort, desperately trying to find a winning strategy against his fearsome opponent.

"Come on. Think." Ren whispered to himself as he scanned his surroundings. His eyes locked to an object about ten meters to his right. A small thin icicle about the length of a small dagger lied in the snow by the house. _'It's a long shot, but what have I got to lose?'_ Ren thought as he formed a snowball in his hands. He stood up and threw the projectile at his sister. As Clair dodged the snowball by ducking under her fort, Ren sped towards the icicle. As he gripped his hand around the blade of ice, Clair already had another snowball ready.

"You're finished big brother!" Clair grinned as she chucked the snowball at Ren. The target would not be so easily defeated however. He swung his tiny ice blade in a motion similar to the one-handed sword skill Sonic Leap. Clair gasped in shock as the snowball she threw disintegrated back into dust from the slash.

"Time for the counterattack sis!" Ren smirked, charging at the young girl. Clair fired snowball after snowball in a desperate attempt to fend off her opponent. Ren quickly dodged and slashed through the barrage of attacks, getting dangerously close to Clair's fort. He discarded his weapon to the side and leaped straight into the enemy's fort, making it fall to pieces as he crashed into his sister. The little girl became buried under snow. Ren gave a triumphant smirk as he pulled his sister out. "Looks like I win."

"Darn it!" Clair pouted, hitting her fist into the snow. She quickly broke out into a joyful laughter though. "That was really fun though. I had a blast."

"Can we go eat breakfast now?" Ren begged. "I'm starving."

"Yeah. I'm a little hungry too after that snowball fight." Clair agreed.

The two siblings walked back into their house. When they walked into the kitchen, they saw that their mother had already laid out some food for them. The pair immediately sat down and began eating. Their mother came over quickly with a slice of toast for each of them.

"So, are you doing anything with Alice for Christmas?" Ren's mother asked.

Ren nodded his head and swallowed the food he was currently chewing. "Yeah. Clair and I are getting together Christmas Eve at Alice and Mai's house. Then the whole guild is meeting in Alfheim."

"Yeah, then we can ALL have a snowball fight." Clair cheered.

"Not happening Clair." Her mother interrupted.

"Awww. Why not?" Clair complained.

"We're hosting Christmas this year and I'm not letting you stay up that late. You'll be half asleep all day."

"What about Dan?" the young brunette argued.

"Your brother is a lot older than you so he can stay up later."

"Figures." Clair moaned in disappointment.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The next couple of days passed by quickly and Christmas Eve arrived. It was a little after noon when Ren and Clair arrived at Alice and Mai's house. Mai, who was wearing a Christmas sweater and a pair of black pants, opened the door for her two friends. "Hey guys, come on in."

"Thanks." Ren replied as he walked in the house carrying the bag of presents for the group. Mai took the bags out of his hands and laid them out by the tree. "So where's Alice?"

"She's upstairs." Mai explained. She walked over to the stairs and called up to her sister. "Alice! Ren's here!"

"Coming!" a voice called back. Footsteps were heard coming down the stairs and Alice appeared in a red shirt and blue jeans. "Hey guys!"

The group went over to the living room and chatted about their plans for the winter break, ALO, and other things. After having a quick lunch, they decided to open presents. Mai and Clair were the first to open theirs. Ren and Alice watched as their younger sisters showed each other the various clothes and accessories they had gotten. The next to open a gift was Alice. Ren handed her a small wrapped box. The black haired girl ripped off the wrapping paper and opened the box. Inside was a shimmering golden necklace with a rose shaped locket.

"Wow Ren! It's beautiful! I love it!" Alice said as she held the piece of jewelry in her hand. She opened the rose locket to see a picture of her and Ren that they had taken together a few months ago. Tears began to form in the girl's eyes at her wonderful gift. She wrapped her arms around her boyfriend and kissed him on the cheek. "You're the best."

"Thanks." Ren replied. "I was hoping you would like it."

Alice unwrapped herself from Ren and went over to the tree. She grabbed a larger box and brought it back over to her boyfriend. "Your turn Ren."

Ren put the gift in his lap. He unwrapped the box and opened it. Inside was an odd looking red coat with a black trimming. "Somehow this seems familiar." the brown haired teen wondered.

"Try it on." Alice suggested. Ren did as he was told and took the coat out, trying it on. When he look at himself, he immediately realized why the coat had seemed so familiar.

"No way." Ren gasped. "This is the coat I wore in SAO."

"Yep!" Alice smiled. "I've been taking a sewing class in school. I used my mom's sewing equipment to make this."

"It took her two months to finish." Mai added.

Ren admired his girlfriend's remembrance of the exact design of the outfit. "I can't believe you remembered exactly how it looked."

"It took a while to remember all the details and draw the design out." Alice explained. "I hope I didn't leave anything out."

Ren gave the girl a kiss on the lips to answer her question. "It's perfect. I love it."

The group of friends continued to open gifts from each other and chat away. Before they knew it, a few hours had passed by and it was time for Ren and Clair to head back home. The two put their gifts in bags and walked out the door. "See you guys later in ALO." Ren said, waving goodbye.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Helios walked along the snow-filled street with Dagger as the two headed over to her house. It would be the first time he would meet anyone in Dagger's family besides the red-haired girl's parents. She had told him that a lot of her cousins would be there.

"I can't wait for you to meet everybody." Dagger said as the two got close to her house. "My cousins are all really excited to finally meet you."

"So how many cousins do you have anyway?" Helios asked.

"Oh not that many." Dagger replied. "Somewhere around twenty I think."

"Twenty?!" Helios gasped.

"Yep!" Dagger grinned. "We all look a lot alike though, so as a rule we each style our hair differently to keep people from getting confused." The two were at the front door of Dagger's house. The red-haired ponytailed girl opened the door and the pair walked inside. When they entered, Helios could see that Dagger wasn't kidding. The house looked like a convention of people cosplaying as Dagger, all with different hairstyles.

"Wow." Helios gasped. "This is just… wow."

"Yeah. A lot of people react that way when meeting us for the first time." Dagger giggled. "Come on. I'll introduce you to everyone." Dagger led her boyfriend around the house, introducing him to her various cousins and family members. By the time they finished, Helios was exhausted.

"I'll be right back." Helios said. "I gotta go to the bathroom." Helios went from the kitchen towards the bathroom and entered. When he came out however, the kitchen was empty.

"Hello? Where is everybody?" Helios asked.

"In here!" Dagger's voice called out from the living room. Helios walked into the room, but when he entered the dark-haired teen became speechless. Dagger and her cousins were lined up across the room, but now they no longer had their different hairstyles. Each of the red-haired girls had their hair tied up in a ponytail in the exact same fashion that Dagger always did.

"What is going on?" Helios asked. One of the many Dagger clones pointed at a note on the table. Helios walked over and read the note.

_Sorry about this Helios, but this is a game we always play when one of us gets a boyfriend. There are twenty of us, but only one of us is the real Dagger. Your job is to figure out which one it is. Good luck._

Helios stared at the multiple Daggers in front of him. They all looked so alike. How was he supposed to find the real one out of all of these girls? He walked up closer to them. While it was true that they all looked extremely similar, Helios was able to make out small differences between some of them. One's hair was too dark. Another had some hidden freckles on her cheeks. One by one, Helios pointed out the fakes. Eventually, he was able to narrow it down to two people. He observed everything he could see about the two, but he couldn't find any noticeable differences.

'_Come on. There has to be some way to find out which one is real'_ Helios thought to himself. Suddenly he snapped his fingers, realizing the perfect solution. He took out his wallet and removed a coin. He placed it on the table in front of the two girls and stood to the side. Within seconds, one of the two started squirming, unable to control herself. Helios took the coin back and walked over to the squirming one.

"Found you, Dagger."

The real Dagger in front of Helios let out a sigh. "Darn it. I thought we had you stumped."

"I know you too well." Helios smirked. "You can't fool me."

Dagger smiled at her boyfriend. "I guess you're right. Well time for your prize."

"Prize?" Helios asked. "What prize?"

Dagger motioned for Helios to follow her. Helios went with Dagger upstairs and the two went into her room. "Anyone that is able to win gets some alone time with whichever one of us they're dating, away from the rest of my cousins. It actually doesn't happen that often."

"Well I guess that makes me pretty special." Helios grinned.

"Yep!" Dagger agreed as she gave Helios a kiss on the cheek. The two walked over and took a seat on Dagger's bed. As they sat down, Helios reached into his pocket for something but hesitated. Dagger could notice it immediately.

"Helios? What's wrong?" the red-haired girl asked.

"It's just… I'm no good at this kind of thing. I've never been in a relationship before. Heck, I've never really loved anyone as much as I love you for this long before." Helios admitted. "But it's different with you, Dagger. I look at you and I know without a doubt that you're the only girl I could ever be truly happy with. That's why I got you this." Helios pulled out a small box from his pocket and gave it to his girlfriend. "Merry Christmas."

Dagger opened the lid of the box and stared at the object inside in awe. It was a golden ring with a silver star inscribed on it. Tears of joy began to form in the red-haired girl's eyes from the sparkling piece of jewelry. "Helios… it's beautiful!"

"I thought of you when I first saw it." Helios explained. "When I see you, it's like looking at a shining star in the dim sky."

Upon hearing her boyfriend's words, Dagger wrapped herself around Helios, making the two fall over into her bed as she locked lips with him. "That is the sweetest thing you've ever said Helios."

"Yeah, you're probably right." Helios admitted as the pair continued to kiss. In the middle of their make out session, a few giggles were heard and the pair stopped for a moment. They turned towards the door to see Dagger's many cousins staring at the two of them.

"Guys! What are you doing?!" Dagger gasped, completely embarrassed. She took one of her pillows and threw it at the door. "Get out!" Dagger's cousins all ran back downstairs leaving the pair alone once again. "Oh my god. I'm so embarrassed."

Helios wrapped his arm around his girlfriend's shoulder and pulled her in close. "Don't worry. Family's like that sometimes. At least you're popular with yours. My own mother barely notices me."

Dagger looked at her boyfriend feeling hurt by the memories of his past and planted a kiss on his cheek. "Don't worry. I notice you."

"Thanks Dagger." Helios smiled as the pair leaned in for another kiss.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Link start!" Ren said as he dove into the virtual world. He opened the eyes of his avatar to find himself in the inn he had last logged out of. He walked outside to see the city of Alne covered in a blanket of snow with snowflakes continuing to rain down on the world. The song Jingle Bells echoed throughout the streets. Looking over, he could see Alice and Mai running down the streets towards him.

"Hey Ren!" Alice greeted. "It's so beautiful here, isn't it?"

The male Imp nodded his head in agreement. "Yeah. It's like a winter wonderland."

"I heard there's a big Christmas tree set up in the center of town." Mai added. "Let's go check it out once Helios and Dagger show up."

"How kind of you." a familiar condescending voice popped up as the group looked over to see Helios and Dagger coming over together. "You miss me that much squirt?"

"Oh shut up Helios!" Mai glared.

"Come on, Helios. Be nice." Dagger told her boyfriend. "It is Christmas after all."

"Fine." Helios moaned. Mai made with a "Wkksh!" sound, imitating a whip, which earned the laughs of her friends and a menacing glare from Helios to which Mai responded by sticking her tongue out.

The guild walked down the city streets which were heavily populated with players admiring the scenery. When they reached the square in the middle of the city they saw that Mai was right. A huge tree was in the center, strung up with hundreds of decorations and lights. As the group admired its shining beauty, Alice leaned her head on Ren's shoulder.

"I loved your gift." she whispered into the male Imp's ear.

"Your gift was great too." Ren replied.

"Alright you two lovebirds." Helios sighed. "Go ahead and make out already."

Ren and Alice's faces became a deep shade of red. "Helios! Did you have to say it like that?" Ren said.

"I'm with Helios on this one." Mai added, standing next to Helios. "We all know you two were thinking about it."

As the pair's faces became even redder, Ren looked up and noticed something that caused a grin to appear on his face. He whispered something into Alice's ear, making her look up as well and giggle.

"What's so funny?" Helios asked.

"Look above you." Ren said, pointing to an object above the two. Helios and Mai looked up to see that the two of them were standing under some mistletoe. They pair immediately looked at each other in shock.

"NOT HAPPENING!" the pair yelled in unison, causing the whole guild to crack up laughing.

The night carried on as everyone stood there, enjoying the dazzling stars and lights for the holidays. The time got towards eleven o'clock at night when a select set of stars began to shine even brighter than the others. As everyone in the city stared at the twinkling stars, steaks of light began to connect the dots together forming a message that shined brightly in the night sky for all to see.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

**A/N: Once again, Happy Holidays everybody. I hope you all enjoy whatever holiday you're celebrating.**

**In other news, for any of you RWBY fans out there, I have recently been working with another fanfiction writer (Deviljho's Hatred) on a new RWBY fanfic. We're still working on the name and hope to post the first chapter within the next month or so. Look forward to it. **


	17. Sword of Oblivion

**A/N: Hey everybody. Sorry for being late with this week's chapter. Hope you all had a Happy Holidays. Also, the RWBY fanfic should hopefully be posted sometime early January. I hope you're all looking forward to it. If you have any questions, please feel free to PM me.**

It was a nice sunny day in the world of Alfheim. It was currently March and everyone was off for spring break. Many players were using their newly acquired free time to train. Ren and Alice watched as Clair, the newest member of Wyvern Inferno and Ren's little sister, battled monsters above the skies of the mountainous Imp territory.

"You're sister's getting pretty good at midair battle." Alice said to Ren, impressed with the young player's progress.

Ren nodded his head in agreement. "She has gotten a lot better, but she's still got a ways to go."

The couple continued to watch as Clair became quickly surrounded by the Bat Wyverns that were common in this area. The monsters looked like a dark colored five foot long dragon with bat wings and no eyes. Theiir attacks consisted of using their fangs and blasting sonic waves at their foes. The young Imp dived downwards away from the horde of monsters. The Bat Wyverns flew after their target and blasted multiple sonic wave attacks. The speedy long range barrage of attacks hit the small Imp and forced her HP into the yellow zone. Clair lost her flight balance, but quickly regained it and flew down into the rocky mountains bellow, trying to evade her pursuers.

The young girl was quickly becoming annoyed with the persistent monsters. "Geez! These things don't give up, do they?" She sped around the side of a mountain and flew into a small hole in the large structure. When the swarm of monsters arrived, they scanned their surroundings, confused at the disappearance of their target. Clair used the opportunity to charge at the monsters. Her katana gave a blue glow as she activated the light attributed sword skill Luna. She swung her blade and delivered a powerful slash to the mob of Bat Wyverns. A majority of the monsters shattered into fragments, leaving only a single wyvern left, with HP that was in a low zone of red. The remaining monster charged at the young girl, filled with rage from losing its friends. It barred its fangs and bit down on its foe. Clair gave out a cry of pain as the monster violently threw her down onto the rocky ground. Her HP bar became a deadly shade of red as the wyvern swooped down to finish her off.

Clair stared in fear as the monster got closer and closer to her. Suddenly, her brother Ren appeared in between her and the Bat Wyvern. She watched her brother swung his blade and slashed the wyvern in half. The shattered fragments of the defeated monster flew past Clair like a silvery dust.

Ren sheathed his blade and turned around to his little sister. he reached out his hand. "You ok Clair?"

The young Imp grabbed the hand of her older brother and pulled herself up. "Yeah. Thanks big brother. And it's Himiko in here, Ren. Clair's my real world name."

"Sorry about that. It's just kinda weird calling you by two different names." Ren apologized.

Himiko opened her menu and removed a bottle with a red liquid in it. She gulped it down and her health recovered back into the green zone. The young Imp then let out a long sigh. "I thought I had those things with that last attack. I need to train harder."

Ren rubbed the violet hair of his little sister. "Don't worry. You're getting there. You'll be able to fight in midair like a pro in no time."

"He's right. You've been getting really good at fighting with that katana of yours." Alice agreed.

"But you two are so skilled. You got the hang of fighting in ALO so quickly. I can't measure up to you guys and everyone else." Himiko replied. Tears of self-pity began to roll down her eyes.

Ren kneeled down and got eye level with the little girl. He wiped the tears from Himiko's eyes and gave a comforting smile. "Don't beat yourself up over it. Learning to fight in the virtual world is tough. You should have seen us in the early days of SAO. Our skills were so sloppy, we wouldn't have lasted two minutes against those Bat Wyverns."

"You mean like that time you attacked that boar on floor 1 and tripped in the middle of a sword skill? That was a big laugh." Alice teased.

Ren looked back at the black haired girl with his face red. "Hey come on! You didn't have to tell her that! How about I tell her what you were like when you first started using a scythe?"

"Don't you dare! That was only like five or six mess ups I made."

"I'm pretty sure there were at least ten. Although I'm still not sure that time you almost beheaded Helios was an accident." the Imp corrected with a teasing smile. The two of them cracked up laughing at their old memories.

Himiko looked at her comforting older brother and wrapped herself around him. "Thanks big brother. You always know how to cheer me up."

"That's what brothers are for. Now why don't we-"

"REN! YOU'RE NOT GONNA BELIEVE THIS!" a voice called out. The three players looked towards the distance and saw Mai, Helios, and Dagger flying their way. When they landed, Dagger ran right over to her guild leader with a huge smile on. "We just got info on the location of a legendary weapon!"

The mention of a legendary weapon peaked Ren's interest. "Really? Which one is it?"

"Ragnarok!"

The mention of the name made the tactitian's jaw drop. "Ragnarok?! As in THE OBLIVION SWORD, RAGNAROK?!"

"The very same." Dagger grinned.

Ren ran to her and hugged the merchant, choking out a 'thank you' from his joy. A loud *Ahem* from Alice quickly made him separate from the Spriggan.

"Don't go thanking me just yet. I never said this info was free." the guild's merchant added.

Ren let out a big sigh and wondered to himself why he didn't see this coming. The merchant was always looking to get money one way or another. "Fine. How much?"

"I want ninety percent of the cash we find in that dungeon." A look from Ren that he often gave when Dagger made a price far too high appeared soon after. "I'm just joking Ren. Seventy five percent should be plenty." Ren figured this was probably the best deal he could get from the rip-off merchant and agreed to the terms.

"Ok so where is this dungeon?" the impatient leader asked.

"It's located in Gnome territory. The dungeon is apparently called The Cave of Truths." Dagger explained.

Most of the guild shivered at the mention of Gnome territory. Even now in the warm spring, it was a land ravaged by terrible blizzards and temperatures close to if not bellow zero. It also didn't help that it was on the other side of the world map. With the recent update, it was possible to instantly teleport to Arun, the city in the center of Alfheim, if you had been there before. Even still, the trip from there to Gnome territory would take at least a couple of hours.

"Well we don't have much choice I guess." Ren sighed. "Are you guys all good on time?" The rest of the guild nodded in response. Ren pointed his sword into the air. "Ok so we're all good to go. Lets head to Lisbeth's shop and then move out guys!" The rest of the guild did the same and let out a cheer of agreement.

After teleporting to Arun, the six players went to the shop of their friend Lizbeth to get their weapons restored for the big quest. The pink haired Leprechaun had forged most of the weapons the guild members used, so they were already good friends, not to mention that she was also a SAO survivor. Ren's current sword, Shadowfang, was a long one-handed black sword with a dark violet outline on the blade. Alice's scythe, Twilight's Crescent, had a violet handle and a shining curved silver blade. Helios's battle axe, Executioner, was an orange and yellow color and had a large amount of power, but was in poor condition since he neglected to maintain it properly, which Lisbeth pointed out whenever he brought it over. Dagger's blade, Payday, was a black colored short sword that often gave higher amounts of cash for monster drops. Mai's rapier, Gale Diamond, had a yellow-green handle and a thin white blade that Liz forged with a rare metal that Mai found in Sylph territory. Himiko's katana, Murakumo, had a violet handle and a sparkling silver blade and was, according to Liz, one of her best forges for a katana type sword. It was Himiko's first main weapon and she treasured it.

"How is Murakumo treating you anyway Himiko? Do you like it so far?" Lisbeth asked as she repaired the weapons.

"I love it! It's such a great sword!" Himiko responded.

The Leprechaun gave a bright smile. "I can see you've been taking great care of it." She then turned her gaze towards Helios. "Unlike SOME people I know."

The Salamander gave a shrug. "Hey cut me some slack. It's not like I've broken it or anything."

"Not yet. But it's only a matter of time if you keep this up. Just look at this thing. Scratches and dents everywhere. You could learn a thing or two from Himiko about proper weapon maintenance." the blacksmith scolded. Helios turned his gaze towards the young Imp, who was giving a prideful grin from being complimented.

"Don't let it go to your head newbie. You're still nowhere near my level when it comes to fighting." the Salamander retorted. Himiko responded with her best attempt at an intimidating glare, but the only effect it brought was a chuckle from the red haired Salamander.

After a few more minutes, Lizbeth came out with the pile of weapons and laid them out on the table. "Alright, all weapons are fully restored."

Ren sheathed Shadowfang onto his back and handed the blacksmith the money. "Thanks again Liz."

"No problem. Good luck on your quest." Lisbeth responded. She watched the six fairies walk out of her shop. "And take better care of your axe Helios!"

"Yes mother." the Salamander replied sarcastically.

The guild left the city of Arun and took off towards the freezing lands of Gnome territory. Ren was more psyched than ever, ready to obtain the legendary blade that was calling out to him.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The ferocious blizzards raging all over Gnome territory were enough to chill players to the bone. The only ones unaffected by the cold were Gnome players due to their high cold resistance stat. As a result, few players ever came to this region of Alfheim.

Himiko let out a sneeze as the party stared at the vast snowfields that expanded out in front of them. "It's freezing here! How are we supposed to fly in this weather? Our wings will freeze!"

Mai walked up in front of the group and turned around to face everyone. She gave a wink to the shivering girl. "Just leave that to me, Himiko." The Sylph raised her hand up and recited a spell. Within seconds, the terrible cold feeling vanished without a trace. "It was definitely worth raising my magic skill. It really comes in handy for things like this."

Himiko gasped in awe. "Wow! That's so cool! Maybe I should try raising my magic skill too."

"Oh stop it. You're embarrassing me." Mai giggled. A quick pat on the head from Helios quickly changed her expression into a full on glare. "Congrats squirt. This now makes you the equivalent of a winter coat." the condescending Salamander told her.

Mai swatted the patting hand away. "Watch it! That spell protects against the cold, not stabs to the heart from a rapier!"

Helios laughed at the blonde haired Sylph and took off. Mai was about to unsheathe her rapier, but Alice held her back. The rest of the group spread their wings as well and flew off. "So where is this dungeon anyway?" Ren asked.

"The Cave of Truths is about a fifteen minute trip that way." Dagger answered, pointing towards the northwest.

The flight to the dungeon was pretty quick. The hard part of the trip was trying to keep Mai from cutting Helios in half. When they saw the dungeon, they descended in front of the cave entrance. As everyone did a last minute check on their equipment, Ren walked over to Himiko.

"You holding up ok Himiko?" Ren asked his little sister.

"Yeah. I'm fine." the young Imp replied.

"Alright then. If you're having any trouble, just tell me."

"I have to say, I'm surprised how you all stayed together for a full two years in SAO." Himiko told her brother. "I mean Helios is a jerk, Mai looks like she's ready to slaughter Helios every time he teases her, Alice beats anyone who pisses her off into the dirt, and Dagger charges you guys for almost any amount of help."

Ren chuckled at the comment. He rubbed his sister's violet hair, making it a little messy. "They may be crazy, but each one of them contributes to the guild in their own way. I wouldn't replace any of them. Trust me, you'll get used to them in time."

Himiko gave an unconvinced look that showed she didn't really see her brother's point. "If you say so."

Once everyone was ready, the guild walked into the large cave. Inside, they found two large golden doors greeting them. As they walked up to it, a sudden gust suddenly blew. The six players could only stand there, enduring the relentless wind. The wind picked up and swirled into a vortex shape. As it finally died down, a large cloaked figure appeared in front of them. The phantom wore a dirty dark blue cloak, and his face was covered in a shadow. The astral figure gave off a Grim Reaper vibe to Ren and the others, although he was lacking the infamous scythe to go with the costume. The party gasped and Ren and Alice put a protective grip on their younger siblings.

The phantom spoke to them in a hollow voice. "You who dares to enter the realm of the dead, have you the power to endure hell's wrath?" A window popped up in front of Ren reading 'Accept the Phantom Memories Quest?' The guild leader pressed the yes tab and the window vanished.

"Be prepared young faries. There is no such thing as mercy in the world of hell." the phantom warned before vanishing with a mighty wind, just as he had entered. The doors opened up, revealing a portal beyond them. Although a bit weirded out, the guild walked through the portal. When they passed through, their location changed completely. The fairies found themselves in a room filled with dim blue lighting and several small geysers that had thin streams of gray smoke escaping from them. On the sides of the room, two rivers of ghost-like creatures that let out eerie moans flowed further in. The party looked a bit weirded out and Himiko was shaking a little. Other parties of players were scattered around the room.

"Well this is a lovely scenery." Alice said sarcastically.

"That phantom wasn't kidding. This place really does look like hell." Helios agreed.

The guild walked through the crowd. Multiple players were checking their menus and going over strategies for the dungeon. As Ren's team approached the end of the room, a group of players blocked their path. One player in the group stepped forward with a menacing grin on his face. "Sorry guys, this path is blocked."

Helios walked up to the player. "Look pal, I'm in a good mood. Usually I would just knock you out of my way, but I'll give you a chance to do the smart thing and walk away."

The player gave a small chuckle. "Oh looks like we've got a tough guy here. I suggest you leave or else we're gonna have to do a little rearranging of your face."

The second they heard the player utter those words, Ren and the others took a LONG step back from Helios. Himiko stood there confused. "Why are you guys-" Her words were interrupted by Ren grabbing his sister and moving her back with them. "Remember when I told you Helios's nickname in SAO?"

Himiko gave a nod to her brother. "Yeah. You said he was called the Unrelenting Psychopath."

"You're about to see how he got that nickname."

Himiko gave a look of confusion. "What do you-"

BAM!

Himiko turned her head to see the player that was badmouthing Helios fly across the side of the room into the wall. He fell into the river of ghostly spirits. "Ahhhhh! Get these things off me! Help!" The ghosts grabbed the player and dragged him under the river. Within seconds, all that was left was a remain light.

"Anyone else feel like going for a swim?" the psycho Salamander asked. In response, the group instantly moved to the side, clearing a path for the party. "I thought so." Ren and his team walked past the players who gave them looks of shock and fear.

The guild walked further into the dungeon. Mobs of astral-type monsters appeared every so often, but didn't pose much of a threat. The group was beginning to wonder if this really was the dungeon of a legendary weapon, as the difficulty didn't seem to match up. They eventually reached another wide room with a large doorway similar to the one at the entrance. As they inspected the room, the phantom that had greeted the fairies at the entrance manifested once again. Once again it spoke in a ghostly voice.

"They say the first thing those that die go through is denial. Denial that their life has truly ended." the ghost said.

"It's always just sunshine and rainbows with this guy, isn't it?" Mai sighed.

The phantom ignored the Sylph girl and continued. "To obtain the Sword of Oblivion, you must be able to conquer death itself. Your first trial begins here, at the Chamber of Denial." As he finished his speech, the ghostly figure evaporated into the air. At the same time, a letter D lit up above the closed doorway in an emerald glow.

"Chamber of Denial? What do you think he meant?" Ren wondered to himself, puzzled. A sudden scream from behind him cut off his train of thought. He turned around to see Mai fallen over into Alice's arms.

"Mai! Mai, wake up!" Alice cried, trying to shake her sister awake. The blonde Sylph seemed to be completely unconscious and Alice's attempt at waking her was having no effect. A thud was heard and Ren looked over to see Himiko asleep on the ground as well. "Clair?! Clair what's wrong?! Answer me!" Ren yelled, rushing to his sister's side. He tried to shake her awake, but his efforts were also futile.

The guild stayed there bewildered and wondering what was going on, begging for an answer. But the only answer they received was the silent wind blowing through the room.

**A/N: I hope you all enjoyed the chapter. I'm planning for this story to last at least a few more chapters. Look forward for what's to come. As always, comments, reviews, and suggestions are welcome.**


	18. Denial

**A/N: Happy new year readers of Blazing Revolution. It's time for the first chapter for this story for 2015. Just like last year, all comments, reviews, and suggestions are welcome.**

Mai slowly opened her eyes, letting a big yawn escape her. She looked at her surroundings. She was currently in her room back in the real world. The young girl wondered how she had gotten here. Was the whole Ragnarok quest a dream? Did the Amu Sphere automatically log her out for some reason? The lack of the VR device around her head made her think it was most likely the first out of the two. As she was lost in thought, Mai saw her sister enter the room.

"Hey sis! Did you have a good sleep?" Alice asked her sister.

The young brunette nodded. "Yeah. I had a crazy dream though."

Alice sat on the bed next to her drowsy sister. "You can tell me about it while I brush your hair. You look like a mess." she giggled.

Mai looked at herself in the mirror in her room. She agreed with her sister. Her hair was all over the place from sleeping. "Yeah. I guess you've got a point." she giggled. The two sisters walked over to the mirror in their room. Mai sat down in her chair and Alice grabbed a brush and began to groom her sister's messy hair. "So what was this dream about?"

Mai began to explain what occurred to Alice. "It was so crazy. We were going after a legendary weapon in ALO for Ren and-"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Slow down sis." Alice interrupted. "What's ALO? Who's Ren?"

Mai turned to her sister with a look of confusion on her face. "What do you mean 'Who's Ren'? He's your boyfriend. We met him in back in Sword Art Online."

"You've got a weird imagination, sis." Alice laughed. "I don't have a boyfriend and I've never even hear of this Sword Art whatever. Are you sure this isn't all part of your dream?"

"Of course it wasn't a dream! It's-"

Suddenly Mai was interrupted as the entire room became distorted. The room took on a shade of bloody red and everything began to disintegrate, including Alice. Mai then found herself floating midair above the clouds.

"What the?! Where am I?" Mai gasped. She jerked her head from side to side and scanned the area. Nothing seemed to be there... until she looked down.

"No way."

The brunette stared down at the large floating structure. Mai knew it could only be one thing. The floating castle Aincrad. As she stared at the familiar castle that imprisoned her for two years, her body suddenly jerked forward on its own. She found herself flying down the castle and entering through the lowest floor. When she came into the castle, Mai saw a town bellow her. The brunette instantly recognized it as the town of beginnings. Currently, a large red cloaked figure was in the square addressing an enormous amount of players.

"Th-This is the opening day of Sword Art Online!" Mai realized. She heard the final words of Kayaba right before he disappeared. "Players, I wish you the best of luck." After Kayaba vanished, the scenery became distorted once again. When the transition ended this time, Mai found herself in a tavern room. She looked towards the bed and saw her old self huddled next to Alice.

"This was my first night in the game." Mai recalled. She looked at her younger self crying into Alice's shirt.

"Alice... I-I want to go home!" the illusionary Mai cried.

"It's alright Mai. I promise you we'll make it back to the real world." Alice responded in a soothing voice, gently stroking her hair. Mai could see that Alice's expression was just as grim, but she hid it to keep Mai from worrying.

"That's right." Mai remembered. "When the death game started, I just wanted to believe it was all a horrible dream. That I was trapped in some terrible fantasy. But then-"

A third location change interrupted the brunette. This time she was in a large field. She was on the edge of the floating castle. A crowd was gathered by the railing on the edge of Aincrad.

"Screw this! There's no way this death game crap is real!" a player yelled out to the others. He stood on the railing and prepared to jump to his death beneath the clouds.

"No! Stop! Don't do it!" Mai cried out. She moved her astral body in front of the suicidal player. When she saw the look on his face, she gasped in horror.

His eye was twitching and his face had a hysterical smile. "That's right. There's no way this can be real. It's just not real."

"He's lost it." Mai gasped. The player jumped off, phased through Mai's body and fell beneath the clouds.

Another scenery change occurred, but this time the only thing surrounding Mai was darkness. Suddenly, several figures began to manifest. They all took the form of players in SAO. Their voices echoed all around.

"It's not real."

"This is all just a joke."

"There's no way you can die in a video game."

Mai began to shudder, reliving the horrible trauma that she faced in the beginning of SAO. She saw the group of ghosts disappear and only a single one remained: a copy of her with a face that had lost all sanity. "I'm just trapped in a dream. This isn't real." Mai continued shaking as the image of her continued to ramble on with the same phrases.

All of a sudden, she recalled something. The image washed away the darkness surrounding her. She found herself in an open field. A voice caught her attention. "Go get 'em Mai!" She turned to see her guild battling a monster. A new phantom image of Mai charged at the beast and stabbed her rapier into it. The monster shattered into fragments. "Alright! I did it!" the copy Mai exclaimed. The rest of her guild gave words of congratulations.

"Nice job squirt. You're getting better at this. Not as good as me of course but-"

"Oh shut up Helios." both Mai and her phantom self said at the same time. A smile formed on her face. The image evaporated and she once again found herself facing that copy from the darkness. The fake Mai was currently curled up, crying into her arms.

Mai walked up to the phantom image a put a hand on her shoulder. "We really are just a crybaby aren't we?" Mai smiled. The illusionary girl paused her crying and looked up at her other self. "I know we wanted it to be just a dream. But try to remember. We stopped living in that denial long ago. We found joy and happiness inside Aincrad with our friends." The fake Mai's eyes opened wide. She too, cracked a smile. The phantom faded away and the darkness left. "That's right. My friends helped me out of that dark place." Mai said to herself.

The illusions around Mai shattered and she now found herself back in the dungeon. She was still an astral body. She looked at a worried Alice trying to shake her lifeless body awake. Mai was about to re-enter her body, but something caught her eye. Himiko was also asleep and a shadowy aura seemed to be surrounding her.

"Sorry Alice. I don't want you to worry but I need to help Himiko." Mai said to the deaf ears of her sister. The astral brunette touched the dark aura surrounding Himiko and her vision went white.

When she regained her sight, her surroundings had changed completely. A wide open park stretched out in front of her. People were walking around and laughing. It was as if there wasn't a care in the world. Mai also noticed that she still looked like her human self instead of her ALO avatar.

"Where am I?" Mai wondered to herself. Suddenly a voice caught her attention.

"Higher! Swing me higher Dan!"

Mai followed the laughing sound until she reached its origin. She stared at two people at a swing set. The first was Clair riding on the swings with a wide grin on her face. Behind the joyful girl was Ren pushing her.

"I see. This is Clair's fantasy." Mai realized. "Just like the old me, she wished SAO was just a dream."

Mai walked up to the swinging girl. When Clair noticed the brunette, she stopped swinging.

"Mai?! B-But how can you be here." Clair gasped.

"Clair listen to me. This isn't reality. It's all an illusion." Mai explained.

"What?! No... That can't be true." Clair said. The scenery began to slowly distort. The land and sky became twisted. The illusion version of Ren evaporated into dust. Light enveloped Mai and Clair as their appearances changed into their ALO avatars.

"No... no... not again... I don't want to go back to that darkness! I don't want my brother to leave me again!" Himiko screamed.

"Himiko listen-"

The violet haired Imp cut Mai off. "No Mai! I want those two years with my brother that were stolen from me back! I don't care if it's fake! I hated that loneliness!" Himiko grabbed her katana and unsheathed it. She charged at the blonde Sylph. "Just leave me alone!"

Mai pulled out her rapier and blocked the incoming attack from Himiko. The Sylph leaped back and stared at her attacker in shock. "Himiko, what are you doing?!"

"I won't go back to the loneliness!" the Imp screamed as she once again charged at Mai.

Mai silently prayed for Ren to forgive her for what she was going to do. She charged at Himiko and met her attack head on with a parry. Mai used the opening to knock her opponent's blade into the air and then delivered a series of thrust attacks to Himiko. The girl flinched from the pain and fell over. Mai put her foot on Himiko's body and pointed her rapier at Himiko. "Think about it for a second Himiko. Do you really wish SAO never happened?"

"Of course! Why wouldn't I?!" Himiko glared. "What good did that death game ever bring me?! It stole my brother away from me for two whole years!"

"You're only looking at the bad things that happened in SAO. What about the positives?" Mai explained. "If Ren hadn't gone into SAO, he never would have met Alice. After seeing how happy they make each other, do you really wish they never met?"

Himiko's eyes opened wide in shock. "No... I never... I only wanted to..."

"That's not all." Mai continued. "If SAO never happened, Ren wouldn't have met all of us. And you and I never would have become friends."

Himiko stared at the Sylph in shock. "Friends... really?"

"Of course." Mai smiled. "We're all friends. You're like a sister to me."

Tears began to roll down the young Imp's eyes. "I... I just always felt left out. You guys were all in SAO together. You had all those adventures together. I'm just the newbie that joined later."

"What happened in the past doesn't matter." Mai said, putting a hand on Himiko's shoulder. "What matters now is that we're all friends. Now let's go back to the others." The blonde Sylph reached out her hand towards Himiko.

Himiko looked at her new sister and gave a smile. "Yeah. Let's go home." She grabbed Mai's hand and the illusion around them shattered. Their vision went black.

When Mai opened her eyes, she saw Alice's face above her with tears rolling down her eyes. "Mai, you're awake! Thank goodness!" Alice wrapped herself around her little sister.

"It's alright Alice. I'm fine now." Mai assured the black haired Imp. She looked over and saw Himiko starting to wake up as well.

"Clair! Are you ok?" Ren asked his drowsy sister.

Himiko gave a slight smile. "How many times do I have to tell you big brother? It's Himiko in here." she giggled. The tactician gave a smile of his own in response. "Sorry. Guess I'm not that good with names."

Himiko and Mai explained to the others the reason for their unconsciousness. The party stared at them in bewilderment to their explanation of what occurred. Suddenly, the doors to the next area began to open.

"Well you guys, everyone ready to go?" Ren asked. The group all nodded in response. As they walked to the doors, Himiko pulled Mai back.

"What's up Himiko?" Mai asked.

"I just wanted to say thanks... sis." Himiko smiled.

"Any time." Mai replied.

Helios's loud voice ended their cheery moment. "Hurry up you two! Quit you're gossiping and let's get a move on!"

"Shut up Helios." the two girls responded in unison. They looked at each other and giggled, running over to their friends and continuing their quest.

**A/N: I hope everyone enjoyed reading this chapter. If you couldn't guess it already, each of these upcoming chapters will take a look at the past of each of the characters. Look forward to next week everyone.**

**On another note, the RWBY fanfic I have been making is finally up. The title of the story is Roar of the LION. For any viewers of RWBY, I advise reading it. For any non-viewers of RWBY, watch the show.**


	19. Bargaining & Anger

**A/N: Another week, another chapter everybody! I hope you all enjoy it. As always, feel free to post any and all comments, reviews, and suggestions you have.**

The path after the doorway was very similar to how the rest of the dungeon had looked so far. The monsters continued to be astral type. The layout was still a narrow hallway. The difficulty was still a surprisingly low level for the dungeon of a legendary weapon.

"Wow, what's with this place?" Dagger complained. "I haven't seen one treasure chest in this dungeon!"

"Usually I would comment about how you think too much about money, but in this case you're right. There haven't been any chests here. It's pretty odd." Ren agreed.

The party continued to travel through the dungeon and still had yet to find any chests. They eventually reached another doorway like before. The D from the last doorway was present above this door as well. Like before, the phantom emerged.

"When a person dies, it is said they will try to bargain with death, willing to trade anything for their life back." the ghost spoke. "You're second trial is here, in the Chamber of Bargaining." The letter E inscribed itself next to the D above the doorway as he finished.

Ren looked at the phantom with a confused look. "So what do we-"

Ren was interrupted as multiple chains emerged from the ground beneath. They quickly entangled Ren and the others and dragged them up till they were hanging midair. The only one that wasn't touched by the chains was Dagger. "Guys! Hang on, I'll be right there!" the merchant yelled. As she was about to come to save us, more chains emerged and tied Dagger's feet.

"Your friends now hang in the balance of this challenge." the phantom explained. "Your choices will lie between your friends and the money of this dungeon."

The guild stared at the merchant in hopelessness. It was well known that Dagger's greatest love was anything that had to do with money. "We're doomed." Ren sighed.

Dagger pointed accusingly at the ghost. "Don't think you can fool me! There hasn't been one chest in this entire place! There isn't any money to take!"

The phantom gave a smirk to the female Spriggan's response. "Oh but that's where you're wrong." With a wave of the phantom's arm, several golden items began to manifest around the room. The amount of Yld the items must be worth was next to impossible to guess. "That isn't all." the phantom continued. He held out his hand and a sword appeared out of thin air. "This is the legendary sword Ragnarok. You have a choice. You can pick to free you're friends, or you can take all of these items and you're friends avatars will be trapped here forever, never to be used again."

The players above the merchant gasped in shock. "Are you kidding me!" Alice gasped. "We won't be able to use our avatars ever again?!"

Dagger stared at the piles of gold objects in awe. "All that money... the Yld I could make selling it."

"Choose which you value more young fairy: your friends or the gold." the phantom said.

Dagger stood there, contemplating her options. All of a sudden, her surroundings began to grow hazy. The room transformed entirely into a small house. "This place... this is my house." Dagger realized. Her ears picked up the sound of laughter in another room. She walked into the kitchen and saw a young redhead girl, who Dagger instantly recognized as her younger self, running to an older woman.

"Mom, this dress you sewed for me is so great!" the young Dagger smiled. Dagger's childhood came flowing back into her. Her family was extremely poor, but they were able to get by just enough. Most of Dagger's outfits were hand-sewn by her hardworking mother, as store clothes were often too expensive. The only reason Dagger had gotten a Nerve Gear and a copy of SAO was because her parents had scraped together just enough money to get one for the red-haired girl's birthday.

The scenery moved around in a fast forward motion. It stopped a few years later when Dagger was twelve. Her young self walked through the kitchen with a frown on her face. Her mother noticed her depressed daughter and walked over to her. "What's wrong honey?"

"The kids at school keep making fun of me. They laugh at my clothes and say they're rags." Dagger said with tears in her eyes. "I hate living like this. I wish we had money."

Dagger's mother lifted her crying daughter into her arms. She carried her to a chair and put the redhead on her lap. "Sweetheart listen. Money isn't what matters in life."

"But everyone else has all kinds of cool things they buy with money." the young Dagger responded.

"But those things aren't what's important." her mother said. "Do you want to hear the secret to being happy?"

The young girl looked at her mother with a desperate wish for the answer. "What is it?"

The woman leaned in and whispered the answer into Dagger's ear. "Friends."

"What?" the red-haired girl said with a confused look.

"If you have true friends, you'll be truly happy. You will be surrounded by people that care about you and love you. That is one thing that all the money in the world can never buy." her mother explained. "I want you to promise me something. No matter what, always cherish your friends above all else."

Dagger watched as her younger self gave a nod to her mother. "Ok mom, I promise!"

"That's a good girl." Dagger's mother smiled, stroking the girl's hair. "Do that, and you'll be sure to have lots of friends."

As the tears vanished from the young Dagger's eyes, new ones formed in the eyes of the real Dagger as she watched the memory. "When was it... when did I forget that promise?" Dagger asked herself. She fell to her knees and started crying. "I'm sorry mother! I'm so sorry!"

A new scenery change occurred and Dagger now found herself in the fields of SAO. In the distance, she could see herself along with her guild laughing away. "Helios, Ren, everyone. I'm sorry. Sorry about what a selfish jerk I've been."

All of a sudden, the illusion around her vanished and Dagger was back in the dungeon. The phantom still stood before her. She could see her guild hanging in the air, with their fate in her hands.

"Give me your answer. Do you choose gold or your travel companions?" the phantom asked.

Dagger stared at the phantom with a firm resolve. She knew her decision. "They're not my travel companions! They're my friends! And I choose them before anything!"

Ren and the others stared at the merchant in shock. The phantom showed no expression since his face was completely shrouded. "That is a good answer. You have overcome your greed and found what is most important in life. You wouldn't have gotten the gold even if you chose it anyway. You have passed your trial." After that, the phantom disappeared. The chains binding Ren and the others released them and they all ran to their friend.

"Wow Dagger, I'm surprised you didn't choose that gold. It was kinda out of character for you." Mai said.

"Oh the gold isn't important." Dagger replied. "You guys are my friends, and that's what's most valuable in life."

"Wow... that was a bit cheesy." Helios said.

"Would you rather me leave you hanging up there?" Dagger offered.

"No, not that! I'm good!" Helios exclaimed. As everyone laughed at the Salamander, Dagger leaned in and gave him a kiss.

"Ok save it for later you two. We don't need another pair making out all the time. Ren and Alice already have that position filled." Mai interrupted. The two Imps broke out into a huge blush as the others now laughed at them.

"Alright, joking aside. Let's keep going." Ren suggested. The group walked through the large door and continued with their quest.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The journey through the dungeon was beginning to seem repetitive to the guild. The party was only encountering astral type monsters, and the layout was still a somewhat narrow hallway.

"So Dagger, are you gonna stop with your rip-off deals now?" Alice wondered.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Lets not go jumping to conclusions here!" the merchant answered. "I said friends are the most important thing to me now. I never said money was the least important thing now. I'm just gonna give you guys a big discount for my wares. I'm not friends with the chumps that buy my stuff."

The party let out various sighs, but at the same time they felt relieved. While Dagger's money grubbing schemes had brought upon its share of troubles, it was nice to know the girl wasn't going to change. Her personality had grown on her guildmates. Her marketing skills had also brought its benefits to the guild.

Helios put his arm around Dagger as the party walked on. "It's nice to see you're not gonna change. After all, your greediness is part of the psychotic personality I fell in love with."

"Oh you sweet talker you." Dagger giggled.

The guild continued to laugh as they moved on through the hallway. It came as no surprise to the fairies when they came across another wide room with a large doorway. Above the door were the letters from the previous rooms.

"And now our good friend Mr. Phantom comes along his merry way." Helios predicted. Proving him right, a whirlwind started and the phantom appeared. It spoke with its usual ghostly voice.

"It is said that once someone realizes they are truly dead, a great anger occurs in them. This is the location for the third Trial of Death, the Chamber of Anger."

Helios let out a sigh, annoyed with the phantom. "You know, these trials are getting really-"

The Salamander was cut off as a thick mist began to surround him. He became completely blind in the mist, unable to locate the rest of his guild. As the mist cleared, Helios found himself back at his house in the real world, but still in his ALO avatar.

"What am I doing here?" The red-haired fairy wondered. A sound in the room across caught his attention. He walked into the living room of the house to see his parents along with a teenage boy. He instantly recognized the boy as his older brother, Shu.

"Shu! You got straight A's on your report card again! That's great!" Helios's mother complimented. Helios stood there, annoyed at seeing his brother in the spotlight. All his life it was Shu this and Shu that. He was always getting good grades and mastering new talents, such as the piano. Helios, on the other hand, had only been a disappointment in comparison. He was able to keep up his grades to a C and on occasions a B. His mother was always comparing him to his perfect brother. Ren, being a childhood friend of his, was one of the few people that didn't compare Helios to his brother. When SAO started, the thing that kept Helios from losing it was that he could finally be better than his brother in some way.

A quick scenery change brought Helios to a field in SAO. No one was around, except for him in his SAO outfit. As he wondered what was going on, a figure began to manifest, taking on the form of Shu.

"Hello brother." Shu said. "So this is what SAO looks like? It's quite remarkable."

"What are you doing here?" Helios glared.

"I figured I'd see how I do in a VRMMO." Shu responded. "Who knows? Maybe I'll surpass you in it."

"No... not again." Helios growled.

A new figure manifested, turning into Dagger. The illusion Dagger wrapped her arms around Helios's brother. "Wow! Strong AND smart! You're way cooler than Helios!" Dagger leaned it close and locked lips with Shu.

"No... NO! You can have the grades, and the talent, but VRMMO's are where I rule!" Helios yelled as he drew his battle axe. "You won't beat me here and you won't have Dagger!"

Shu gave a smirk in response. He held out his hand, and a long thin rapier sword appeared. "Face it little brother. You can't win against me."

Helios got into a battle stance with his axe. He charged at his brother. "I will not lose to you!" Helios swung his weapon at Shu, but he easily avoided it at performed a series of thrust attacks to Helios.

"Did you forget. I studied fencing years ago. Against someone like you, I can't lose. You can't match my skill. You aren't me."

Helios glared at his brother. "Of course I'm not you! I'm-"

At that moment, a sudden memory sparked inside Helios. The scenery transformed into a park setting back in the real world. He looked over to see a younger version of himself sitting on a bench. His brother Shu soon appeared and took a seat next to him. "What's up bro? You look down."

The young Helios glared at his older brother. "What do you think is up?! All mom does is talk about your great accomplishments! She rarely ever mentions me!"

Shu gave a sigh to his brother. "Well I can't argue with you there. But I can't help what she does. Trust me, I'm not happy with it either. I actually wish I was in your position."

Helios gasped in shock at Shu's comment. "My position! What's so great about being crappy at everything and being neglected by your own mother!"

"But you have your freedom." Shu explained. "I'm in constant pressure to keep up my grades along with everything else. I barely have a life of my own."

The illusion Helios sat there, thinking about things from his brother's perspective. He never realized the intense pressure Shu was under.

"That's not all." Shu continued. "You only keep failing at the things I excel at. You need to stop trying to be me. Be yourself. That's what's important."

Helios stared at his illusion brother, remembering that advice he gave him all those years ago. "That's right. I stopped trying to be like Shu after that. I stopped being angry that I couldn't compete with him. I learned to do my own thing and stop chasing after my brother."

A scenery shift occurred yet again, brining Helios back to the field with the illusion of his brother standing across from him. "Are you ready to admit defeat yet, little brother?"

Helios gave a glare towards Shu. "No I'm not, you impostor!" The illusion across from him gave a confused look. "You're not my brother. Shu may be an annoying brother that's perfect at everything, but he's not a jerk like you." The impostor Shu growled, angry at being called a fake. He charged at Helios and attacked with a thrust attack.

"Too slow." Helios grinned. He skillfully dodged the attack and hit the fake Shu with a slash of his own. "Now time to show you the Helios way of doing things!" His axe gave a red glow and he delivered a diagonal slash from bellow, knocking his foe into the air. Helios then jumped and smashed Shu into the ground with another hit. The illusion shattered and Helios was left standing alone. He gave a confident smirk and raised his fist into the air for a victory pose. The background began to fade away and the Salamander was back in the chamber. The phantom floated in front of him.

"You have passed you're trial fairy. You have defeated the anger inside of yourself." the phantom spoke. The ghostly presence vanished yet again, leaving a third emerald letter inscribed above the doorway. This time it was an A.

"As if there was any doubt." Helios smirked. "After all, I AM the great Helios."

Ren and the others sighed in annoyance at their friend. "The only thing you're great at is running your mouth, Helios." Alice said.

"Quiet you! The great one is talking." Helios replied.

"Some things never change I guess." Mai sighed. The guild ignored their friend's gloating and moved on further into the dungeon. It was only after he bothered to notice them, that he saw they were already at the door.

"Hey guys! Wait up! I wasn't done monologuing yet!" the Salamander called out, running after his guild.

**A/N: I hope everyone liked this week's chapter. Look forward to next week's. Also for all you RWBY fans, remember to check out Roar of the LION if you haven't already.**


	20. Sorrow & Acceptance

**A/N: Time for another chapter everybody. As always, please post any comments or suggestions you have for the story.**

The guild's journey through the dungeon was starting to feel like a bad case of déjà vu. The path was exactly the same as before. The guild was starting to feel like they were going around in circles.

"Hmmm." Alice muttered, wondering to herself.

"What's wrong Alice?" Ren asked.

"These trials so far. The first was denial, then bargaining, and then anger. I feel like I've read about this somewhere before." the female Imp explained.

Helios waved away Alice's worry. "Who cares? We just need to keep going."

"I guess, but-"

Mai interrupted her sister's thought. "Hey look! The next chamber's up ahead!" The guild walked into the familiar room. As usual, the letters from before were inscribed above the door and the phantom appeared.

"They say that after the realization of death occurs, a person goes through horrible sorrow. Your fourth trial will be here, in the Chamber of Sorrow."

This time, it was Alice that had a scenery change. Her surroundings became distorted and transformed into the Town of Beginnings from SAO. Several hundred other players were there as well. Kayaba floated above them.

"This is the opening day of SAO." Alice realized.

Kayaba gave his final words to the players before leaving. "Players, I wish you the best of luck." After his departure, a hand tapped her on the shoulder. Alice turned around to see her friend Olivia. She was a girl around Alice's age with brunette hair that was tied up in two ponytails. The two of them were childhood friends and both logged into SAO together. Olivia however, had died in the early days of the game. So why was she here?

"Olivia?! Is that you?" Alice gasped.

"Yeah it's me. Now hurry up. We need to go." Olivia said. She hurried her along and Mai followed closely behind her. The three of them met up with two others at the gate of the town. Alice immediately recognized them as Jaune and Noboru. Jaune was another childhood friend of Alice's. Noboru had been the one that got him and Olivia killed back in SAO. Just seeing him made her skin crawl, whether he was a phantom or not.

"What is going on here? Why am I reliving these memories?" Alice wondered to herself.

"Did you say something Alice?" Olivia asked.

"Ah no, it was nothing." Alice assured her friend.

"Alright then. Let's get going." Olivia told the group.

"Wait! Why are we going out of the town?" Noboru asked. "We'd be a lot safer if we just stayed in town."

"If we just stay in the safety of the town, we'll never get out of this game." Olivia argued. "We need to get stronger so we can beat this game and go home."

Noboru stopped his arguing and nodded in agreement. "Alright fine. Lets get moving."

The guild left the town and ventured into the dangerous fields of SAO. Once Alice took a step outside however, she was transported somewhere else. She found herself in another area of floor 1. Olivia and the others were walking ahead of her. As Alice observed her surroundings, she instantly recognized the place.

"No... this place is-"

"Hey look!" Noboru yelled out. He pointed towards a slime that had a golden color, which was different than the other slimes on the floor. "Bet you that's worth a ton of experience."

"Wait a second!" Mai interrupted. "I remember reading about that monster in the guidebook. If it's attacked, a swarm of other monsters will appear."

"You worry too much Mai." Noboru replied. "We'll be fine."

"I don't know, Noboru." Olivia said. "I'd rather us be safe than sorry. I don't think we could handle a full mob right now."

"Yeah, let's leave it alone." Jaune agreed.

"You guys are a bunch of cowards. Watch and learn." Noboru said. His sword gave a blue glow and he charged at the monster.

Alice wanted to yell out for him to stop, but she found herself unable to speak. Noboru slashed the odly-colored slime. As the attack connected, the slime let out a high pitch cry. As Alice and the others slowly regained their hearing, an army of monsters could be seen coming from multiple directions. The party quickly found themselves surrounded.

Olivia called out to Noboru. "Quick! Give us the teleport crystals!" Howver, Noboru had only taken one out and called out a destination. He vanished in a blue light, leaving his friends to fend for themselves.

"Cowardly bastard." Alice growled, mad at having to live through Noboru's betrayal for a second time. She didn't have much time to curse out the blonde player as the monsters began their attack. Alice stuck by Mai, the two of them cutting down monster after monster. Their HP was gradually going down though. A cry caught Alice's attention as she saw Jaune's avatar shatter into pieces.

"No! Jaune!" Alice cried out for her defeated friend. Tears formed in the black-haired girl's eyes. Distracted by the loss of Jean, Alice got hit from behind by an enemy. She fell down and the monsters lunged at their exposed target. Alice closed her eyes, not wanting to see the monsters rip her apart. When the attack never came, Alice opened her eyes to see someone had blocked the attack. She gasped when she saw the identity of her protector.

"Olivia?!" Alice gasped. The brunette girl fell back into Alice's arms.

"Are... you ok... Alice?" Olivia asked. Alice could already see there was no saving her.

"Olivia! Why did you take that attack for me?! Why?!"

"Because you're my... friend." the brunette smiled. "Don't give up. Beat this game... for me." With those parting words, her avatar shattered and only fragments remained.

"No... Olivia... OLIVIA!" Alice cried.

Her surroundings became completely shrouded until she was all alone with only the darkness beside her. "I... I want to disappear. I don't want to live through this hell all over again." Alice could hear a voice calling out to her, but it was muffled by the darkness.

"...ep fi...ting..."

Alice just ignored the sound trying to reach her. "Please. Just leave me alone. Go away."

"D...n't g...ve up."

The voice began to sound familiar to Alice. She knew its owner. "That voice... where have I heard it." The voice began to ring louder in the girl's ears.

"Fig..t ...ce."

Alice suddenly realized the voice calling out to her. There was no mistaking it. "That voice... Ren! Ren, is that you?!"

"Stand up, Alice!" Ren's voice called out, no longer muffled by the shadows. "You have to keep fighting!"

Alice got off the ground and wiped her tears away. "That's right. I can't give up." Alice told herself. The darkness around her vanished and she found herself in the middle of a horde of monsters. The black-haired girl grabbed the hilt of the katana at her waist. "It may not be a scythe, but it's all I'm gonna need to beat you losers." Her blade gave a red glow and she performed a full 360 degree slash, destroying the horde around her. She charged at the few remaining monsters and finished the rest off. As the final one shattered, the illusion around her shattered as well. She woke up back in the chamber in Ren's arms.

"Alice! Are you ok?!" Ren asked, worried about the female Imp.

Alice gave her boyfriend a smile in response. "Heh, I'm not an easy person to kill, Ren. You should know that by now."

Ren wrapped his arms around Alice with tears rolling down his eyes. As Alice looked around her, she saw no sign of the phantom. "Where'd the phantom go?" Alice asked.

"He disappeared after you fell asleep." Mai explained. Suddenly, a new letter was written above the door. The letter this time was a T.

"I guess this means I passed the trial." Alice realized. She tapped Ren's shoulder, who let go of the female Imp. "Thanks Ren. I could hear your voice in there. That's what helped me win." She planted a kiss on Ren's cheek.

Mai interrupted the two's chat. "If you two start another make out session, I swear I'm gonna leave."

"Is someone jealous?" Alice asked, teasing her sister.

"I am not jealous!" Mai responded. The party gave a friendly laugh at the Sylph. They were about to continue past the doors until Alice yelled something.

"I remember now!" The guild turned to the girl with confused looks on their faces.

"What did you remember?" Himiko asked.

"These trials. They represent the five stages of death!" Alice explained. "I read about it in a story about Norse mythology. According to it, there are five stages of death that people go through before they move on to the afterlife. The order goes through denial, bargaining, anger, sorrow, and finally acceptance."

"So the only trial left is the last one: Acceptance." Mai concluded.

"Well at least there's only one more left. Then we can stop repeating the same routine over and over again." Helios said in a relieved tone. The guild walked through the doors and onward to their last trial.

"Let's go guys." Ren said. "Let's complete the last trial and get Ragnarok!"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The guild walked through the final hallway of the Cave of Truths. The journey to this point had seemed like an eternity to the group. They had gone through four trials so far. Now only one remained. Ren was the only one left in the group to go through a trial, meaning this last one would most likely be for him.

Ren was in front of the group. Even though she couldn't see his face, Alice could tell the tactician was lost in thought. "Ren, you ok?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. It's just... I have no idea what to expect with this last trial. I'm a bit nervous." the leader replied.

"Don't worry, Ren." Mai smiled. "You've gotten through way tougher things than some stupid trial. You'll ace this no problem."

Ren looked towards the rest of his guild, wondering if they felt the same. In response, they all gave nods of agreement. Ren's anxiety subsided at the encouragement of his friends. "Thanks guys."

The chamber appeared in front of the group soon after. As the entered, the infamous phantom reappeared yet again. "They say that once the terrors of death are over, a person goes through one final step: the acceptance of their death. Your final trial will be in this chamber. The Chamber of Acceptance."

Ren was soon engulfed in darkness. He looked around him, but he was unable to see anything. "So what now?" the Imp asked himself.

"You should know the answer to that, by now." a voice called out from the shadows to answer his question. Ren turned his gaze towards the voice's origin. A figure stepped through the darkness and revealed itself. Once he recognized the person, Ren's mouth dropped.

"No way... it can't be."

The person had long blonde hair. Her attire consisted of red clothing with a black trim, the trade mark of the Wyverns Inferno guild Ren had created in SAO. Across the female's back was a long spear. "It's been a long time, Ren."

"Historia." Ren gasped, his tone filled with the shock at seeing the dead girl from SAO. "But how are you-"

The blonde girl cut off the Imp. "I have returned from the dead for one thing, and one thing alone. Revenge."

"Historia, I-"

"You failed as a leader, Ren. I died because you were unable to protect me." Historia continued. "Now I will show you what that pain is like." The blonde girl removed the spear slung across her back and got into her fighting position. She charged at the tactician with hate in her eyes. Ren didn't even make an attempt to dodge as the spear impaled him. A large chunk of his HP vanished. "What's wrong? Not gonna fight back?"

The memories Ren had of Historia flowed through him. The pain and hurt it brought when she died due to his weakness. Even now, the pain from her loss still left a scar in the tactician's heart. "No, I deserve it. Your death was my fault."

Historia growled at Ren in anger. "Coward! I want you to feel REAL pain! And if your death won't cause it, then maybe someone else's will!" Ren gasped at the words that escaped Historia's mouth. Before he could reapond and argue, his body suddenly went numb. Historia removed the spear and Ren fell over, paralyzed from the attack. Ren looked as chains dragged several people up from the shadows. Terror overtook him as he saw that the ones the chains were dragging up were each of the members of his guild.

"What's going on?" Alice wondered. When her eyes met Historia's she gasped in shock. "Historia?! You're-"

"I'm back from the dead to make Ren suffer for what he did to me." Historia explained.

"You can't possibly mean that! Historia, you'd never do something like that!" Alice s cried.

"Quiet!" Historia screamed. "Now Ren, I'll make you truly hurt. I'll bring you to your breaking point and make you beg for me to stop." Historia glared at Ren as she took her spear and impaled it into Mai. The Sylph cried out in pain from the attack.

"Historia, stop it! Please!" Ren yelled.

Historia grinned at the sight of Ren in agony. "That's it! That's what I've wanted to see! Who should I make you scream for next? Alice? Or maybe your sister Himiko?"

"Stop it! They've done nothing wrong to you! Leave the others out of this!" the tactician cried.

"I will make you suffer, Ren. That is the only thing I care about."

"No it isn't! Historia, you would never-"

Ren was interrupted as Historia drove her spear into Alice. The female Imp's scream made Ren feel like his ears were bleeding. "I would never what? Hurt someone else? Bring suffering to those that deserved it? I guess you don't know me that well."

Ren's eyes opened wide as he realized something. Historia's words had given him the clue to the answer. "You're wrong."

"What?"

"I said you're wrong! You're not Historia at all are you?!" Ren yelled. The blonde girl looked at the tactician in shock as he slowly got to his feet. "Historia would never do this! She wouldn't hurt her friends! She wouldn't seek revenge on someone! What she would want... IS FOR ME TO MOVE ON!"

The illusion Historia gasped at having her identity revealed. "Damn you! I will not let it end like this! I will make you suffer!" The fake Historia charged at Ren with her spear and prepared to attack, when Ren knocked the girl's weapon out of her hands with a diagonal slash.

"Don't impersonate my friends!" Ren yelled as he finished off the illusion with another attack. Light enveloped the illusion and her body evaporated into thin air.

"No... NOOOOOO!" the fake Historia cried out as she disappeared from the shadows without a trace. The impostor gone, Ren reminisced about the cheerful blonde girl he had once known. Those memories were what had helped him beat the fake. "Thanks Historia."

"You're welcome."

Ren turned around in shock to see another Historia. However, this one didn't have a look of hate and vengeance on her face. This Historia had a genuine smile on her face.

"Historia... is that-"

The illusion shook her head in response. "I am not the Historia you knew. I am just an AI made up of her data and memories. In a way, I guess you could say I am Historia. I wanted to give this message to you, because I felt it was what my real self would have wanted."

"Message? What message?"

"A thank you for all the good times we shared in SAO. And also, to make sure you were able to move on after the death of my real self." Historia smiled as she faded away into thin air. The darkness around Ren and the others shattered and they were freed from their chains. The phantom floated in front of them.

"You have passed the five trials of death. I deem you worthy of the blade Ragnarok." the phantom said. "Pass through these doors to obtain the Sword of Oblivion."

The guild watched as the phantom vanished and the doors creaked open. A final letter was inscribed above the doors. The final letter was H. The message above the doors spelled out DEATH.

"Finally done." Ren said with a sigh of relief. Alice walked up next to the tactician.

"It was a long journey getting to this point. Now let's finish this quest and get Ragnarok."

Ren nodded in agreement with the female Imp. "Yeah. Let's do it."

The group of six passed through the doors into a large room. The room was a wide circle and a sword was dug into the ground at the other end of the room. As the guild walked forward, the phantom re emerged. "Forgive me, but I have one final test for you."

"Oh come on!" Helios complained. "We just went through those five damn trials and now there's another one!"

"This test will not be like your previous ones." the phantom explained. He grabbed the sword Ragnarok and pulled it out from the ground. His appearance began to change as well. His long robe was replaced by heavy armor. The face of the phantom was still covered, but now it was being covered by a helmet. His size grew until he was a height of 30 feet. The sword had grown in proportion as well. A set of three HP bars appeared next to him and a cursor above the phantom read his name. Hel, God of Death.

"This is your final test. You must defeat death itself."

**A/N: I hope everyone has enjoyed this story so far. Next week will be the finale of the Ragnarok story. Look forward to it.**


	21. Ragnarok

**A/N: Time for the finale of the Ragnarok story everyone. I hope you have all liked the chapters so far and will love this one just as much. Comments and reviews are always welcome.**

**On another note, Sword Art Online Lost Song has been announced for the Play Station 3 and Vita! For any SAO fans that played Hollow Fragment or have these systems, I highly suggest looking it up. **

The guild stared in awe at the colossal phantom. Ren however, quickly got a grin on his face. "Heh, one final fight against a God of death? This is gonna be fun. Let's do this guys!"

The guild gave a roar of agreement and charged in at the giant opponent. Ren immediately gave out commands. "Dagger, Mai, Himiko, distract it!" The three girls gave a nod and sped on ahead of the others.

"Hey ugly! Right here!" Dagger called out to the boss. He swung his sword down at the black-haired Spriggan, which she dodged with a backflip. As the sword smashed into the floor, Himiko and Mai performed a double attack on the giant's legs, knocking it off balance.

"Now!" Ren yelled. Helios, Ren, and Alice's weapons all gave an incandescent glow as they each jumped into the air and activated a sword skill, ripping off a good chunk of the boss's health. The boss quickly recovered its footing and swung Ragnarok at the three players in a horizontal slash while they were still midair. They blocked the slash with their weapons, but were blown back by the impact. Their health went down into the yellow zone as they crashed onto the floor.

"Damn, this guy's strong!" Helios growled.

Another slash from the phantom forced Dagger and the others back as well. The merchant looked towards Ren. "So what now?"

Ren made no hesitation with his next set of orders. "Mai, I need you to heal us from afar with magic. Dagger, you confuse it with some illusion magic. Himiko, you cover her. Alice, Helios, and I will focus on damaging it."

The party all gave a nod of agreement. Mai began chanting a healing spell as the others ran at the boss. Himiko ran and the boss and intercepted its sword as the giant attacked. Dagger jumped towards its blind spot and quickly chanted a spell. When she finished, Dagger blew dust from her palm which hovered around the boss's head. The armored giant's movements began to seem sluggish. Ren quickly used the opportunity to attack the boss. The tactician's sword gave an emerald glow and he activated the five-hit sword skill Astra. The rapid barrage of consecutive slashes hit the boss's chest and forced it to tumble back a bit, where Helios and Alice attacked as well. The powerful assault brought the boss's health to its last bar. The dizziness from Dagger's spell soon subsided after that.

The giant swung his sword down and created an energy slash attack. The blast knocked the guild back and dragged their health down even further. Mai's healing spell soon kicked in, bringing the guild's HP back to a safer amount. As the party took a quick chance to catch their breath, the armored giant stabbed Ragnarok into the ground, creating a huge shockwave that spread in every direction. All of the fairies got blown back and their health hit red.

"We need to end this now. Another hit and we're done for." Ren said. "Charge at him full speed! Dodge whatever he throws at you!"

The entire guild kicked the ground and zoomed at their colossal foe. As they approached, the boss fired blast after blast of energy slash at them. The guild avoided the waves of slashes and leaped at the boss. Dagger and Himiko attacked with their blades streaking down the phantom's body. Mai followed up with a series of thrusts to the boss's chest, forcing it to lose its balance. Helios swung his axe full force, making the boss fall over. As the phantom fell, Alice hooked her scythe around its neck and yanked it back, creating a huge gash on the neck and brining the boss's HP into the red zone.

"Now Ren! Finish it!" Alice cheered.

Ren's blade became veiled in a shining blue light as he dived down and delivered the final blow to the boss. The armor covering the phantom shattered and an astral body was all that remained. The phantom shrunk back to its original size, along with the sword. "You have bested me, young fairies." the phantom congratulated. He held out the sword Ragnarok towards Ren. "You are worthy of this blade. Use it well."

Ren grabbed the sword and admired its design. The hilt of the sword was black and had a fiery colored gem in the center of it. The blade part of the weapon continued its pitch black coloring with a crimson red outline along the blade. It was a bit heavier than what the Imp was used to but he knew he could adjust to it quickly.

"I bid thee farewell, fairies." the phantom said. A blinding light enveloped the group, making visibility zero. When they regained their sight, the guild found themselves back at the entrance of the dungeon. Ragnarok was slung across Ren's back. The Imp pulled out his new weapon and pointed it into the air.

"Legendary weapon obtained!" Ren grinned in satisfaction. He looked to all of his party members. "I can't thank you guys enough for your help. You guys are the best."

"I know a good way to show me your thanks." Dagger grinned. "Don't worry. I'll only take fifty percent of the cash we collected."

Ren gave a chuckle at the merchant's 'generosity'. He opened a trade window and gave Dagger the fifty percent she asked for. Unfortunately for her, that amount only came to 5,000 Yld, but she didn't seem to mind too much.

"Well let's head home." Ren suggested. The party of six walked out of the cave into the blizzards of Gnome territory. They were about to take off until a shout caught their attention.

"It's about time you losers got it!"

The guild looked into the sky to see they were completely surrounded by other players. Their number totaled to around twenty people, all from varying races.

"What the heck is going on?!" Dagger gasped. Suddenly her eyes met with one of the players in the group. "Hey! You're the one that told me about Ragnarok!"

The player smirked at the merchant. "That's right and it was SO nice of you to act so predictably and tell your friends about it. Now if you would be so kind, hand over that sword."

"Over our dead bodies!" Alice yelled. Suddenly, a new voice appeared in response to the female Imp.

"That can easily be arranged." the voice told the group. The Gnome who had just spoken flew to the front of the group. He had short, tan colored hair. His equipment consisted of a dark brown jacket, black shots with snow white fur at the end, and muddy colored boots. A bulky two-handed sword was on his back.

"What are you doing here, Noboru?!" the female Imp growled, disgusted by the sight of her ex-friend.

Noboru gave a sarcastic look of hurt. "Aren't you happy to see your old friend? And after all the trouble I went through to set this up."

"This whole set up was YOUR doing?!" Alice glared.

"That's right." Noboru smirked. "My friends here knew Ragnarok's location, but we couldn't get through the dungeon. So I thought of the perfect bunch to get the sword for us. Some genius tactician your boyfriend turned out to be. Maybe you'll finally see that I'm far better for you than he is."

Alice pulled out your scythe with her sights set on Noboru. "Why you little piece of-"

"Hold it." Ren interrupted. Before Alice could protest, he gave a reassuring smile to her. "I just want a chance to try out my new sword." He unsheathed Ragnarok off his back and pointed it at Noboru. "You want this sword so bad? Try and take it." The blonde player stood there, not making a move. Ren smirked at Noboru's hesitation. "What's wrong? I thought you said you were far better than me? Or was that just a bunch of hot air coming out of a loser?"

Noboru growled at the tactician and unsheathed his own sword. "Fine! I'll beat you right here and now!" Noboru charged at Ren and activated a sword skill. He sped at the Imp with a grin on his face, but that grin was instantly gone, when Ren vanished right before the attack connected. "What?! Where did he-"

"Up here, slowpoke!" a voice called out from above. Noboru only had a second when he looked up before Ren dived down and slashed the blonde player with his legendary weapon at a blinding speed. Noboru cried out in pain as his avatar burned away into a remain light.

The army of players surrounding the guild stared at the guild leader in awe. One player snapped his friends out of it. "What are you doing?! He can't take all of us! Get him!" The army charged at Ren, but were soon intercepted by the rest of the guild.

"Maybe you don't realize who you're messing with?" Helios grinned, ready to smash some heads. Ren joined his five friends in a full out battle against the group. It was only a matter of minutes before the only thing around the guild were a bunch of scattered remain lights.

"I've fought tougher enemies on floor 1. What a bunch of wimps." Helios mocked the dead players.

"Well that was unexpected. But at least it gave me a chance to take this thing for a test drive." Ren shrugged, unimpressed by the defeated group, but very happy with his new blade's power.

"I can't believe that jerk Noboru though!" Alice growled. "This was low, even for him!"

Ren put his hand on the girl's shoulder. "Yeah. Sorry for stealing that kill from you. I'll let you have first crack at him next time he pulls something stupid like this, deal?"

Alice smiled at her boyfriend and gave a nod. "Deal."

Himiko let out a big yawn. "Man, what an adventure. I'm exhausted. Can we go home now?"

Ren smiled at his sister. "Yeah. Let's head home."

And with that, the group took off and departed for the city of Arun. When they got there, Himiko immediately logged out, tired from the long day. Ren and the others headed to Lizbeth's shop to show her the legendary weapon. When they showed her the sword, Lizbeth's eyes gleamed with excitement.

"Wow! So this is the Sword of Oblivion, Ragnarok!" the pink haired player exclaimed. "This thing's amazing! Wait till Kirito and the others hear about this!"

"Yeah, but that's gonna have to wait till tomorrow. We're exhausted from today." Alice sighed.

"I'll bet." Liz agreed. After she finished restoring our weapons, the rest of the guild all logged out, ready for any adventures that would await them.

**A/N: Once again, I hope everyone enjoyed the chapter. Next week will have a new and exciting story for Ren and the others. Look forward to it.**


	22. Morrigan

**A/N: Alright readers, time for another new adventure in Blazing Revolution. I hope everyone enjoys it. Just like every other week, any comments, suggestions, or reviews you have are greatly appreciated.**

The school bell rang out with it's familiar ring as students cheered and left their classes for the excitement of the weekend. Today was the day of the newest update to ALO and numerous people were counting down the minutes to it's release, especially the school students.

"Oh man I'm looking forward to this!" Ren cheered as he walked home with his friends. "This update to ALO is gonna be huge!"

"A whole new race, new areas to explore, over two hundred new items, and five new superbosses for guild raids!? It's gonna be EPIC!" Helios said with just as much enthusiasm.

Alice and Dagger both giggled at their boyfriend's nerdiness about the new ALO update but they were looking forward to it as well. For Alice it meant more places to explore with Ren and hone her skills. For Dagger it meant more items and Yld to collect from both her treasure hunting skills and scamming suckers.

"I wonder what this new race is gonna be?" Mai wondered aloud as they continued walking.

Alice shrugged her shoulders to her sister. "I don't know but I heard rumors that this race has two exclusive skills to that race."

Helios turned around and frowned a bit. "What? That sucks! I bet you guys anything that the new race is gonna be overpowered as all hell and they'll need to nerf them in the next update."

Ren patted Helios on the back. "Don't let it get to ya man, just take it like a man and deal with it."

Helios rolled his eyes in response stopping in front of his house. "Well see you guys at the usual spot." he said as he waved goodbye and entered his house.

"See you guys there as well!" Dagger yelled as she started to run in the other direction.

"Sometimes I wonder why she follows us when she lives in the other direction from school." Alice said as she shook her head.

Ren shrugged his shoulders and gave a quick peck to Alice's cheek. "I don't know but I gotta get going too. I got some chores to do with Clair before we log on. See you in ALO!" With that being said, Ren himself sprinted to his own house.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Link start!" Ren said as he logged in to ALO. A screen flashed in front of him saying 'Downloading update. Please wait' and wait Ren did. Two minutes later the update finished installing and let him log in to the new ALO. Getting out from the inn that he and his friends stayed at, he was greeted by the sight of his friends looking at the sky in amazement as people flew through the sky. These people were the new ALO fairy race. They had bat-like wings as well as seafoam green hair. The outfits for this new race were skin tight and sometimes very revealing to the point where it left little to the imagination. Many male players gawked at the fairies flying around with red faces, making many female players slam their fists into their heads.

"Yo guys!" Ren yelled as he ran up to his friends. "Those players are the new fairy race?"

Alice nodded her head. "Yeah, they are called the Succubus race. They are well versed in illusion magic and dark magic and have pretty high magical attack power. But I really don't like the design choice."

"Well they are Succubus's. Meaning they dress like that to attract their victims then ensnare their lifeforce." Helios mention as he looked at the flying faires. Not hearing a response from his friends, he turned around to see them staring at him strangely. "What? A guy can't be interested in mythology?"

"You are the LAST person we would think that would be interested in mythology Helios." Mai stated matter-of-factly. "You're a raging beast with a love for carnage."

Helios chuckled and brought Mai's head into a noggy. "If you're trying to sweet talk me squirt, you should know I don't date girls that are way younger than me."

Mai growled and shoved the Salamander off of her. "I hate it when you do that!"

"And that's why I do it."

"Leave her alone Helios." A voice called out to their right. The group turned around to see their friends Kirito, Asuna, Lyfa, Slica, Sinon and Lizbeth walking towards them. "Unless mocking little girls is your only useful skill." Lizbeth added snidely

"Bite me blacksmith! At least I'm useful for combat in the front lines!"

Both the Salamander and the Leprechaun glared at each other for a bit before being pulled back by Asuna and Ren respectively.

"Quit picking fights Helios. We don't need you starting problems." Ren said as he dragged him back by the collar of his shirt.

Asuna did the same to her best friend. "Same with you Liz."

The two glared at each other some more before both turning away with a huff. Kirito chuckled a bit before remembering something. "Oh that's right. Did you guys know there's already a race leader for the Succubus's?"

"Already?" Ren questioned. "The updates only been out for a few hours."

"Apparently a woman got her hands on the update earlier than everybody else." Slica said. "That's why she's the race leader."

"So where is she?" Alice asked. "Is she in the new Succubus race city?"

"That would be incorrect my dear~!" a voice from above them called. The group looked to see a woman flying towards them. Like all the other Succubus's, she had long green hair with long black bat wings coming from her back. Her outfit consisted of a small black leather armored top that looked a bit too tight on the chest area as it showed off her endowments quite visibly, long black leggings and red high heel shoes. She also had on various golden charms around her wrists and neck with a long vampire looking spear behind her back. The group jumped back a bit at the woman's sudden arrival as she landed on the floor in front of them. "My name is Morrigan, leader of the Succubus's."

"Wait shouldn't you be in the Succubus city, leading the rest of your race?" Mai asked as she tilted her head slightly.

Morrigan rolled her eyes at that statement. "I'm taking a break. Being a race leader is soooo boring. Too many responsibilities that need to be done. I'd rather like to have some fun with some highly skilled players." she paused and looked to the group in front of her before smirking. "Would you all like to see what Succubus's can do?"

"Sure, why not?" Kirito said. "I'd like to see what a Succubus can do from the strongest one of all of them."

Slica and Lizbeth laughed a bit at Kirito's eagerness to see another player in action while Asuna looked a bit wary. "I don't know Kirito... Are you sure we can trust her?"

Ren shrugged and walked next to his friend. "I trust Kirito's judgement. Plus I'm curious too."

"Yeah let's check out what this chick can do." Helios added with his usual cocky smirk.

The girls gave each other a look before nodding their heads in agreement.

"Great then!" Morrigan said with a delightful clap of her hands. "Follow me."

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

The group flew outside of the Imp city and landed in a forest about five minutes away from the city. Morrigan turned around and faced the group with her smile still present on her face. "Now as I'm sure you have all heard that my race has two exclusive skill correct?"

Ren and his friends nodded their heads.

"Good, now let me show you the first one. Restrict!" With a wave of her hand, black chains sprouted from her palm, wrapping themselves around Ren and his friends and binding them to the ground.

"What the hell are you doing?" Helios yelled at the race leader.

"Showing you all my exclusive skills." Morrigan said simply. "I must say that you guys are all very attractive. I certainly wouldn't mind some alone time with you all." she had a sexual undertone to her voice that made Ren, Helios and Kirito shiver out of fear.

"Don't you dare touch him!" Asuna snarled at Morrigan. "If you touch him so help me I'll-"

"You'll what? You're binded to the ground, you can't do anything."

"It's okay Asuna." Kirito said as he gave a smile to his girlfriend. "She can't make us do anything we don't want to do."

The race leader then gave a dark little giggle. "Oh but that's where my second skill comes into play." She lifted Kirito by the chin and forced him to look her directly in the eyes as she brought out her hand in front of the swordsmen's face. "Entice!"

Suddenly, a pink heart came out from her palm and landed on Kirito's face. The swordsmen went still for a few moments before his eyes were glazed over with a pink tint to them as he stared at the race leader. "What is your wish my love?"

Asuna grew shocked at the words that came out of her boyfriend's mouth. "Wh-What did he just say...?"

"That's the magic of my Entice skill." Morrigan explained as she unwrapped Kirito from his prison and wrapped her arm around his side. "If the target doesn't have a high enough magic resistant level, they will become the users slave for a set period of time. When the spell runs out, I use the Restrict skill again, Entice him and rinse and repeat."

"See I told you guys they'd be overpowered!" Helios snarled at his friends. "But did you listen to me? Noooo!"

"Are you really going on about this now!?" Lizbeth yelled at the Salamander who barely managed to lift his hand off the ground enough to flip off the Leprechaun.

"Now for the rest of you boys." Morrigan said with a smirk.

Helios started thrashing against Morrigan's grip on his face but didn't have the leverage to do so from his trapped state. "No! You may be hot but you're not my Dagger! I love only her! Every other girl is crap to me!"

"Don't worry sweety." The Succubus said as she finally managed to hold the Salamander down long enough to administer the skill. "Now you'll forget all about her. Okay darling?"

Soon enough,the same pink tint appeared in Helios's eyes as he gave her a dopey smile. "Yes my love."

"I SWEAR ONCE I GET LOOSE I'LL GUT YOUR INSIDES WITH A RUSTY KNIFE YOU HOME WRECKER!" Dagger screamed at the top of her lungs, shocking everyone there.

Morrigan recovered from her shock and moved on to Ren who was trying his hardest not to stare at the Succubus but he had no leverage to fight her hands prying his eyes open. "Now for you handsome."

"NO! KEEP YOUR HANDS OFF HIM!" Alice yelled out, nearly on the verge of tears.

Morrigan just giggled in response and administered the Entice spell on to Ren, causing the pink tint to appear in his eyes and gave the Succubus and love struck stare. "What can I do for you my love?"

The race leader removed the binding from the three males and beckoned them to her. "Come boys, we have a pleasurable night ahead of us."

With no objections from the men, Morrigan and her captives flew off into the sky to the new city for her race as the girls looked on in horror. Several minutes passed before the spell finally wore off and the girls were freed.

"I can't believe this!" Asuna screamed as she stomped her foot on the ground. "That bitch has the nerve to try to take Kirito from me!? Hell no! I'm not letting this pass!"

Dagger nodded her head as she brandished her blade. "Asuna's right! Come on let's get our boys back from that man-stealing home wrecker! I'm gonna make good on my promise!"

Alice steeled herself with a determined look as she brought out her scythe. "I'm gonna make her regret so much as touching Ren when I get my hands on her throat!"

"Yeah! It's time for Operation: Girl Ops! Time to rescue our idiots!" Lizbeth yelled as she and the other girls brought out their wings and flew after the Succubus. Hoping that it wasn't too late to stop her from what she was about to do.

**A/N: Hope you all liked how the story is going so far. Look forward to next week's chapter.**


	23. Succubus

**A/N: Not much to say this week. Hope everyone enjoys the chapter. Feel free to post any comments, reviews, or suggestions you have.**

The Succubus capital, DeRoso was a city located in Alfheim's eastern region, in between the Imp and Undine territories. The city was populated with black colored buildings and a tall dark tower in the center of the city for the race's leader. A large amount of land was added to ALO in order to accommodate for the new race's territory. The city was nearby a mountainous area, where Alice, Asuna, Dagger, and the others were currently hiding as they observed the city.

"So what's the plan?" Silica asked.

"Simple." Alice said. "We go and knock right on their front door."

Leafa looked at the female Imp nervously. "Are you crazy?! That city's probably swarming with guards!"

"I don't care! I can't just sit here while Morrigan has Ren in her clutches." Alice growled.

Asuna gave a nod of agreement with her friend's plan. "I'm with Alice. We don't have time to sneak around."

The team of female players quietly got as close to the city as possible without attracting any attention. The front gate was only a hundred meters from them. Asuna gave the signal to attack and the group charged at the city. They only got a few steps into the city before Succubus players noticed them and began to attack.

"Get out of our way!" Dagger screamed as she cut through Succubus after Succubus with her blade. The rookie players fell quickly to the angered females. The team ran through the streets, finally arriving at the base of the capital tower where Morrigan was most likely to be. As they approached the door, a barrage of fireballs greeted them. Alice and the others jumped back, avoiding the attack as a lone player descended in front of them. She had semi-long hair that was green like all Succubus's and clothing that was quite revealing. At her waist was a thin black rapier.

"My name is Rekka." The Succubus said, introducing herself. "Our leader's been expecting you. However I must say I'm impressed you took down our guards so quickly."

"I don't give a damn who you are!" Alice snarled. "Get out of our way before I rip your limbs off with my scythe!"

"Sorry. No can do." Rekka smirked. "I have direct orders to keep out any outsiders."

Alice pulled out her scythe and got ready to fight. "Bring it on you little-"

"Wait Alice." Mai interrupted, stepping forward. "I'll handle her. Hurry up and go rescue Ren and the others."

"You sure?" Alice asked.

"We can't waste any time here. Get going. I'll be fine." Mai assured her sister.

Alice gave a nod to the young Sylph. "Thanks sis. Be careful." The group ran towards the doors of the tower.

"Where do you think you're going?" Rekka said with a menacing grin. She launched another series of fireballs at the girls, but Mai shielded them with a strong gust of wind magic.

"Forget about them. You're fighting me." Mai glared at her opponent. Alice's group made it through the doors of the tower, leaving only the two of them outside.

"Fine. I'll just take care of you first." Rekka shrugged. She waved her rapier around like a conductor in an orchestra and multiple fireballs manifested out of thin air. "Pretty neat huh? This rapier can also act as a wand type weapon that allows me to use basic fire type spells without chants." Rekka pointed her rapier at Mai and the fireballs flew at the Sylph.

Mai leaped into the air and dodged the assault of magic attacks with a backflip. She then kicked the ground and charged at Rekka full speed. The Succubus launched wave after wave of fireballs at the girl, but Mai was able to gracefully dodge each attack. She got within striking distance of her opponent. Mai attacked the green haired player with a thrust of her rapier, but it was quickly dodged at the last second.

"You're pretty good kid." Rekka grinned as she quickly caught her breath. "This might actually be interesting." Finished with magic attacks, the Succubus began to attack Mai with her sword, turning the battle into a high speed close range fight. Both rapiers clashed furiously with neither one of their owners willing to back down. Neither of them were able to land clean hits on their opponent, relying only on the small scratches their thin weapons made every so often. Eventually, they both leaped back and took the short opportunity to catch their breath.

"Time to end this!" Rekka yelled.

"Bring it on!" Mai said, accepting her opponent's challenge.

Both girls sped at each other and prepared to end it with one final strike. Rekka thrusted her rapier forward as the two were mere feet apart. Mai quickly jerked her body to the right, avoiding the hit. Her weapon then gave off an emerald glow, as she activated a wind type sword skill. The rapier summoned a powerful gale that blew Rekka back and delivered a series of blows from the razor sharp wind. The Succubus crashed into the side of a building and fell over.

"Not bad… kid." Rekka congratulated with a smile. Her avatar burned away into flames, leaving only a small remain light in its place. Mai leaned back onto the tower and began to let herself recover from the battle. She looked up at the tall tower where Alice and the others were currently climbing to save their friends.

"Good luck sis." Mai said with a smile.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Alice, Asuna, Dagger, and the rest of the group climbed up the staircase of the tall tower. Just the very image of Morrigan having her way with their boyfriends infuriated the three girls. They finally reached the end of their current staircase to the next floor. The room they were on was nothing more than a wide circle with a dark violet mat covering the floor. Another set of stairs leading to the next floor could be seen on the other side of the room.

"Hurry! Let's go!" Asuna urged the group. The three girls charged on ahead, as Liz and the rest of their friends just began to arrive at the exit to the stairs behind them.

"Hey! Wait up!" Liz pleaded. Alice, Asuna, and Dagger reached the center of the room when the doors to the staircase in front of them closed and a wide cage appeared from the floor and surrounded the three girls.

"What the hell?! What's going on?!" Dagger gasped.

"What's going on is that you're trapped like rats." A voice called out to answer the merchant. The girls looked up to see another trio of female players descending in front of them inside the cage. They were all Succubus players. The first had long green hair and wore only a leather breastplate on her upper body. Her legs only had leggings and high heal boots. Around her waist was a short violet miniskirt with a one-handed sword sheathed on its side. The second had her hair tied up into two ponytails, making her look like a little kid. She wore a black jacket that was only buttoned on the upper half and tight black shorts. Her weapon was a pair of gauntlets fastened around her hands and lower arms. The last one was the least revealing of the group as she wore a dark blue robe that covered her from her shoulders to her knees, although there was doubtfully much clothing on under it.

"Get out of our way!" Alice snarled. "We don't have time to deal with you."

"I don't see how you three have much other choice." the ponytailed girl said with a giggle. "If you wanna get to Lady Morrigan, you're going to have to beat us."

"I am really not in the mood to deal with a trio of Morrigan's lackeys. Stand aside." Asuna glared.

"For your information, we are NOT lackeys." the robed female corrected. "We are Lady Morrigan's elite team of players."

"And WE are really in a rush." Dagger countered. "Now move it."

"Allow us to introduce ourselves." the one-handed sword user said. "My name is Keiko."

The robed female was the next to introduce herself, as she gave a bow. "You may call me Nomi."

The ponytailed player twirled around and gave a curtsy. "And I'm Scarlet."

"Hang in there guys! We'll bust you out in no time!" Liz assured her friends. She prepared to bash the cage with her mace.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." Keiko warned. The pink haired Leprechaun ignored the Succubus at hit the cage. The result was a spark of electricity that shocked the mace wielder. "Told you."

"Liz! Are you alright?!" Asuna asked. Her friend responded with a thumbs up while she stayed lying down.

The gauntlet wielding ponytailed girl was rolling on the floor laughing. "Wow! What a moron! That was too funny!"

"If you're done, can you please get out of our way?" Alice said with a glare.

"I think we all know the answer to that question." Keiko replied, unsheathing her sword. "The only way to get through those doors is by taking us down."

Alice, Asuna, and Dagger all pulled out their weapons. Nomi pulled out a wand and stepped behind Scarlet and Keiko. Alice was the first to charge, and was quickly intercepted by Keiko. While the two girls locked blades, Scarlet quickly leaped in and switched with her teammate. The ponytailed girl threw punch after punch at Alice, who was barely able to avoid the attacks. The female Imp took advantage of a small opening within the barrage and jumped back, switching with Dagger. The two girls went into a swift clash of attacks, none of which made contact. As the two female players battled, Nomi chanted a spell, buffing her two allies. Asuna and Alice ran past Dagger and Scarlet towards the mage. As Keiko leaped in to intercept them, Alice swung her scythe at her, interlocking her scythe with Keiko's blade. The female Imp swung herself around, throwing the Succubus back as Asuna got closer to Nomi. The Undine attacked the mage with a series of stabs.

"Hang on Nomi!" Scarlet yelled. She hit back Dagger with a powerful punch and ran over to her injured teammate. The ponytailed Succubus jumped into the air and dived down at Asuna. The blue haired Undine fell back, avoiding the incoming attack although the shock wave from Scarlet's smashing into the ground hit her full force. Asuna went flying back into the side of the cage, getting hit by an electrical shock. Alice and Dagger fell back to help their friend.

"You ok, Asuna?" Dagger asked.

"Yeah. I'm fine." Asuna assured the Spriggan. "I didn't think they'd be this tough."

"We need to end this quickly." Alice added. "Nomi's their support. We need to take her down first."

"I can handle that." Dagger offered. "I just need you guys to cover me."

Alice and Asuna nodded in agreement with the merchant's plan and the three of them charged forward. Scarlet came diving in with another midair punch, but Asuna leaped into the air and hit the Succubus with a thrust attack, severely damaging the ponytailed girl. Dagger and Alice continued on towards Nomi as Keiko ran in to stop them. Alice sung her scythe down at the long haired Succubus, knocking her into the ground as Dagger continued on ahead. The female Spriggan's blade became veiled in lightning as she got closer. The cage around them began to create electricity as well, conducting to Dagger's blade. The highly electrified weapon slashed Nomi's avatar. The robed player cried out in pain as she her HP gradually decreased, finally hitting zero. Scarlet and Keiko watched as their ally burned away into a remain light. The two remaining Succubus's had little HP left and were now outnumbered. Alice charged at the female players at finished off the two with one last attack. The cage around them vanished as the two girls became remain lights as well.

"We *huff* did it." Dagger grinned as she took a moment to catch her breath. "Now let's go get that home wreaker so I can make good on my promise. Alice and Asuna nodded in agreement along with the rest of the girls, and the group ran up the now open stairs.

The group finally reached a large set of doors. Alice smashed the final barricade open with a swing of her fist, sending the doors flying open. They looked across the room to see Morrigan sitting on her throne, with the hypnotized Ren, Kirito, and Helios at her side.

"Give back Ren, Kirito, and Helios NOW!" the black haired Imp snarled.

Morrigan gave a malevolent smile at her guests. "Well, well, if it isn't the jealous housewives and the girls that don't even have a guy to steal. I've just finished renewing my Entice spell on these three. Now if you don't mind, I'm busy giving these boys more pleasure than you ever could. Please show yourselves out."

Alice, Asuna, and Dagger all gave looks of pure hatred at the Succubus leader. Liz stepped forward and glared at Morrigan. "You slut! You have no right to call yourself a race leader! All you are is a man stealer!"

"Really? YOU of all people are calling me a man stealer?" Morrigan laughed. "This coming from a girl who has plotted to get Kirito to herself for years? I've heard the rumors about his infamous 'harem goup'."

The revealed truth about the pink haired blacksmith made Asuna's eyes open wide with shock as she turned towards her friend. "Liz? Is she telling the truth?"

"To be honest I'm surprised you haven't noticed until now." Liz admitted. "I mean, we haven't exactly been trying to hide it."

"WE?!" Asuna exclaimed. She scanned the group of girls. "Who else has been secretly plotting to bang Kirito?" In response to the Undine's question, the hands of Silica, Leafa, and Shinon all rose with their heads bowed down. "Are you KIDDING ME?!" she yelled. "I thought you girls were above this. And YOU Lyfa?! You're his sister for crying out loud?"

"Technically we're cousins." Leafa corrected. "It's not illegal for cousins to marry."

"That doesn't make it morally right!"

"Also if we're being honest here, I kinda had a thing for Ren at one point." Liz admitted.

"Excuse me?" Alice asked, turning to the blacksmith.

Morrigan gave an amused smirk to the catfight unfolding in front of her. "I see you girls have some issues to take care of. Please discuss this outside. As I said, I'm busy. Isn't that right Kirito?"

"Yes my love." Kirito replied with the pink tint still present in his eyes.

Asuna turned back towards the Succubus leader with her eyes burning with flames of rage. "Right now I have to save my boyfriend." Asuna said as she unsheathed her rapier. "But when this is all over I am going to have a SERIOUS talk with you girls. Got it?!" Kirito's harem group shivered in fear at the Undine girl's words and all gave a terrified nod.

Morrigan gave an annoyed sigh at the girls. "It seems I'll have to take care of you myself. Fine then. I'll get some enjoyment out of watching you beg for mercy." The Succubus leader now had a grin on her face. "But first, let's have some boys vs girls action shall we? Kirito, Helios, kill them. I'll sit here and enjoy the view with Ren." Morrigan said as she cradled the Imp's face with her hand.

"As you command, my love." Helios and Kirito replied in unison.

"GET YOUR HANDS OFF REN RIGHT NOW YOU SLUT!" Alice screamed.

"Why don't you come up here and make me?" Morrigan challenged. "I have an idea. Let's see if you can get here before I lock lips with your precious little Ren."

Alice charged at the Succubus leader with a terrifying war cry. The enslaved Kirito and Helios leaped in to stop the enraged Imp, but their attacks were intercepted by Liz and Leafa. "We've got these two Alice. Go and knock that man stealer into next week for us." the blacksmith said.

Alice nodded to her friends as she continued charging at full speed. Mocking the female Imp, Morrigan brought Ren's face in closer to hers at a slow pace. Alice leaped into the air and prepared to swing her scythe down at the green haired race leader. Morrigan pushed Ren towards Alice as a shield and jumped out of the way. Unwilling to hurt her boyfriend, Alice stopped her attack midair, losing her balance and falling right into Ren.

"Go ahead and kill her, Ren." Morrigan commanded.

"As you wish, my love." Ren obeyed in a hypnotized voice. He unsheathed his legendary blade, Ragnarok and prepared to attack Alice.

"Ren! Snap out of it!" Alice begged. Ignoring the girl's plea, Ren swung his sword as Alice blocked it with her scythe. "It's me! Alice! Don't you recognize me?!"

"I only have eyes for Lady Morrigan." The hypnotized Imp replied, knocking Alice back with his weapon. Behind her, she could hear Asuna and Dagger having the same struggle with their boyfriends.

"Kirito stop this! Please!"

"Helios it's me! Don't let this man stealer control you like this!"

The pleas of the three girls seemed to have no effect on the three hypnotized players. They continued to attack at the command of Morrigan. Alice was barely holding back Ren's relentless attack when she was suddenly levitated into the air by a mysterious force. She looked over to see the one holding her midair was Morrigan with her magic.

"I'm going to enjoy this." Morrigan smirked. She chanted a spell and a stream of electricity blasted from the Succubus leader's palm, enveloping Alice with pain and suffering. When the attack ended, Morrigan released Alice and the female Imp fell onto the floor, too weak to even stand. "Now then, be a good girl and stay there while Ren and I enjoy ourselves." Morrigan smirked. She looked over to see Kirito and Helios winning their fight as well. "And don't worry. I'll be sure to take my time with Kirito and Helios as well."

Tears began to roll down Alice's face. She could barely speak. "No… Ren… don't do it…"

Ren, Kirito, and Helios walked over to Morrigan. The Succubus leader smirked at her victory. "Good job boys. I think you all deserve a special reward."

"No Kirito! You can't let her win!" Asuna cried.

Suddenly, Kirito raised his hand and quickly chanted a spell. Morrigan gasped in shock as a thick smokescreen surrounded them. When the black fog cleared, Ren, Helios, and Kirito all had their blades drawn and inches from Morrigan. The Succubus couldn't even make a move without touching one of the blades.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?!" Morrigan yelled at the three male players.

"Didn't you notice?" Ren smirked. "Look a little closer."

Morrigan stared at the three and noticed that their eyes had lost their pink tint. "It can't be?! My spell timed out!"

"You really should pay more attention to how much time your spells have left." Kirito said. "Now you can't even wave your hand to bind us."

"And we aren't exactly happy being treated like a bunch of pets." Helios growled.

The girls stared in shock at the scene unfolding in front of them. Alice looked at Ren, unable to believe he was really back. "Ren… is it really you?"

Ren looked over towards the female Imp and gave a reassuring smile. "Yeah Alice. I'm back." Morrigan tried to take advantage of Ren's distraction to break free, but was quickly slammed into the ground by Helios.

"Oh no you don't!" Helios glared. "You're not getting off that easily."

"Wait Helios!" Dagger called out as she ran over to them. "I have a better idea." The Spriggan put her short sword into her storage and pulled out a new one. The new weapon was a dagger that had a silver blade with a green ooze dripping from the tip. She stabbed in into Morrigan's back. "Ok, you can let her go now."

Helios released his grip from the Succubus leader. Morrigan tried to get up but found her body unresponsive. "What the heck?! Why can't I move?!"

"Pretty neat, huh?" Dagger smirked. "Once you get stabbed with that dagger, your body becomes completely paralyzed for five minutes. And that's all we're gonna need to teach you a lesson."

Finally recovered from their injuries, Asuna, Alice, and the others got up and walked over towards the paralyzed leader. Asuna grabbed the Succuus leader by the throat and lifted her into the air. "You've been asking for this for a long time." she glared as she threw a punch and sent Morrigan flying back. The emerald haired player crashed into her throne, sending the golden chair flying along with her. Alice walked over to the Succubus leader and grabbed her just as Asuna had.

"You know Asuna, there's a better way to do it." Alice pointed out.

"Oh? Do tell." Asuna insisted.

"The trick is that you use gravity to your advantage. Like so." Alice said as she tossed Morrigan high into the air and quickly flew above her. The female Imp then locked her hands together and swung them down, hitting Morrigan's stomach and sending her rocketing down and crashing into the floor. The Succubus leader cried out in pain.

"Ooooo! That looked like fun! My turn next!" Dagger grinned. The girls each took turns using Morrigan as a punching bag until her HP finally hit zero.

"It's finally over." Alice sighed with relief. "Let's go home."

"Agreed." Liz nodded.

The group took off and left the Succubus capital. As it turned out, Morrigan wasn't the only Succubus that had a thing for hypnotizing guys to fall head over heels for them. Within a week of the release of the Succubus race, ALO took the seducing race out of the game. The Succubus territory was turned into neutral land for players to explore. For causing so much trouble within the Alfheim community, Morrigan's account was deleted and she was banned from the game.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

It had been two weeks since the incident with Morrigan. Ren, Helios, and the rest of their friends were discussing about the quick life the Succubus race had.

"I told you guys they'd end up nerfing them!" Helios said.

"Yeah, yeah. We heard you." Liz said in an annoyed tone. "I guess even you can be right every once in a while."

"You wanna say that again, blacksmith?!" Helios glared.

"Gladly! You're an annoying moron who mocks everyone he meets!" Liz said, standing face to face with Helios.

"At least I can actually contribute in a fight! My axe could rip you apart in seconds!"

"I don't even know if you can call that an axe with how crappy its condition is!"

"Maybe that's because you suck at forging weapons!"

"How dare you insult my skills as a smith!"

"Here we go again." Ren sighed as he worked on his homework. The screaming match between the two lasted for five minutes until the others finally left the room, leaving the two to face off in there heated clash.

**A/N: Again, I hope everyone enjoyed the chapter. Look forward to next week.**


	24. Blessing Ceremony

**A/N: Holy cow, this week was nothing but writing, homework, and more writing. I really wanted to come up with a good chapter for Valentine's Day. This idea is based off of a moment in the Hollow Fragment game, so for any of you that have played the game this will bring some flashbacks.**

Asuna walked through the hallways of her school, preparing to head home for the day, now that she had just finished her last class. A majority of the school had already went home for the day, or were at clubs. As she passed by the school courtyard however, she stopped. Her gaze looked towards Ren sitting alone on a bench. The chestnut haired teen walked over to her friend and greeted him with a friendly smile. "Hey Ren. You waiting for Alice?"

Ren shook his head in response with a depressed look on his face. "No, I'm here alone. To be honest, Alice and I haven't really spoken much lately."

"Why? You two are always so close." Asuna asked, puzzled.

Ren let out a sigh. "I messed up. Ever since that whole issue with Morrigan, it's like there's a rift between us."

"Come on Ren. That wasn't your fault." Asuna argued. "She hypnotized you into acting like that."

"Asuna, I nearly kissed Morrigan! How would you feel if Kirito had done that?!" Ren's eyes widened with shock as the words escaped his mouth. He lowered his head in shame. "Sorry. That was uncalled for. I forgot he was under her spell too."

"It's alight. I'll let it slide. I can see you're really stressed out about this." the chestnut haired female replied, taking a seat next to him.

"What am I supposed to do? How can I make up for how much I've hurt her?" Ren asked.

Asuna patted her depressed friend on the back. "Just leave that to me! If there's one thing I know anything about, it's love!" After that, she got off of the bench and ran off into the school.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Alice silently studied over her notes in the school's cafeteria. Studying with her were her younger sister Mai and her friend Dagger. The two of them could easily see that Alice's mind was sidetracked away from her notes due to the slight frown on the black haired girl's face, giving each other a look of worry about her. "You okay Alice?" Dagger asked her friend. Alice seemed to not notice the red haired girl, lost in her own thought. Dagger waved her hand in front of her. "Hello? Alice?" Still, no response came.

"Here, let me try." Mai suggested. She cuffed her hand around her older sister's ear to make sure her message would get through. "Alice, they're selling strawberry milkshakes."

An immediate reaction came from the black haired girl at the mention of one of her favorite drinks. She scanned the room for the treat mentioned before finally realizing the information was false. Alice gave a look of annoyance at her sister. "Come on Mai. Don't get my hopes up like that. You know strawberry milkshakes are my favorite."

"Well I didn't see any other way to snap you out of that trance you were in." Mai responded.

"Seriously, what's up with you?" Dagger added. "You've had that depressed look for the past three days."

"Can I ask you something?" Alice asked her red haired friend. "Do you think Ren loves me?"

Dagger broke out into a hysterical laugh at the question "You're kidding right? Alice, that boy is so crazy about you it's almost borderline insane! Of course he loves you! He might even love you more than I love money, and that's really saying something. Why would you even ask that?"

"It's just-"

"It's Morrigan, isn't it?" Asuna interrupted as she walked over and took a seat next to Alice.

Alice turned her head toward her friend. "Is it that obvious?"

"I went through the same thing when Morrigan hypnotized Kirito." Asuna explained. "I know that look all too well."

"You're still bummed about that?" Dagger asked. "I know she was a man stealer, but you don't have to worry about her any more. The Succubus race was taken out of ALO and Morrigan's account was deleted."

"I know, but that doesn't change how badly I felt when I saw Ren almost kiss her. My heart felt like it shattered into a million pieces."

"I felt the same when I saw Helios with her, Alice. But now that's all over and we've never been closer."

"That's because you haven't let any other girl near him within a ten meter radius." Mai added.

"Trust me, Ren's still upset about what happened too. But the two of you need to stop moping about this. You two need to rekindle that spark you had." Asuna said.

"And just how are we supposed to do that?" Alice asked.

"Try going on a date, or maybe a picnic." Dagger suggested.

Asuna shook her head at the merchant's idea. "No, we need something else. Something the two of them haven't already done. Something original. Something-"

"I have an idea Mommy." Yui's voice appeared. Asuna took out her cell phone to let her daughter talk. "You could try the new Blessing Ceremony quest in New Aincrad."

"Blessing ceremony quest?" Alice asked with her curiosity peaked.

"It's a quest that was recently released in New Aincrad." Yui explained. "According to the data I have of it, it's supposed to measure the bond between two people. It can only be done by a couple."

"Wow! That sounds romantic!" Mai said. "That could be just what you and Ren need."

"Yeah, I agree." Asuna nodded. "Who knows? It might just make you guys even closer."

Alice looked around at her three friends who all seemed to be in agreement and waiting for her answer. "Maybe you're right. Okay I'll try it."

"Perfect!" Asuna cheered. "So Yui, what do we need to do to trigger the quest?"

"Ren and Alice just need to go to the church on floor 14 and talk to the priest there." Yui explained. "From there, the priest will tell them what they need to do."

"Okay so we've got ourselves a game plan!" Asuna exclaimed. "Dagger, you give Ren the details and tell him to meet us on floor 14 ASAP. I'll go with Alice." Asuna grabbed Alice's hand and pulled her along with her, running out of the cafeteria. Dagger looked over at Mai.

"Asuna's really excited about this, isn't she?"

The young brunette nodded her head in agreement. "Yeah, I don't think I've ever seen her so excited. Well anyway, let's go get Ren."

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

Ren walked through the streets of the 14th floor of New Aincrad feeling extremely nervous. All he knew was that Dagger and Mai told him to meet Asuna and Alice here. As for what it was they were going to do once he arrived, the Imp had no clue what to expect. He finally arrived at the church on floor 14 and saw that Asuna and Alice had already arrived. Yui was sitting on Asuna's shoulder in her small pixie form. Looking into Alice's eyes, Ren could immediately tell the rift between them was still present.

"Hey Alice." Ren greeted in a quiet tone.

"Hey." Alice replied in a similar voice.

"Ok you two, time to stop with those sad faces!" Asuna exclaimed in a cheery tone. "You're doing this quest to repair the bond between you! Now go in there and show the power of your love!"

The two Imps were a bit weirded out by the Undine, but gave a nod. Asuna forcefully shoved the couple through the doors of the church. After giving them a wish for good luck, she left. Ren gazed at Alice, ashamed of how he had hurt her. "Look Alice… I…I…"

"If you have something to say, just say it Ren." Alice pleaded.

"I'm so sorry about what happened." the tactician apologized. "Words can't express how badly I feel for hurting you like that."

The female Imp gave an understanding nod. "I know you are Ren. I really want us to go back to how we were. That's why I want us to do this quest."

The couple walked down the aisle of the church towards the priest at the end. The two greeted the man and a quest flag appeared. "Greetings. Have you come to prove the eternal bond between you two?"

"We have." Ren and Alice replied in unison.

"Very well. Then take these two rings." the priest explained, handing them a pair of rings. Both were very transparent, not showing any color whatsoever. "Wear these rings and go to three places within Aincrad. The first is the Lake of Purification on floor 20. Afterwards, go to the place that the two of you share strong memories of. Lastly, you must go to the Holy Temple in the dungeon on floor 29. As you complete each trial, you're rings will change color. I wish you good luck."

Ren and Alice took the pair of rings and a "!" appeared over the NPC priest's cursor, showing the quest was now in progress.

"Alright. Let's do this Ren." Alice said to the tactician. "If we complete this quest, things can finally go back to the way they were."

Ren gave a nod of agreement. "Yeah. I'll do anything to make things right."

The two walked out of the church and carried on towards floor 20, both filled with the determination to succeed in their quest.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

The Lake of Purification was extremely large compared to most of the lakes in New Aincrad. It seemed to stretch out for miles. The lake was also very secluded, which Ren and Alice were extremely thankful for, as it would give them a lot of privacy.

"So what now?" Alice wondered.

Almost as if to answer the female Imp's question, a signpost emerged from the ground in front of the pair. Ren walked up and read the sign aloud. "For those that wish to purify their love for one another, wear the proof of your bond and go into the lake…" Ren stopped his reading, put into silence by the words that came after.

"So we just have to go into the lake?" Alice confirmed. "That sounds easy enough."

"There's more." Ren explained. "But I'm not sure you're going to be a big fan of it." The Imp moved to the side to let Alice read for herself. The female player walked up and read the sign for herself.

"Wear the proof of your bond and enter the lake… and REMOVE YOUR CLOTHES?!"

The couple looked at each other with both their faces an equal shade of red. They looked at the signpost and read again to make sure they hadn't misread it, but the message remained the same.

"Are you sure about this?" Ren asked. "If you don't want to, I understand."

"No." Alice said. "We said we'd complete this quest no matter what and I plan on keeping that promise."

"But we have to-"

"I know." Alice said. "We'll just… go in and look in opposite directions."

"Ok." the tactician nodded. They equipped the rings and entered the lake. The two then proceeded to un-equip all of their gear via their menu. The pair stood in the water in silence, not sure of what to say to one another.

"So how long do we have to stay… you know… like this?" Alice asked.

"Until the rings change color I guess." Ren replied. The couple stood in the water for what seemed like an eternity, but it was really only a mere thirty seconds before the rings started to glow. The incandescent light shimmered brightly as the two stared at their rings. When the lighting died down, the once transparent rings now gave off a glowing red color. Relieved that the awkward moment had finally ceased, the couple reequipped their armor and exited the lake.

"Thank god that's over." Alice said with a sigh of relief. "I was afraid someone would see."

"Yeah. It's a good thing this spot is so secluded." Ren agreed.

"You… didn't turn around… right?" the female player asked nervously.

"Come on Alice, you know me better than that." Ren assured her. Suddenly he paused. "You didn't turn around either… did you?"

"W-What?! O-Of course not!" Alice exclaimed.

A sudden voice popped up after Alice's stuttering. "Oh I wouldn't be too sure about that!" The pair turned to see Dagger exiting from the trees and skipping over to them.

"Dagger?! Y-You were WATCHING?!" Alice gasped.

The black haired Spriggan gave a smile. "Yep! I thought I'd be able to catch a make out session between you two and sell the pictures for some profit. But I definitely wasn't expecting to see the two of you nude in a lake. Now THESE will get some major Yld. VRMMO's are crawling with perverts wanting stuff like this."

The blushing faces of the couple were now as red as the rings they were wearing. Alice immediately leaped at the female Spriggan. "Don't you dare Dagger! Delete those pictures right now!"

Dagger laughed teasingly at her embarrassed friend as she dodged the tackle. She continued to avoid the furious attacks of the female Imp. "I'm just joking Alice! I didn't take any pictures of you! Lighten up!"

Alice stopped her assault on her friend and crossed her arms in annoyance at the merchant. "That was NOT funny Dagger!"

"Really? Cause I found your reaction hilarious." Dagger grinned. "That was SO worth tracking you guys down all the way here." The black haired Spriggan leaned in closer and whispered something into Alice's ear. "I also noticed you turning around and taking a little peak at Ren, you naughty girl."

"Whatever! Let's go Ren!" Alice growled with her cheeks painted with a deep shade of red as she grabbed her boyfriend by the back of his collar and started dragging him along before Dagger could say anything else.

The couple headed back to town, unsure of their next destination. The priest had told them they needed to go somewhere that held a lot of memories for them, but they had no clue where that would be. The two Imp's had dozens of places where they had been together. Going to each one would take all day.

"Where could it possibly be?" Alice wondered. "A place that's really special to us."

Ren thought to himself about any place in particular that held the most meaning to them. All of them had their own significance, but was there any place that really stood out? He thought of the place where he first confessed his love for Alice, but that floor had yet to be unlocked in New Aincrad. A sudden finger snap from Alice cut off his thoughts.

"Hey, you know what? Let's go to floor 27." the female Imp suggested.

"Floor 27? Isn't that where we had our first date?" Ren said.

Alice nodded her head yes in response to Ren's question. "Yeah! It's perfect!"

The pair teleported to floor 27 and stared at the scenery. Long fields covered the town area. Large trees stood in separate areas, providing shade to anyone that was under them. Alice grabbed Ren's hand and the two walked over towards the tree where their first date had taken place.

"This brings back a ton of memories, doesn't it Ren?" Alice smiled.

"Yeah. Back then, we were both so nervous that we didn't even know what to do." Ren agreed. "In the end, we ended up taking a nap under here and when I woke up, you were cuddled around me."

Alice giggled when she looked back at that moment. "And when I woke up, my face got so red with embarrassment. I was rendered speechless."

As the couple continued reminiscing over that day, the rings around their fingers glowed once again. When the illuminating brightness subsided, the color was changed to a dazzling emerald. The sparkling rings shined in the bright sunlight washing over them.

"Wow. I got so lost in reminiscing about the past that I forgot about the quest." Ren laughed.

"Yeah. Same here." Alice said. "So now all that's left is the Holy Temple on floor 29."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The dungeon on floor 29 had a very simple layout. It was difficult to get lost in. However, the Holy Temple area was hidden within the dungeon. Yui had given them directions on how to locate the hidden temple. The entrance was located in an area of the dungeon that was thought to be a dead end and could only be opened with the two rings that Ren and Alice had. After battling through a few mobs, the couple reached the dead end that Yui had told them about. They held out their rings and the wall in front of them began to light up. Similarly, the two rings also lit up, reacting to the door. The wall split in two and the couple walked through the opened passageway.

"This is incredible." Alice gasped in awe of the temple's beauty. The room was filled with colorful mirrors and lit chandeliers. At the other side of the room was an altar. Rena and Alice walked across the room and arrived right before the altar when a voice echoed throughout the room.

"You who have come to the Holy Temple do you truly cherish the one with you?"

Ren and Alice looked towards each other. They both gave a reassuring smile and nodded. The time for the finale of the quest had come at last. They faced the altar again.

"We do!" the pair replied in unison.

"No matter healthy or ill or during times of happiness or sadness, do you promise to love, respect, and comfort one another with all your heart for all eternity?"

Ren and Alice quickly jerked their heads back toward each other, realizing the significance of the colorful mirrors and altar. "Th-This… this is… a wedding ceremony… isn't it?" Alice said.

"Yeah… I think it is. That explains why this place closely resembles the inside of a church." Ren agreed.

"So that means-"

"Do you promise this with all your heart?" the echoing voice repeated.

Alice stared into the eyes of the boy across from her. They had been together for so long. Ever since that time they had first kissed back in SAO… no, even before that, she had fallen completely and hopelessly in love with him. Ren smiled at her as if he could tell exactly what she was thinking.

"No matter how I think about it, I couldn't imagine spending my life with anyone else." Ren said to the female Imp.

Tears began to roll down Alice's eyes as her lips formed a smile as well. "Oh Ren… you don't know how happy hearing those words makes me." The couple faced the altar and once again responded in unison.

"We do!"

"Very well." The voice said. "Now demonstrate the power of that bond."

Alice and Ren stood there, puzzled by what the voice meant until the mirrors behind the altar began to shine brightly, blinding the two Imps. When they regained their sight, a gigantic armored knight, twice the size of either of them, stood in front of them with its sword drawn. Ren and Alice drew their weapons.

"Looks like there's only one thing left to do." Ren grinned.

"Yeah." Alice nodded. "Let's show them what we can do."

The couple charged at their armored opponent at full speed. As the knight swung its sword down at them, the two Imps jumped sideways and avoided the attack. Alice leaped at the knight and hooked her scythe around its neck. She yanked it back and forced her opponent to lose its balance a little. Ren took advantage of the opportunity and charged at the knight. His sword lit up with an emerald light as he stabbed the armored figure with the sword skill Vorpal Strike. As the knight was forced to take a few steps back to regain its balance, Alice leaped off of it and swung her scythe down, ripping through the knight and leaving a long red gash. Its HP bar dropped into the yellow zone and the knight roared.

"Careful, it's probably gonna change attack patterns now!" Ren warned.

Their opponent proved Ren's theory to be correct as it began to swing its sword around in a circular motion. As Ren jumped back, a powerful wind swept under him, created by the force of the spinning knight. The wind made Ren fall over and the knight swung its sword towards Alice. The female Imp ducked and the sword passed over her, but the force of the swing sent Alice flying back. As she hit the wall, Alice lost the grip on her scythe and her weapon flew out of her hand, landing about ten meters away from the girl. Alice ran for her weapon as the knight prepared another attack. Alice grabbed the handle of her scythe, but could already tell she was too late as the powerful sword was just inches from her.

"Alice! Look out!" Ren yelled as he leaped in and pushed Alice to the side, taking the knight's attack full force. The tactician was sent flying back from the impact.

"REN! NO!" Alice screamed, running to the Imp's side. She kneeled next to him. "Ren, are you ok?!"

"Yeah *huff* never better." Ren replied barely able to endure the pain from the blow. His HP was in a dangerous shade of red. The knight began to walk over towards them to finish the injured Imp off.

"I'll keep it busy. Hurry up and heal." Alice told Ren as stood up and blocked the knight's path. "If you want to get to him, you're gonna have to go through me!" Accepting the female Imp's challenge, the knight got into a fighting pose and attacked her with a horizontal slash. Alice dodged the attack and jumped onto the sword. The female player ran across the massive blade, hooking her scythe around the knight's neck and dragging it down onto the floor. The knight hit the ground with a powerful thud as Alice jumped back towards Ren, whose HP had recovered to a safe amount.

"Let's end this with our combo attack." Ren suggested with a smirk on his face.

"You read my mind." Alice agreed with a grin on her face as well. The knight approached the pair, ready to end the battle.

"Here we go!" Ren yelled. The male Imp activated a sword skill and his blade became veiled in flames. He charged at the armored knight and slashed it, leaving a trail of fire in his path. Alice leaped right behind the knight and began to spin around at an incredible speed. The flames became swept up in the female player's spinning attack and circled around her and the knight, creating a tall tornado of fire. The knight became swept up in the flaming tornado and was blown skyward to the top of the spiraling flames. The armored figure hit the ceiling of the temple and Alice hooked her scythe around it's waist as it began to fall. She yanked her weapon forward, cutting into her opponent.

"Take this! BURNING LOTUS!"

The knight crashed into the floor with devastating force, leaving a crater. Alice jumped away safely as the knight shattered into fragments. The female Imp was about to collapse from exhaustion, until she was caught by Ren's comforting arms. "We did it." Ren smiled at the black haired female. After letting Alice quickly catch her breath, the two walked over and stood on the altar, expecting the echoing voice from before to reappear. However, nothing came.

"What's wrong?" Alice wondered. "Our rings should be glowing at least. We did complete the quest didn't we?"

"Maybe there's something missing. Another requirement?" Ren considered.

"What if we failed Ren?! What if our bond isn't strong enough?" Alice gasped.

"No way. That can't be it." Ren assured her. Suddenly he snapped his fingers, realizing the answer. "Of course! That's it!"

"What's it? What did you figure out?" Alice asked.

"Come on Alice. Think for a second and you'll figure it out too." Ren said. "This is a wedding ceremony."

"I know that, but I don't see your-" Alice's words were interrupted by Ren pulling her in close and the two locking lips. As the two continued their kiss, their pair of rings began to shine brighter than ever before. The light reflected off the mirrors, bathing the entire room in a warm light. When the light subsided, the two rings were a pure shinning white color. Ren checked his menu and the name of the item had changed. The name Ring of Bonds had changed and now read Wedding Ring. The two also noticed that their inventory was shared as well.

"Ren… this means… we're married!" Alice gasped. Tears began to roll down the female Imp's eyes as she wrapped her arms around her new husband. "I'm so happy!"

"Me too." Ren smiled as Alice cuddled herself around him, the two trapped in their moment of happiness.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

_**The next day…**_

"Time out! You guys are MARRIED now?!" Dagger exclaimed at Alice with her mouth wide open. "That's great!"

Asuna, Mai, and Dagger were all curious to hear the news of how the quest went. Needless to say, they were shocked by the answer.

"Yui, did you know that this would happen?" Asuna asked her daughter.

"No." Yui replied through Asuna's cell phone. "Even I don't have data on the outcome of quests. I can only obtain data on what it's about and the difficulty level."

"I guess this makes you and Ren in-laws now, Mai." Dagger teased. "Now he has TWO little sisters."

"Hey cut it out!" Mai replied with a pout. "I'm happy for Ren and Alice, but don't go calling me Ren's little sister! Helios's insults of calling me squirt will never end if he hears that!"

"I know, I know. Just joking." Dagger laughed. "Maybe I should do this quest with Helios. That way I don't have to bug him into giving me items to sell. I can just take them."

"What about you two getting married?" Asuna asked.

"Yeah. That too."

A laughing voice caught the girls' attention as they turned to see Ren walking over with two cups in his hands. "Helios, a married man. Now THAT would make for quite a story." He handed over one of the drinks to Alice. "Here you go."

"What is it?" Alice wondered. She looked inside the cup to see her favorite treat. "A strawberry milkshake! I love these!"

"Yeah. There's a shop that sells these around the corner. I thought you'd like it." Ren said. Alice began to slurp her milkshake down quickly.

"I thought it was the quickest way to a GUY'S heart was through their stomach. I guess it's true for girls too." Mai giggled.

"Yeah but it works easier on guys." Alice laughed. "That's how I've managed to keep Kazuto in line so easily."

Dagger imitated a whipping sound, making the girls break out into even more laughter. Alice got out of her seat and grabbed Ren's hand. "Well see you guys later! I'm going with Ren." the black haired female waved to her friends as the two walked out of the school's cafeteria.

"Wow Asuna. You did a really good job bringing those two back together." Mai complimented.

"All in a day's work for the Master of Love!" Asuna grinned, raising her hand into the air and forming a V sign with her fingers.

"Hey, it was my idea for them to do the quest, Mommy!" Yui complained.

"Oh yeah. That's right." Asuna remembered. "In that case Yui, you're the deputy of the Master of Love!"

"What does deputy mean?" Yui asked.

"It means that Asuna's a glory hog." Dagger giggled. A quick glare from Asuna quickly made the red haired girl cringe in fear though.

"Watch it Dagger. If you ever what to join Asuna's Agency of Love, you must show proper respect to your leader!" the chestnut haired girl warned.

"How much does it pay?" Dagger asked.

"Not a thing."

"Then I'm not interested." The red haired teen replied.

As the three girls joked around in the school's cafeteria, at a nearby park, the newlywed couple sat on a bench, hands locked together, and leaning on each other as the moment seemed to go on forever.

**A/N: Phew. Finally done writing what was definitely my longest chapter yet. I really hope you all enjoyed it because I worked CRAZY hard writing this within a week. Please post any comments or reviews you have about this chapter so I can here your feedback, or suggestions so this story can continue to improve.**


	25. Shenanigans

**A/N: It's that time again readers. I'm sorry I'm posting this a little late. I am happy to hear all the positive feedback I'm getting. You guys are AWESOME! Please continue to PM me or give your feedback through the comments section. Hope you enjoy the chapter.**

The spring breeze flew through the morning air, creating a refreshing feeling outside. Ren was currently in bed, trying to get another hour of sleep in for his Saturday morning. The morning light pierced through the window of Ren's room however, telling him that trying to get any more sleep was just wishful thinking. He reached for his phone to check what time it was, but for some reason it wasn't there. Ren looked at the clock in his room instead and saw it was eight o'clock. The brown haired boy got dressed and headed downstairs, where breakfast was already on the table. Clair was currently eating some pancakes on her plate.

"Morning" Ren yawned.

"Good morning dear" Ren's mother greeted. "You sleep well?"

"Yeah, pretty much" he replied as he rubbed his eyes to try and wake himself up a little more.

"Go ahead and eat. I made plenty so dig in."

Ren walked over and took a seat at the table, gradually starting to wake up. Clair had already shrugged off any tiredness she had as she was already scoffing down her food. The young brunette smiled at her older brother.

"So are you doing anything today, big bro?"

"I dunno." Ren shrugged. "Maybe I'll go out and see a movie."

The two siblings' mother quickly turned her head towards her son. "Wait! You can't go out today!"

"Why not?" Ren questioned.

"B-Because… I'm going out shopping today! Yeah, that's it! I can't have Clair here all by herself."

"Then I'll take Clair with me. Anything you wanna see sis?"

"Hmm let me think" Clair said as she thought for a moment. "Well I wouldn't mind seeing-"

"You can't go out today!" their mother exclaimed

Ren gave his mom a suspicious look. "What's up with you? Is there something going on?"

"N-No" she replied. "Y-You just never know if something might come up."

'_What's going on with her today?'_ Ren wondered. _'Eh, probably best not to dig too deep into that'_

After Ren finished breakfast, he washed the dishes and took a seat on the couch in their living room. "By the way, has anyone seen my phone?" he asked.

"It's over here on the counter" his mom answered. Ren walked over there and as she said, it was lying right there. _'Weird. I don't remember leaving it here last night'_ he thought. The brown haired teen was about to walk over to the couch, until he suddenly heard the doorbell ring.

"Could you get that?" Ren's mother asked.

Obeying his mother, Ren walked to the door and opened it. Surprisingly, the person on the other side was Alice. "Alice? What are you doing here?" he questioned.

"What are you talking about?" the black haired girl responded. "You texted me this morning and asked if I could come over today. I sent a reply back saying yes, and you told me to get here as soon as I could."

Ren gave a confused look towards his girlfriend. "No I didn't. I haven't even touched my phone since-" Suddenly, Ren realized what had just happened. He hadn't left his phone on the counter last night. Someone had taken it from his room this morning while he was still sleeping, texted Alice in his place, and told her to come over. Only one person was devious and cunning enough to do that.

"Hello Alice!" Ren's mother called from the kitchen with a cheerful tone. "Dan didn't say you were coming over today."

"Mom…" Ren glared.

"Yes sweetie?"

"You took my phone and sent a fake text to Alice?"

"What?"

"Don't deny it."

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Mom"

"Oh fine, but can you blame me?" his mother finally admitted. "It's been forever since she's come over."

"That's because you're here and I don't want to deal with you trying to embarrass me!"

"But how else am I supposed to have any fun?"

Ren pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration. Alice walked into the house, feeling the awkward tension between her boyfriend and his mother, who cheerfully came over to greet the black haired teen. "It's just so nice for you to be in my son's life. It seems like yesterday he was just learning to walk. Now my baby has a girlfriend!"

"Mom!"

Ren's mother chuckled at her son's red face, though whether it was from embarrassment or anger couldn't be told. The brown haired teen took his girlfriend's hand. "Come on. Let's go upstairs."

As the couple walked upstairs to Ren's room, his mother called out to them again. "Make sure you leave the door open. I wouldn't want to walk in on you two lovebirds kissing."

"… You're gonna make this entire day hell for me, aren't you?"

"I'm your mother. It's what I do."

Ren gave an annoyed sigh and brought Alice up to his room to get away from his psycho mother, closing the door behind him despite her telling him not to. The two took a seat on the edge of his bed. "I'm sorry she dragged you into this."

"Oh it's not that bad. Plus we get to spend the day together." Alice told him. "At least she doesn't hate me or anything."

"If anything, I think she likes you too much." Ren said.

The two continued chatting about various things. As the two talked, a knock on the door was heard. "Don't worry, it's Clair" the voice assured the couple.

"Come in" Ren said, relieved that his mother hadn't come up to embarrass him even more.

The young brunette opened the door and walked in. "Can you help me with my homework? I'm having some trouble with it."

"Can't you ask mom to do it?" Ren asked.

"She's too busy thinking up how to embarrass you two next" the young brunette explained. "Please! I really need help with this!"

"Can't it wait till tomorrow? I'm hanging out with Alice."

"Oh yeah, about that" Clair began with a devilish grin "I heard a certain couple recently got married in Alfheim. I wonder how mom would react if she found out this little piece of info."

"You wouldn't dare"

"Try me"

'_What did I do to deserve this?'_ Ren asked himself as he sighed. "Fine, I'll help. What subject is it?"

Clair entered the room and took a seat on the bed with the couple with her notebook on her lap. "It's this stupid math" the brunette explained. "I don't get any of this long division stuff. It makes no sense"

"Math isn't my strong suit, so I'm not gonna be much help" Alice sighed.

"Well it's a good thing I'm better at math than you two" Ren said. "I'm already used to having to give Alice all the answers to her geometry homework"

Alice puffed her face in semi-mock anger. "Hey, that's not fair. I end up helping you with homework too… sometimes"

"If by sometimes you mean never"

"Can we get back to MY homework?" Clair asked.

Ren continued to lead his sister through the multiple math problems she had. After an hour, the young brunette finished her homework and left the couple alone in Ren's room.

"That took longer than expected" Ren sighed as he laid down across his bed.

Alice laid down next to her boyfriend and nuzzled against him. "Well at least we can finally be alone"

Ren gazed into Alice's beautiful scarlet eyes as they stared at each other and smiled. Alice leaned in closer and gave a kiss to the brown haired teen. The two cuddled together, trapped in their moment of happiness.

"Awwwww, you two are so adorable!" Ren and Alice immediately sat back up to see Ren's mother at the door to her son's room with a grin on her face. The couple's faces became bright red. "Young love is just the cutest thing, isn't it?"

"What do you want mom?" Ren said in a very annoyed tone.

"I just wanted to see if Alice wants to stay over for dinner. After all, she's never stayed over to eat."

"I'd be happy to stay" Alice nodded. "I just need to check with my parents first."

"Oh don't worry. I already called to see if they were ok with it." Ren's mother explained. "They said it's no problem"

"What are you planning?" Ren asked.

"Now that's a little uncalled for, don't you think?" she asked. "I'm just trying to let you two enjoy some time together."

"You just want to embarrass me some more, don't you?"

Not answering his question, Ren's mother left the room in a seemingly innocent manner. Knowing her though, Ren knew she was going to try to pull something.

"Your mom's kinda interesting" Alice told him.

"Interesting isn't the word I'd use."

"She's just messing with you. Parents get like that sometimes. You should see how my mom reacted when she found out I suddenly had a boyfriend."

As Ren and Alice chatted away, time passed by. Before they knew it, Clair had come up to tell them that dinner was almost ready. The couple went downstairs to find the table set with a steak in the middle. Four plates were set out for them.

Ren and Alice took a seat at the table along with Clair and Ren's mother. She cut up the steak and handed out the slices to everyone. They all put their hands together.

"Itadakimasu!"

With that said, the group began to dig in to the food in front of them. Ren might not have been the greatest at cooking, but his mother wasn't as hopeless in the kitchen as him.

"So Alice" Ren's mother began. "My son has been talking about you non-stop."

'_I knew it'_ Ren thought as he gave a small unnoticeable sigh. _'Why does she always do this to me?'_

"He does talk a lot about you" Clair agreed. "It's almost obsessive"

Ren gave a look towards his sister. Even without words, it was as if they had some sort of silent telepathic communication between them.

'_Why are you egging her on? I helped you with your homework so can you try to not make this night miserable?'_

'_But it's more fun to see you like this'_

'_Well it's not fun for me'_

'_That's what makes it fun'_

"So, is there anything new with you two lovebirds?" Ren's mother asked, interrupting the siblings' communication.

"Well" Clair began. "I did hear that these two got-"

'_I can't let her tell mom we got married in game! Mom will never stop teasing me if that happens!'_

"Actually, I heard that Clair got a crush on some boy at her school" Ren interrupted, not letting his sister finish.

"What?!" Clair exclaimed.

"Really?! Is that true?!" Ren's mother asked. "Oh, my little baby girl is growing up too! She already has her first crush!"

Alice leaned over and whispered into her boyfriend's ear. "Is that really true?"

"No" the brown haired teen whispered back. "But at least this'll keep my mom's attention off us"

Clair continued to try to explain that it wasn't true, but her mother wouldn't let her off the hook until she told her who she was "crushing" on. The young brunette glared over at her brother.

'_Why did you have to tell her that?'_

_Not so fun when the tables are turned, is it?'_

The group of four continued to eat dinner, while Clair did everything she could to evade her mother's constant barrage of questions. After they finished eating, Ren decided to walk Alice back to her place.

**A/N: Again, I'm sorry that this chapter is late. I will try to get next week's chapter up on time. Until then everyone.**


	26. Dark Knight

**A/N: Hello once again readers. These upcoming chapters will be using a game series that I'm sure all you gamers out there have heard of. I hope you enjoy it. Also, as some of you may remember, I talked about starting up a fanfic for this story based on the Hollow Fragment game. I am pleased to announce that the first chapter will be coming next week. Hope you're all looking forward to it.**

Kikouka sat at his desk, enjoying a cup of coffee to keep him going through the night shift at the Department of Internal Affairs. Paperwork had stacked up tremendously from the GGO incident. Four deaths, two arrests, and one murderer still on the run. The work was enough to kill him. And it didn't help when a woman came barging into his office.

"This had better be damn good." Kikouka said to the staff member that entered the room.

"Sorry for the interruption sir, but there's something that I think you should see." the woman said. She led him through the building to the office of the leader of Internal Affairs. She exited the room after she brought him in, leaving him with the department head of Internal Affairs, a man named Kenta Ryonoske. He was a well-known man in Japanese politics, unafraid of using underhanded methods to get the job done. He wore a light-brown buttoned jacket, and always seemed very high class. However, Kikouka knew that if he had been brought to his office, something was up.

"I'm impressed with your work on the Gun Gale Online case, Kikouka." Kenta complimented.

On the inside Kikouka was completely flustered, wondering about what could be happening. But on the outside he kept his composure and gave off a modest nature thanks to his incredible poker face. "You flatter me too much, sir. It was Kirito that did most of the work.

"And it was you who decided to use him to solve the murder case." Kenta pointed out. "I know you must be tired from all the paperwork you probably have piled up, but I need you for another case."

'_I don't get paid enough for this'_ Kikouka thought to himself as he kept up his fake smile. "If there is any way I can be of service, I will gladly help."

"Good." Kenta said. He pressed a button on his desk and the room's lights dimmed. A screen turned on at the right side of the room. On it was footage of a VRMMO, focused on a party of seven players.

The group consisted of two mages, three swordsmen, a healer, and an axe user that seemed to be the leader. From the looks of it, it seemed like a usual hunt. That look flew out the window when IT appeared. Standing across from the group was a player in black ironclad armor. Stabbed into the ground right in front of him was a massive black sword with a golden hilt.

"You want something, pal?" the party leader asked.

In response to his question, the knight grabbed the hilt of his sword and yanked it out of the ground with one hand. The strength stat of this player must be astronomical to wield such a large blade with one hand. The knight finally spoke in a deep muffled voice. "You aren't worthy."

"What was that?!"the player growled. He took out his axe and got into a battle ready pose. "Get him guys!" The party of seven roared in unison as they charged at the knight.

The mages were the first to attack, sending a wave of fire attacks at the knight. The fireballs were blown away however when the knight simply swung his sword, sending an energy wave and blowing them away to nothing. The wave hit the mages and made their HP hit zero instantly. They shattered and vanished into dust. The three swordsmen ran even faster at the knight, angered by the deaths of their friends. Their blades made multiple slashes at the knight, lasting for a full thirty seconds until they finally stopped. They looked at the knight's HP bar, expecting to see it down by at least half. Their mouths dropped when they saw it had only gone down by a mere five percent. The knight swung his blade yet again, creating an energy wave that sent the three swordsmen flying back and hitting the trees. Their health hit zero as well and they shattered. Scared at the knight's unbelievable power, the cleric ran off, leaving only the axe wielding leader.

"Damn you! You're gonna pay!" the leader yelled as he charged at the knight. He swung his axe down, but it was blocked by the knight's sword. A large chunk of the axe chipped off, destroying the weapon. The knight swung a punch at the disarmed player, sending him flying back. He lied defeated on the ground, with only a small fraction of his HP left. The knight walked over, ready to finish the job.

"Wh-Who are you? WHAT are you?" the player asked the invincible opponent.

"I am the Dark Knight." the player responded. "I will continue to kill player after player. I will only stop if my wish is granted."

"What do you want?"

"I am only after one thing." the knight said as he sung his sword down, finishing off the player. "Ren from Wyvern Inferno."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Ren walked out of his last class for the day as the final bell echoed throughout the school. It was finally Friday afternoon and the tactician couldn't wait to spend the day hanging with Alice and the others. He had planned to meet his black haired girlfriend out by the school's courtyard. The brown haired teen walked towards his destination until a message echoed throughout the hallway that made him stop in his tracks.

"Dan Hiryo. Please report to guidance."

'_Please tell me I heard that wrong'_ Ren pleaded to himself. The message repeated itself. "Dan Hiryo to guidance."

"Why me off all people." Ren sighed, turning around and heading towards his new destination. He finally reached the office and walked through the door. "Whatever Helios did this time, I-" Ren was cut off as he walked in once he saw who else was there. Sitting across the room waiting for him was the government official Kikouka Seijirou.

"Hello Ren. It's been awhile." Kikouka greeted with his usual smile. Ren immediately turned around and headed towards the door. "Wait! Please!" Kikouka pleaded. "Just hear me out and then you're free to leave. I promise."

Ren hesitated as he stood at the door. He had only met Kikouka once and could immediately tell the guy couldn't be trusted, and the fact that he willingly dragged Kirito into the Death Gun incident in Gun Gale Online didn't improve his opinion of the government official. But if he was here, then something was definitely up. The tactician walked back over to Kikouka and sat down across from him with an impatient expression on his face. "You get five minutes."

"Thank you." Kikouka replied. "Let me get straight to the point. Have you ever heard of a game called Fire Emblem Online?"

Ren had heard the name before. It was a VRMMO that was based off of the classic game series Fire Emblem. "Yeah. What about it?" Ren replied.

"That makes things easier." Kikouka replied. "You see, there's been a series of incidents in that game. Apparently several parties of players have been attack and wiped out by a lone player that goes by the name of Dark Knight. There's been no harm to their physical bodies though.

"So what's the problem?" Ren asked. "It just sounds like a PKer. If there's no threat to their lives then I don't see how it matters."

"It matters because this player is greatly affecting the game's popularity." Kikouka explained. "This lone player has killed hundreds of parties within the past month. A meeting was held between the five main kingdoms within the game and they formed a large scale raid party of one hundred players to challenge this PKer."

"I take it they lost." Ren guessed.

"They didn't even get his HP bellow half."

Ren was at a loss for words. A single player defeating a skilled army of a hundred opponents was almost unheard of. The fact that they couldn't even cut down fifty percent of his HP was even more shocking.

"This player is making it difficult to hunt in the game." Kikouka continued. "Many players have begun to sign off from Fire Emblem Online for good."

"And how does this affect the Department of Internal Affairs?" Ren asked.

"The company running the game is a large… supplier for the government." Kikouka explained. No doubt supplier had some hidden meaning behind it but Ren decided to ignore that fact. "If the game shuts down, the government's economic funding will take a big hit.

"Why don't you just find out who this person is in real life?" the tactician questioned.

"Whoever this person is, they're a skilled hacker. They've made it impossible for us to get any info from their account or even mess with their account in any way."

"While I'm touched by your predicament" Ren said sarcastically "I don't see how this has anything to do with me." Ren got up from the chair and walked towards the door. "Go get Kirito to do it if you're so desperate."

"Actually this does have something to do with you." Kikouka explained. "And besides, Kirito already turned us down."

"How does a PKer in a game I've never even played have anything to do with me?"

"This is how." Kikouka said, taking out a laptop and placing it on the desk. Ren walked over as the government official brought up a video. "This is footage from after the large scale raid attack."

Ren looked at the screen as a large armored figure stood among a field with defeated players lying all around. The PKer was dressed in heavy black armor from head to toe and wielded a massive two handed sword that he was only holding with one hand. "None of you are a match for me." the knight spoke. "I will continue to destroy every player in this game until my wish is granted." The knight walked over and grabbed what seemed to be the general of the army by the throat. "Bring me Ren of Wyvern Inferno." After that, he stabbed the player with his sword and tossed the corpse aside as it shattered into fragments. The video ended after that.

"Whoever this Dark Knight is, they're after you." Kikouka explained. "Do you have any ideas as to who they could be?"

Ren shook his head. "No clue. I'm sure there's a few enemies I made in Sword Art Online, but no one that could do that."

"Well? Will you help us?" Kikouka asked. "I'll be willing to pay you of course."

Ren pondered the situation. Whoever this knight was, they clearly wanted him. The challenge of a strong opponent and the money would be nice too. But at the same time, it meant transferring over to Fire Emblem Online for a bit. "I'll do it." Ren answered. "But I have two conditions."

"What are they?"

"First, I'll need my full team for this so you'll have to supply us each with a copy of the game. Second, since this will involve all of us all of my guild will get paid for bailing you guys out of this."

"I had a feeling you'd ask that." Kikouka said. He pulled out a full set of copies for Fire Emblem Online. "We already have a copy for each of your friends. We'll also be willing to pay all of you for this job."

"Good." Ren said, taking the games and putting them into his bag. "Leave it to us."

"The lords of each kingdom have all been informed of your arrival." Kikouka explained. "Once you enter, they'll give you the details of the Dark Knight."

"Got it." Ren nodded as he walked out the door.

Ren ran through the halls of the school towards the courtyard where his friends were waiting for him. As he turned the corner of one of the halls, he ran right into someone.

"Ow! Geez watch where you're… oh hey Ren!" the person he bumped into replied. She had long blonde hair and bright blue eyes. Her name was Hikari. She and Ren were in the same Pre-Calc class. Hikari also happened to be one of the tacticians from the front lines from SAO, just like Ren. Back in the death game her name was Asami. She didn't play VRMMOs anymore though. For past SAO players though, that wasn't rare. As a result of them both being tacticians, the two became friends back in the game. They also happened to be the only two of the front line tacticians that went to this school. In total there were five, but the other three were either out of high school before SAO began or went back to their regular schools.

"Hey Hikari. Sorry about running into you." Ren apologized.

"Oh don't worry about it." Hikari assured him. "Anyway, you wanna hang out? I know this really cool arcade on the other side of town."

"Sorry. I'm actually doing something with Alice and the others. Maybe next time."

"Ok, see you later Reny-kins!" Hikari said as she got up and ran down the hall. She often called Ren by that nickname, even though he didn't really like it. Alice also wasn't a big fan of another girl calling her boyfriend by that name.

"I really can't tell what's up with that girl." Ren said to himself as he got up and continued over to the courtyard. When he finally arrived, he saw that Alice, Helios, Mai, and Dagger were all waiting for him.

"You're late Ren. What took you so long?" Mai asked.

"Sorry, I got held up in the guidance office." Ren explained. "I ended up meeting Kikouka there."

"You mean that bureaucratic government official?" Helios asked. "What did he need with you?"

"He hired us for a job." Ren said as he took out the copies of Fire Emblem Online that Kikouka gave him. "He needs us to help out in this game."

"Fire Emblem Online?" Mai read. "Never heard of it."

"WHAT?!" Helios exclaimed. "How can you call yourself a gamer and not know about the epicness that is Fire Emblem?!"

"Sorry. I just haven't heard the name." Mai shrugged.

"Neither have I." Alice added. "What about you Dagger?"

"Not until Helios showed me his private collection." the merchant explained. "He's got every one of them. Sorcerer Stones, Path of Radiance, Awakening, you name it."

"It's SACRED Stones." Helios emphasized. "A personal favorite of mine."

"So what's it about?" Mai asked.

"It's got everything! Dragons! Knights! War! Total devastation!"

"I was talking to Ren." Mai told the black haired teen. "I don't have the patience to listen to you ramble on Helios."

"Actually he wasn't too far off with that description." Ren said. "Fire Emblem is basically a war strategy game based in Medieval Times. It's actually a very popular game series."

"And these two haven't heard about it." Helios sobbed. "What is this world coming to? Next thing you know, they won't know what Street Fighter or Guilty Gear is."

"Haven't heard of those either." Mai said.

_*Helios passed out from the sheer lack of gamer aura coming from Mai.*_

"So it's a war strategy game?" Alice reiterated. "Sounds like your kind of game Ren."

"Alice, your boyfriend there is a Fire Emblem prodigy!" Helios told the black haired girl, coming out of his coma. "There's no one that has his skill at it."

"Seriously?" Alice said, looking at Ren.

"Fire Emblem is how I got so good at being a tactician." Ren explained. "Getting through a battle while trying to not get a single casualty is no easy feat."

"So what do we have to do in this game anyway?" Dagger asked.

"Apparently someone's been PKing several players in the game. It's greatly affecting popularity." Ren explained. "Kikouka wants us to go in and defeat this player. You guys in?"

"Going into the world of Fire Emblem and kicking ass?" Helios smirked. "Of course I'm in!"

"Me too!" Dagger said. "But that paycheck better be good."

"Sounds like fun!" Mai agreed.

"Someone needs to keep you from acting reckless." Alice smiled. "Count me in too."

"Thanks guys." Ren told his friends. "I really appreciate it."

"So who's this player anyway?" Helios asked.

"He's a tanky player in black armor calling himself Dark Knight." Ren explained.

"A knight in black armor? Sounds like someone's played too much of Path of Radiance." Helios said, rolling his eyes.

"What?" Alice asked, not understanding what he was talking about.

"It's a Fire Emblem reference." Ren explained. "Forget about it"

Ren and his guild agreed to put their items in the guild storage in ALO and then dive into Fire Emblem Online at 4:00. The group parted ways and all headed to their houses. Ren was about to exit the school, until Alice pulled him aside.

"Something wrong Alice?" Ren asked.

"Ren, I know you." Alice said with a serious expression on her face. "You wouldn't do this just because a game is losing popularity. There's something else isn't there?" Ren stood there in silence, but his expression told Alice she was right. "Ren, tell me what's really going on."

Ren let out a sigh. "Alright, here's the real reason I agreed to this job." The tactician went on to explain about how the Dark Knight spoke of wanting to fight him, meaning they were most likely an SAO survivor.

"So they won't stop PKing until they get a fight with you?" Alice asked. "I don't like it. It sounds dangerous. It could be a trap."

"It probably is." Ren agreed. "But I can't let this go on. It's my responsibility to fight this person if it's me they're after."

"No it isn't! Ren I'm worried!" Alice cried. "What if this turns into another death game scenario?! What if you get hurt or-" Alice's words were interrupted by Ren pressing his lips against hers. When he finished the kiss, he wiped away the tears forming in Alice's eyes.

"Don't worry. I'll be fine." Ren assured her. "After all, I've got you there to help me. So no more crying ok?" Alice felt too chocked up to say anything so she gave a nod in response and wrapped herself around her boyfriend. Ren stroked down her hair to comfort the black haired teen.

"Ok Ren. I trust you." Alice finally said. "Just promise me you'll be careful."

"You got it." Ren nodded in agreement. "I'll see you at four."

When Ren entered his house, he found Clair already waiting for him. He had texted her on the way home that he needed her help with something over the weekend, but didn't give her any specific details. He sat down with Clair in the kitchen and went more in depth with the job description. Clair agreed to help and he handed her the copy of the game. Both finished their chores quickly and headed upstairs. It was currently 3:50. Ren laid on his bed and quickly entered ALO, depositing all his items and Yld into a storage space he rented from Agil. The tactician logged off of ALO and then inserted the new VR game and put the Amu Sphere around his head once again.

"Link start!"

**A/N: Hope you all enjoyed this latest story so far. Feel free to give your input on what you think. As always, comments and suggestions are welcome.**


	27. Fire Emblem Online

**A/N: It's time for another chapter readers. I hope you like it. Also, as promised, the Hollow Fragment story is now up. The story is called Hollow Inferno. I hope you enjoy it as much as you have enjoyed Blazing Revolution so far.**

**Guest: Nope. I plan on making this arc last a few chapters.**

**Whitemage 1998: Thanks. I made that chapter cause my mom acts the same.**

Ren opened his eyes to find himself in what seemed to be a wide throne room. In front of him was a mirror, reflecting his new avatar. No longer an Imp, Ren lost his black hair and retained his original brown colored haired that his avatar had in SAO. He had a messy hairstyle that looked like someone had just rubbed his hair, as he often did to his sister. His eyes had the same red color they always had. He was currently wearing very plain clothing that consisted of just a plain shirt and pants. A window appeared in front of him reading 'Please choose a class'. Listed down were several names of classes from the Fire Emblem games. Since his character was converted over, Ren had a lot of high level classes to choose from. Ren scrolled through the list, looking at classes such as Swordmaster, Warrior, Assassin, Sorcerer. The list continued on and on until Ren noticed a class that seemed to be calling out to him.

Grandmaster Tactician

Ren instinctively pressed on the tab and his clothing changed dramatically. The tactician now wore a long black coat with a hood that had a dark crimson coloring under it. Shining golden metal covered his two shoulders. His feet were covered by two dark brown boots. A description of the class was inscribed on the mirror. Grandmaster Tactician, as it turned out, was a versatile class that could use both swords and magic. Stat-wise it seemed fairly balanced. Ren liked the look and decided to go with it. He pressed the 'Accept' tab and the mirror vanished. A bright light surrounded Ren, blinding the tactician. When he regained his sight, he found himself in the square of a large town. Players and NPCs walked around the busy streets, mostly wearing low level gear.

'_Ok. Now how do I find the others?'_ Ren wondered to himself. As he thought about how to go about locating his friends, a player walked over to him. He was dressed in shining silver armor with a blue and white crest on one of his shoulder plates. "Excuse me sir. By any chance, are you Ren?"

"Yes." Ren answered. "Who are you?"

"My name is Goldon." the player said. "I'm here to escort you to the kingdom of Roiyaru."

"Sure. I just need to find the rest of my guild." Ren replied.

"We already have most of your guild with us." Goldon said. "They're this way. Follow me."

Goldon led Ren through the winding roads of the town. It seemed like an easy place to get lost in. "How did you know I was the guy you're looking for?" Ren asked as they walked.

"This town is where all starting players begin." Goldon explained. "Most players here are at extremely low levels so we just needed to find players with higher grade equipment like what you're wearing."

"I see. So this town is neutral territory. From here, players can decide to join one of the kingdoms or make their own parties." Ren guessed.

"I'm impressed you were able to figure all that out right away." Goldon said. "It's true. This town is in the center of the world map, surrounded by each of the five main kingdoms. While most players choose a kingdom to go to once they have enough experience, there are also players that decide to work as mercenaries."

Ren and Goldon continued to chat as they made their way through the town. When they eventually reached the gate, Ren could see several players waiting for them. A heavily armored female player with long brunette hair waved over to them.

"Hey you guys! Over here!"

Ren and Goldon hurried over to the waving girl, who Goldon introduced as Akine. Next to her were Alice and Dagger. Alice still had her long black hair and was dressed in a dark grey outfit that seemed a little tight on her. She also had a breastplate and shoulder pads on her, along with blue high heal boots. A long sword was slung across her waist. Dagger was dressed in a dark green cloak and had her red colored hair tied up in its usual ponytail. At her waist was a long thin sword.

"Hey Ren." Alice greeted with a smile. "That's a good look on you."

"Thanks." the tactician replied. "What's with the sword though?"

"There weren't any scythe wielding classes to choose from." Alice sighed. "So I decided to go with the Pegasus Knight class. I think this one is called a Falcon Knight."

"And Dagger's obviously a Thief." Ren assumed based on the ponytailed girl's outfit and personality.

"Yep!" Dagger grinned. "Dagger's the name and lock picking's my game."

"Are we almost done here?" Akine asked. "I'd like to get back to Roiyaru as soon as possible."

"We'll head out soon. We just need to wait for Maran and Gallaten to get back with the rest of them." Goldon assured the girl. "Speaking of Gallaten, I think I see him now."

Looking back into the town, Ren could see a swordsman with long dark blue hair with two girls at his side that the tactician recognized to be Mai and Himiko. Both of them retained their brunette hair from real life and were dressed in robes. Mai's robes were a white color with a green trim. Himiko's robes were also white but had a bright yellow trim and she held a long staff in her hands.

'_Looks like Mai's a Sage and Himiko's a Cleric.'_ Ren guessed.

"Looks like everyone's here except for Helios." Mai said as she walked up to us. "Where could he-"

"SOMEBODY HELP ME!" a female player cried out, running over to us. When she arrived at our side, she was completely out of breath.

"Maran? What's wrong?" Goldon asked. "Is it Dark Knight?"

"No, it's worse!" Maran cried. "I've never seen anything so horrifying."

"What are you talking-"

"Hey guys!" a voice interrupted. The group turned towards the town to see a player that could only be Helios walking towards them casually with a large broad axe slung across his back that was stained with blood. He was wearing semi-heavy red armor with a black trim. From the looks of it, Ren could guess that he chose the Wyvern Lord class.

"No! It's HIM!" Maran screamed. "Keep him away from me!"

"What did you do this time Helios?" Alice asked as the axe user finally reached the group.

"Tch. Some losers wanted to pick a fight with me. For a clue on what happened next, look over towards that building." Helios said as he pointed over into the distance where smoke from a fire was escaping into the air.

"Honestly Helios, can't you go five minutes without doing something crazy?" Alice sighed.

"Hey! They started it!" Helios countered. "That girl over there should be thanking me for saving her."

"All these squares make a circle. All these squares make a circle." Maran said to herself as she huddled over on the ground.

"Snap out of it girl!" Akine yelled as she took her palm and slapped Maran across the face. A deep red imprint was left on the girl as she stopped squirming.

"Thanks Akane. I needed that." Maran said to her friend.

"Any time."

"Looks like everyone's here." Goldon said. "Let's move out."

"So how long a walk is it to Roiyaru?" Mai asked the group.

"It's a five hour walk all the way to the palace." Goldon replied.

"Five hours!" Mai exclaimed. "It'll take us forever to get there!"

"That's why we have these." Goldon said, taking out a whistle, as did the rest of his group. They all blew into them and within seconds, horses could be seen coming in the distance. "It's a handy item for long distance travel."

"Hop on." Akine said as she got onto her horse and motioned for one of us to get on behind her.

"Wait a second." Alice said. "There's four horses and ten of us. If we have two people per horse, then there's still not enough for two others."

"Well we actually brought another whistle in case." Maron explained. "But we won't need it."

"Why not?" Alice asked.

"Because you're a Pegasus Knight. You can just call yours to you automatically."

"Really?! How do I do that?"

"Here, I'll show you." Akine offered. She hopped off her horse and showed the black haired Pegasus Knight how to call her steed to her side via the menu. As Alice blew her own whistle, a beautiful white Pegasus flew down from above and landed next to the girl.

"Wow! She's so beautiful!" Alice gasped in awe of the majestic beast.

"Your friend can do it too." Akine added, pointing towards Helios. "Although his pet will be a wyvern."

Helios quickly shuffled through his menu and called his wyvern to his side. The great winged beast landed with a powerful thud. The dragon was a muddy brown color and gave a grunt towards its rider.

"It's *hic* It's beautiful." Helios said, amazed to have his very own dragon at his side. "Hey Dagger, come on and ride with me."

"I'm not getting on that thing!" Dagger said. "I'll take a horse thank you very much." The red haired girl went over and sat behind Akine on her steed.

"What about you Ren?" Alice offered. "You wanna ride with me."

"Sure. Why not?" Ren said, getting on Alice's pegasus and grabbing the girl's waist. "You do know how to fly this thing… right?"

"How hard could it be?" Alice replied.

As it turned out, flying a pegasus was VERY hard. Alice desperately struggled to control the winged horse as it sporadically moved throughout the air. Ren was hanging on for his life as Alice struggled to tame her out of control pegasus. The rest of the group watched them from bellow as they rode horseback.

"Steady yourself out!" Akine called up to Alice. "It's just like riding a bike."

"This is SO not like riding a bike!" Alice screamed back down to the armored brunette.

"You need to stop struggling!" Maran said. "Let the horse guide you as much as possible! You need to not force it to go where you want!"

Alice tried to follow the girl's advice, slowly loosening her hard-held grip on the reins. The pegasus gradually stopped struggling and they evened out, gliding through the wind as if they were in Alfheim.

"Phew. Thank god that's over." Alice said with a sigh of relief.

"You're telling me." Ren agreed. "I thought I was gonna fall off."

"Well at least Helios must be having a tough time too right?" Alice asked.

"Yahoo! This is awesome!" Helios yelled out as he flew around on his wyvern. The dragon blasted streams of fire into the sky as they danced through the sky.

"You've got to be kidding me." Alice said in a depressed tone with her head bowed down.

The trip to the kingdom of Roiyaru took only about an hour by riding on the mounts. As they approached the palace, the group stared in awe at its beauty. A large blue and white tower stretched up in front of them. White gates surrounded the large building and the town around it. The group stopped at the front of the gate. Alice, Ren, and Helios descended to meet them.

"I love this dragon!" Helios said, adoring his new pet.

"I wonder why?" Mai sarcastically said, rolling her eyes. "It's like your long lost brother. Just as crazy and just as stupid too." Almost as if it understood the girl's words, the wyvern glared at Mai, forcing her to hide behind her sister's pegasus.

"Let's get going to the palace." Goldon suggested. "My lord is expecting us."

The group nodded and dismounted from their rides. The beasts' teleported away as they pressed the 'Send home' tab on their menus, and they walked through the gate.

As they entered the palace, Ren and his friends were amazed at the design. Fancy chandeliers and suits of armor decorated the room. At the top of the stairs that stretched up in front of them was a man with light brown hair and light shining white armor. Goldon and the others kneeled down before him.

"My lord, we have brought you the group you told us about." Goldon said.

"Thank you Gordon. You are dismissed." the man told the knight. Goldon, Akine, Maran, and Gallaten all walked out of the palace. "Welcome friends. My name is Gancelot, ruler of Roiyaru."

"I'm Ren. This is Alice, Mai, Helios, Dagger, and Himiko." Ren said, introducing his guild.

"It's a pleasure to meet you all." Gancelot said. "Come this way. The other lords have been waiting for your arrival."

Gancelot led Ren and the others through the castle, finally stopping at a large doorway. "The conference is being held in here." Gancelot told the group as he opened the door and entered the room.

"You guys wait out here." Ren told his guild. "I'd like them to have a good first impression of us." The entire group all turned towards Helios.

"What? Come on guys, I'll behave. I swear."

"Keep an eye on him while I'm in there." Ren told the others as he walked into the room alone.

Inside the large room was a circular table with five players sitting there, most likely the leaders of each kingdom. One player was a male who had crimson red hair and black armor equipped with a red trim. He introduced himself as Mordred. Another was a woman with long emerald hair and a golden yellow flower fastened into it. She wore a long yellow-green dress, and introduced herself as Pellinore. The third player was by far the most heavily armored of the group, and called himself Grande. The only part of him not covered by his thick dark green armor was his head. The last one was a blonde girl that looked no older than Himiko and wore a white dress with a pink miniskirt. Her name was Elaine. The last one in the group was Gancelot.

"So this is the infamous Ren?" Mordred asked. "Doesn't look like much to me."

"I think he's pretty cute." Elaine said.

"We're not here to go on dates, Elaine. We're here to solve the crisis we're facing." Pellinore reminded the girl.

"Geez. You're no fun at all Pellinore." Elaine pouted. "You need to learn to live a little."

"If I may interrupt." Grande asked. "Perhaps you would like to explain why Dark Knight is so interested in you?"

"To be honest, I have no clue." Ren responded. "Although I believe the person we're dealing with is an SAO survivor."

"An SAO survivor?" Pellinore questioned. "And how would you know that?"

"Because I happen to be one as well."

The five leaders were put into silence by the new information. Most former SAO players didn't like to reveal their identity as survivors of the death game. Ren knew however that if they were to make any progress, it would mean revealing a few hidden truths to gain their trust.

"Wow. Cute AND strong." Elaine grinned. "I could definitely use you as one of my knights.

'_I should probably try to avoid her when Alice is around'_ Ren thought to himself. "With all due respect, I don't plan on making my stay in this game permanent."

"Awwww!" the blonde haired leader moaned.

"*Ahem*. Back to the topic at hand" Grande interrupted. "Do you have any ideas on how to defeat Dark Knight?"

"First I need to know everything you do about him." Ren explained.

The five leaders shared their collected information about the mysterious player with Ren. Apparently, Dark Knight showed up out of nowhere a couple of months ago. His equipment was all legendary class. The most dangerous part about him was his weapon, the Dark Sword, Nemesis. It was a legendary sword that could be used for both direct and indirect combat. His armor was called the Armor of Disaster, a heavy suit of black armor with incredible defensive stats and gave huge boost to attack power, though it lowered the player's speed stat by a drastic amount. This set of equipment made for a very dangerous enemy.

"That's about all we know." Gancelot finished. "We thought we could overpower him with numbers, but we still failed miserably.

"So tactician, do you have any ideas? Or did we waste our time believing in you?" Mordred asked.

"Mordred, please." Pellinore told the fellow leader. "We can't expect him to come up with a winning strategy so soon."

"Actually I have an idea." Ren said. The group of leaders all turned towards the tactician in amazement. "I'm not one hundred percent sure it will work, but it's probably our best bet."

"We're listening." Grande replied.

"Well Dark Knight is a heavily armored player." Ren reiterated. "As a result, our most effective attacks on him will be magic."

"But our mages don't have the stamina to take his indirect hits from that sword of his." Mordred interrupted.

"I'm well aware of that. That's why we we'll have a formation to counter that weakness." Ren explained. "Is there any way we can reduce his field of vision?"

"Dark mages can inflict multiple status effects." Gancelot said. "A vision reduction spell is included among those."

"Good, then we'll start off with that." Ren told the group. "Mages will then use powerful long-range magic outside his reduced vision field. When he sees them however, he'll be able to judge their location based on the angle of the attack. When he aims there for the counter attack, we have tanks intercept the attack while the mages change their location. Clerics will be far in the back to heal the tanks. We'll slowly wear him down and get him to retreat. What he won't know is that we'll have a powerful close-range combat force waiting for him. We then use a combination of magic attack's and powerful close-range hits to finish him off."

The five leaders stared at the tactician in awe of his plan. He had immediately seen Dark Knight's weak points and prepared countermeasures for his strengths. "Th-That's incredible." Gancelot gasped. "I never would have thought that a combo like that could be used."

"I'm impressed." Mordred smirked. "Perhaps you could be useful after all."

"So next up, we need a location to draw Dark Knight to." Ren pointed out. "Can I see a world map?"

Ren and the five leaders examined a map of the area. Based on the areas Dark Knight usually showed up, Ren pinpointed an area that would work best for the strategy. "So we lead Dark Knight to this cliff here for the first attack. When he retreats, he'll most likely go towards the slope leading down over here." Ren said, tracing the path. "Our second attack force will be waiting down by the woods at the end of the slope. Mages and archers will attack from a distance while he retreats downward."

"I see." Pellinore said. "He'll be completely surrounded from all sides."

"Yeah! We're gonna totally destroy this sucker!" Elaine cheered with excitement.

"Let's execute the plan tomorrow then." Grande suggested. "We'll all convene here at one and then move out."

The group all agreed to the time and left the meeting room. When Ren exited the room, he found his guild waiting for him.

"So? How'd it go?" Alice asked.

"We have a strategy set up." Ren explained. "We're meeting back here tomorrow at one in the afternoon."

Ren explained the details of the plan to the group and they all agreed to meet up tomorrow and logged off.

**A/N: Phew, finally done. Hope you enjoyed the chapter everybody. Look forward to next week. As always, keep up the comments and reviews.**


	28. The Five Tacticians

**A/N: Hello once again readers. Time for the next chapter of the Fire Emblem Arc. I have had a more free time due to spring break, so I was able to finish this chapter early. I should hopefully be able to post the next one up on Friday or Saturday. I am happy to see that most of you are liking it so far. I will do my best to improve it as I go along.**

**DeoxysSpeed: Thanks for the great comment. Happy to see you're liking this.**

_Ren walked through the doors of the Knights of the Blood Oath's headquarters and entered the wide room used as the guild's common room. The walls and floors were painted a crimson red with white lines decorating the place with symbols and designs. Couches and sofas covered the room with the guild members scattered all over the area. Ren only ever came here for meetings before a boss raid since he was a guild leader on the front lines. However, the boss room for the floor they were currently on had yet to be discovered. So why did Heathcliff invite him here all of a sudden._

"_Hey Ren!" a familiar voice called out to the guild leader. Ren looked across the room to see Asuna waving over to him. "This way. The meeting is over here."_

_Asuna escorted him through the halls of the guild building, which were filled with lavish decorations and suits of armor. Ren looked in amazement, wondering how much this building must have cost the guild._

"_I know. It's a bit over the top, isn't it?" Asuna said as they walked. "It looks nice, but I feel we put a little too much money into the decorating budget."_

_A little too much money was an understatement. Ren had to admit however that the fancy decorations showed just how much power the guild had. Ren's guild didn't own a building for their guild HQ, and instead used Ren's place for meetings, due to their small size and the fact that it would make them go bankrupt if they bought one._

_The pair finally stopped in front of two large red doors with a white outline and golden doorknobs. "The meeting's in here. The Commander will be here shortly." Asuna explained as she opened the door. Ren walked in the room and found that he wasn't the only one invited. Four other players were sitting at the table in the center of the room._

_The first was a slim blonde guy dressed in a green coat, a headband, and patches of brown light armor on several areas of his upper body. He didn't look like much of a fighter, but Ren knew not to judge players by appearances. The second was a short haired brunette girl dressed in a pink shirt and a white miniskirt. Third was a girl with long blonde hair and blue eyes who was wearing a semi-heavy coat of light-blue armor with a yellow trim. Lastly was a male with jet black hair and heavy armor whose colors showed he was a member of the Knights of the Blood Oath. Ren had never seen any of them, but their equipment showed they were all probably players on the front lines as well._

"_So you're the fifth one Heathcliff invited?" the black haired player said. "I figured you'd get chosen."_

"_Chosen for what exactly?" Ren asked as he walked over and took a seat at the table._

"_You'll find out soon enough." he answered._

_The five players continued to sit in the room without much talking. Heathcliff finally showed up within a couple of minutes. "I thank you all for coming here today. I suppose you're all wondering why I invited you here. Let me start with introductions." _

_The guild leader looked across the table and introduced each of the players. He started with the slim blonde player. "First, we have Shino, leader of the Wild Fang guild." Second was the short haired girl. "This is Eve, second in command of the White Rabbits." The next was the blonde female. "This is Asami, a member of the Holy Dragon Alliance." Heathcliff then looked towards his fellow guild member at the table. "This is Mako, a tactician for the Knights of the Blood Oath." Finally, he looked towards Ren. "And finally we have Ren, leader of Wyvern Inferno."_

"_So why have you called us all here?" Shino asked._

"_As you all know, floor bosses have been getting increasingly difficult." Heathcliff explained. "As it stands, gathering all the front lines members together each time we plan a boss raid is difficult. So I'm suggesting we put together a small specialized team of tacticians to formulate strategies when it comes time for boss raids instead of having hectic meetings filled with hundreds of players. Each of you are thought of as the best of the best when it comes to strategy."_

"_So you want the five of us to be this team?" Eve asked._

"_Precisely." Heathcliff answered. "So will you join?"_

_The group of tacticians looked at each other and nodded in agreement._

"_I'm in." Ren said._

"_So am I." Asami agreed._

"_Why not?" Eve shrugged._

"_I accept as well." Shino added._

"_I don't have much choice either way, being a KoB member." Mako replied._

"_Good." Heathcliff said. "As of right now, the five of you are the front line's tacticians."_

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Link Start!"

Ren uttered the password for entering the virtual world and his vision went white as he logged into Fire Emblem Online. When the tactician regained his sight, he found himself inside the town of the capital of Roiyaru. Himiko soon emerged from the tavern as well, stretching her arms. Looking towards the top right of his vision, he could see it was twenty minutes from the meeting time. As they wondered how to pass the time waiting for the others, Alice and Mai emerged from the tavern.

"Hey guys." Alice greeted. "You ready for today?"

"You bet." Himiko replied, grinning with excitement.

"Now all that's left are Helios and Dagger." Ren said. "Wonder when they'll-"

"FOOLISH MORTALS! BOW BEFORE YOUR KING!" a voice called out. Ren and the others looked up as a large wyvern descended in front of them. On top of it were the remaining two guild members they were waiting for. Helios stood triumphantly on the winged beast while Dagger seemed as if she was going to hurl. "Ta-da! Do I know how to make an entrance or what?"

"Helios… please never do that again." Dagger begged as she caught her breath. "I hate riding on that thing."

The wyvern gave an annoyed look from being treated like a 'thing' by the merchant. "Don't worry Burner. She didn't mean it." Helios told his pet as he rubbed its forehead.

"You NAMED it?!" Mai asked in a shocked tone. "Why?!"

"Because he's awesome!" Helios exclaimed. "Burner's like the pet I always wanted. He can destroy anyone!"

"Too bad he won't be able to hurt me." Mai teased.

"And why is that squirt?" Helios questioned. "What's keeping me from ordering him to burn you to a crisp?"

"Simple." Mai explained. "Take a look at my class."

Helios looked at the young girl's cursor and his eyes opened wide with the realization at what she meant. "No way."

"That's right Helios. I'm a Sage. That means I'm a white mage. And NOBODY messes with the white mage." Mai grinned, having the wyvern knight at her mercy.

"Damn it. She's right." Helios cried. "I can't harm my team's white mage. My pride as a gamer won't let me."

"As fun as it is to see Helios get shown up, shouldn't we get going?" Alice asked. "They're probably expecting us."

"Alice is right." Ren agreed. "Let's head to the castle."

As they walked into the castle, the guild was greeted by Gancelot. "Hello again Ren. Let's get going. The other leaders are waiting for us." The ruler led the group through the halls of the castle to the meeting room. The guild entered the room and the other leaders all turned towards the group.

"Hey Ren! Couldn't stay away from me could you?" Elaine grinned towards the tactician. The other leaders sighed in annoyance while Alice gave a warning glare towards the blonde girl. Elaine immediately got the message and backed off.

"Now that everyone's here, shall we move out?" Pellinore suggested. The players exited the castle where a massive collected army was waiting for them on horseback. The leaders got on mounts of their own while Ren and Alice rode on her pegasus and Dagger and Helios rode together on his wyvern. Mai and Himiko rode on horses with Akane and Gordon. Gancelot stood in front of the army of players on a horse of his own.

"Oh god, why do I have to ride on this thing?" Dagger complained.

"Come on Dagger, it'll be fun." Helios argued.

"Quiet you two." Alice told the couple. "Gancelot's about to speak."

Gancelot stared at the large army standing in front of him. "Players of Fire Emblem Online, today we face an enemy that has plagued this game for far too long! Dark Knight must be defeated at all costs! With our combined strength, victory will be ours! Are you with me?!" In response to Gancelot's speech, the crowd of players roared in agreement.

"Alright players, let's move out!" Gancelot shouted to the army. The massive group gave a resonating shout of approval and charged forward to the battle that was waiting for them.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Ren and the others waited at the bottom of the ridge, waiting for the plan to take action. Everyone was in position. Tanks and mages at the top of the ridge, archers waiting along the path down here, and a huge force waiting for Dark Knight to come down to them, concealed by the dense forest around them. Dagger silently appeared next to Ren to give him an update.

"Helios's group has engaged Dark Knight. They're leading him here now." the thief explained.

"Good." Ren nodded. "Go make sure everyone's in position." Obediently, Dagger leaped out of the trees and scaled the cliff with several swift jumps.

It wasn't long before the sounds of battle could be heard above the group, signaling that their target had arrived. Flashes of light from the mages could be seen atop the tall cliff, while the roars from the knights could even be heard down in the dense woods.

"Things are going well." Gancelot said. "If this keeps up we can-"

"Ren, we've got a problem!" Dagger said, as she suddenly appeared next to her guild leader. "Dark Knight's destroying our forces on the cliff!"

"What?!" Ren gasped. "How is that possible?"

"His sword! That thing's indirect attacks are nuts!" Dagger explained. "Our healers were taken out right away!"

"How?! Our healers should have been hidden by the trees surrounding the clearing up there!" Gancelot said.

"I don't know. It's almost like he could tell where they were immediately."

"Trouble!" a player shouted. "Our archers are down! Dark Knight's headed this way!"

'_How is this happening?'_ Ren wondered to himself. _'It's like he can read my entire plan'_ Before he even had a chance to make a new strategy, a large figure leaped off the cliff and came crashing down in front of them. The group gasped as Dark Knight stared at them under that helmet of his covering his face.

'_This is bad. At this rate…'_

"Fall back!" Ren shouted. "Everyone retreat!"

The army of players began to run away from the powerful armored figure in front of them. Dark Knight prepared to swing his blade down for a long range attack, but Ren quickly sped at the player and intercepted the attack. The knight's strength was incredible. It was all Ren could do to not be crushed by the sheer force of the swing.

"I heard you've been looking for me." Ren spoke as he tried to withstand the player's attack.

"So you've finally shown yourself." Dark Knight said. "It took you long enough to show."

Even now as they clashed swords, Ren still couldn't tell who Dark Knight was. He didn't remember anyone from Aincrad who was like this.

"Is this truly your best? How disappointing." Dark Knight said as he finally broke through Ren's defensive stance. He delivered a blow to the tactician's chest with a powerful swing of his arm, sending him flying back. Ren crashed through a couple trees and his HP hit red. Dark Knight slowly walked over to his defeated opponent. "You'll have to do better than this to stop me." He raised his sword and prepared to deliver the final blow.

"Get away from him!" a voice screamed. Ren watched as Alice emerged through the trees on her pegasus, she swung her sword at Dark Knight who easily swatted the thin blade away. "Mai, now!"

"You got it sis!" Mai yelled as she jumped down from the trees. She held out a bright white tome and a blinding flash shinned from the book. Dark Knight shielded his eyes while Alice grabbed Ren and helped him onto her pegasus. Mai quickly got on as well and they took off. Ren looked down and saw the main force ahead of them, a safe distance from Dark Knight. As he looked back at the cliff, his eyes widened. The entire clearing at the top was completely trashed. Defeated players lied all over the place. One thought kept flashing through Ren's mind.

'_How? How could he have read my plan so easily? No one in SAO should be able to do that.'_

Suddenly a realization hit Ren. He was wrong. There was someone from the death game who knew how his mind worked. Actually, there were four that knew how his mind worked.

"He's one of them." Ren said as they flew away.

"Ren? What do you mean? One of who?" Mai asked.

"Dark Knight isn't just a survivor from SAO." Ren realized. "He's also one of the surviving tacticians from SAO."

**A/N: Well that's all for now. Make sure to check back Friday or Saturday for the next chapter.**


	29. Unmasked

**A/N: Hello again readers. Time for another chapter. I'm really happy to hear all the great feedback you guys are giving me. Please keep it up. Any comments or suggestions you have are more than welcome.**

**DeoxysSpeed: Thanks. This next chapter will be even more revealing. Hope you like it.**

**Deviljho's Hatred: Thanks man. Glad to see you're enjoying this story.**

"_Alright, let's get this meeting started." Heathcliff said, addressing the group of tacticians. "As the front lines elite tacticians, your main job has been to make plans for the boss fights. However, this time is different."_

"_If we're not here for a boss meeting, then what did you call us here for?" Shino asked impatiently. "I've got other stuff to do."_

"_Put a sock in it Shino." Asami told her fellow tactician. "We all agreed to this position, including you. Your personal agenda will have to wait."_

"_Whatever." Shino said, rolling his eyes. "Let's just get this over with."_

"_Ahem!" Heathcliff coughed. "If I may get back to the topic at hand, the reason I called you all here is because we now face a battle far more dangerous than any floor boss fight."_

"_What would that be?" Eve asked._

"_Yesterday, we discovered the location of Laughing Coffin's hideout."_

_The group of five froze at his words. They knew that the front lines had already been investigating where the guild of murderers was. Even still, knowing that their base of operations had finally been discovered brought conflicting feelings towards the group. There was no doubt that they had to take action as soon as possible and take out the guild. On the other hand, their opponents were skilled PKers who would kill a player without hesitation. Careful planning would have to be done or attacking them would be suicide._

"_So where exactly is this hideout?" Ren asked._

"_Floor 23. It's in a small cave dungeon." Heathcliff explained. "The layout consists of numerous floating platforms connected by stairways. According to our info, their main base is at the deepest part of the dungeon."_

"_Well our first objective should be to make up a formation." Eve considered. "For starters let's think of-"_

"_Well form up in a square formation." Ren interrupted. "Tanks will form the outer wall, equipped with status resistant items and antidote crystals. Speed type players will make the next layer, and can parry the first attackers they throw at us. Heavy attackers will be the third wall and will deliver the finishing blow after the parry. The center will consist of players that will work as our chain of communication."_

_The other tacticians stared at Ren in amazement. The formation seemed complex, but was actually pretty simple. "Th-That's incredible Ren." Asami gasped. "How did you come up with that formation so quickly?"_

"_I've had this formation in my head for a while now." Ren explained. "I have a certain… score to settle with Laughing Coffin. That's why I made up a formation idea for when the time came to fight them. Their players almost completely consist of speed type players with weapons that inflict status ailments. However, as a drawback those weapons don't have incredibly high attack power. Tanks that can take several hits from them are our best defense against them."_

_The group decided not to peer into what this score was that Ren had to settle with them. They knew he was usually laid back unless the situation called for him to be serious, and revenge wasn't really his style. Whatever Laughing Coffin did to piss him off must have been serious._

"_I think Ren's idea will work." Heathcliff decided. "Does anyone have any objections?" None of the group had any objections to give. "Good. The attack will be in three days. You are dismissed."_

_Three days passed by fairly quickly. When it finally came time for the attack, the front lines was able to gather a group of about fifty volunteers. The large team moved through the cave that was said to be Laughing Coffin's hideout. Ren observed the layout of the dungeon as they walked, with him and the other tacticians in the center of the group to preserve a solid line of communication. Alice, Helios, and the rest of his guild were nearby him. He would rather have told them to stay behind, but he knew they would never do it._

"_Ren? Ren, you ok?" Ren finally heard Alice as she nudged his shoulder, snapping him back into reality. "You ok? You're spacing out a little."_

"_Y-Yeah. I'm fine." Ren assured her. "Just a little nervous."_

"_Alright. If you need anything, just tell me and-" Alice was interrupted as Ren quickly signaled for her to be quiet. He then perked his ears up._

'_What was that?' Ren thought to himself. 'I could have sworn I just heard something'_

_The sudden sound of quick moving footsteps entered the hearing of the tactician. Just as he realized what it meant, Laughing Coffin had already revealed themselves and began their ambush. Ren and the others watched as their solid formation quickly fell apart from the surprise attack._

_Ren watched as more and more cracks slowly formed in the formation he had come up with. But something was off. There was no way they could have discovered the weak points of the formation so quickly. The only explanation was…_

'_They had help!' Ren realized. 'Someone leaked our plan to them!'_

_It was the only thing that made any sense. But even still, there was barely anyone that knew the structure of the formation ahead of time. The only ones that knew long enough to get the information to the PK guild was… the other tacticians!_

_Ren quickly looked around him, wondering who had betrayed them. It wasn't hard to guess as he saw Shino charge at a defenseless Asami with his blade drawn. Ren quickly reacted as he sped over to the blonde girl and blocked the sword coming for the back of her neck._

"_Shino! Why?!" Ren growled. "Why did you betray us?!"_

"_Of course you'd realize my plan right before I could get a kill." Shino chuckled. "I'm sick of you! You stupid know-it-all!" Shino quickly leaped outside of the formation and jumped up to a higher platform._

"_Oh no you don't!" Ren yelled as he followed the traitor. When he landed on the platform, he found two other Laughing Coffin members there to greet him. Ren leaned back as he played limbo with the sharp blade of one of the PKers. He then jerked his body to the left, evading the second player's attack. Ren then stabbed his blade into the chest of one of the Laughing Coffin members, following up by kicking him off the platform and down below the fight to his death. Ren was about to attack the second one, when Asami showed up and ripped through the murderer's avatar with her large two-handed sword._

"_Go on Ren! I got this guy!" Asami told her fellow tactician. Ren nodded and pursued the retreating Shino. He found the traitor waiting for him on the next platform, with a devilish smirk on his face._

"_Geez, it's so hard to find good help these days." Shino sighed. "I thought they'd at least damage you a little."_

"_Why…" Ren snarled._

"_What?" Shino asked._

"_WHY DID YOU BETRAY US, YOU BASTARD?!" Ren yelled. "YOU WERE ONE OF US!"_

"_One of you?" Shino chuckled, slowly breaking out into laughter. "You've got to be kidding me. I was never one of you bleeding hearts."_

"_What?!" Ren gasped. "But you-"_

"_I was only on the front lines as a spy." Shino explained. "In reality, Wild Fang is a guild that was working with Laughing Coffin all along."_

"_But why?" Ren asked. "Why are you all doing this? Don't you want to go back to the real world?"_

"_Go back? You must be joking." Shino laughed. "I've never felt more alive than when I'm in here! You can't have this kind of fun back in the real world!"_

"_That's it? That's your reason for killing all those innocent people?!"_

"_You know I'm right Ren." Shino said. "Admit it, you've never felt as alive before this game."_

_Ren thought about what Shino said. It was true, even in this death game, Ren had never felt more alive. The heart racing feeling of being locked in combat. It was exhilarating. But there was still a flaw in Shino's thinking._

"_You're right." Ren admitted. "But there's still something you're forgetting."_

"_Oh? And what is that?" Shino asked._

"_You're forgetting about all the sadness this game has caused." Ren explained. "There's people that are terrified every day in here. There's people on the outside that want their friends and family back more than anything."_

"_What do I care about that?" Shino shrugged. "That's not my problem."_

_Ren sighed, realizing that this was getting them nowhere. "It looks like we'll never understand each other." He said as he got into a fighting stance. "I'll just have to take you down."_

"_Bring it on." Shino smirked. He sped at Ren full speed. "But you won't beat me!"_

_Ren met Shino's attack with his own. The blonde haired traitor continued a relentless assault of quick slashes to his opponent. It took everything Ren had to block the non-stop barrage. Ren finally found an opening and hit his opponent's thin blade back. His sword gave an orange glow as he delivered a powerful horizontal slash to Shino's chest. The traitor was sent flying back. He lost his grip on his blade as his back hit the floor hard. The thin blade clanked across the floor, falling over the edge. Ren firmly planted his boot on Shino's chest before he could even stand and pointed his sword at the traitor._

"_You lose, Shino." Ren glared._

_Laughing Coffin's attempt to destroy the front line's team with an ambush failed, though both sides took heavy casualties. About ten people from Laughing Coffin survived and were sent to prison, along with Shino and the surviving members of his guild. Before they dragged him away, Shino said one last thing to Ren._

"_This isn't over. I'll get you back for this someday."_

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Ren sat on the bench in the city park, looking at his cellphone. It was ten minutes from the time he had told his friend to meet him. The tactician waited for a few more minutes, when she finally arrived.

"Hey Reny-kins!" Hikari waved. She ran over to her friend and sat down next to him. "So, what did you want to talk about?"

"First of all, could you stop calling me that?" Ren asked the blonde girl. "Second, I need to ask you something. Have you heard from any of the other front line tacticians?"

"Hmm… Not really." Hikari replied. "Last I heard, Eve was going to her old high school and Makko was out of high school before SAO started. I don't even want to know about Shino."

"I was hoping for something better." Ren sighed.

"Why are you asking this anyway?" Hikari asked.

"I… met someone in a game that I think is one of the tacticians from SAO." Ren explained. "Whoever they are, they have a huge grudge against me."

"Oh, I see." Hikari said. "Well if I had to guess, it's probably that jerk Shino."

"Yeah, that's probably true. I was hoping to get some info on where he is so I can confront him directly."

"Is that really a good idea?" Hikari wondered. "He was in league with Laughing Coffin."

"I don't have much choice." Ren sighed as he got up from the bench. "Thanks anyway Hikari. I'll see you tomorrow at school."

"No problem. See you later Reny-kins." Hikari giggled as she ran off.

'_So much for her not calling me that anymore.'_ Ren thought a he headed back home as well.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Ren logged into Fire Emblem Online, appearing in the capital city of Roiyaru. Unsure of what to do, he went to a tavern to think. Dark Knight's identity had to be Shino. It's the only one that made any sense. But Shino's location in the real world was unknown to the tactician, and without legendary class equipment there was no way Ren could beat him. As Ren wondered what to do, a familiar face stepped into the tavern.

"Hey Ren." Alice waved as she walked over and took a seat next to him.

"How'd you know I was here?" Ren asked.

"I called your phone and Clair picked up. She told me you were in the game." the black haired teen explained. "So, did you get any better idea of who Dark Knight is?"

"The only person that was a front line tactician and has a grudge against me is Shino." Ren answered. "He's the only person I can think of."

"So what are we waiting for?" Alice questioned. "Let's just tell Kirouka and be done with it."

"But they can't do anything. Dark Knight isn't doing anything against the rules. Plus we don't have any solid proof that it's actually him."

"Then our only option is to beat him?" the black haired girl asked.

"Pretty much." Ren said. "But without any legendary equipment, I don't think that's possible."

"I may be able to help with that." another voice said. The couple turned towards the tavern's door to see Gancelot. "Come. I need to show you something."

Gancelot brought Ren and Alice with him to the castle. He led them through the mazelike corridors of the building, finally stopping in front of a set of two large blue doors with a golden outline.

"Inside here is one of the Sacred Regalia of Roiyaru, a sword named Stormripper." Gancelot explained. "It is a weapon that can only be used in times of a crisis."

"What do you mean?" Ren asked.

"Once the weapon has been unsheathed, its durability will gradually decrease. The only way to replenish that durability is to put it back in its scabbard, which is in this room. However, it takes a long time for it to repair itself." Gancelot opened the doors. "I'd like you to use it."

"What?!" Ren exclaimed. "But it's such a precious treasure!"

"I know. But I believe it may be our only chance."

Ren walked through the doors and entered what felt like another room. There was a walkway leading to the top of a dark blue pillar with yellow patterns decorating it. Down below was a bottomless abyss. Ren walked across the pathway and stood on the pillar, where a scabbard was partially sealed into the ground. A golden hilt stuck out of it. Ren grabbed the hilt of the legendary weapon and slowly unsheathed the sword. The blade called Stormripper was a shimmering silver color. Ren did a practice swing with the blade. Simply by swinging the sword, a mighty gale blew in the direction of the slash. Amazed by its power, Ren stared in awe of the blade in his hands. He sheathed Stormripper in a new scabbard on his back and walked out of the room.

"Thanks." Ren told Gancelot. "I'll make sure to take Dark Knight down with this."

"Good. Now what plan shall our army use this time?" Gancelot asked.

"There is no plan this time." Ren answered. "I'm going to take Dark Knight down with my guild."

"B-But he wiped out an entire army! How are you going to beat him with such a small group?"

"We lost, because Dark Knight knows the way I think." Ren explained. "Using a large scale army won't work on him. I'll need to take him down myself."

Gancelot hesitated a little but finally gave in. "Very well then. I wish you good luck."

Ren and Alice exited the castle and walked into the city. "I'll need to get everyone together." Ren said. "You still good on time, Alice?"

"I'm always free to kick some butt!" Alice grinned. "Now let's do this!"

XXXXXXXXXXX

Dark Knight walked through the woods where he had fought the other day. The scars from his blade, Nemesis still showed signs of life. He walked over to the cliff he had destroyed the army of players at, looking out into the distance from under his helmet. As he looked down at the destroyed trees below, two dots appeared in the afternoon sky's horizon. The two dots slowly became larger and larger, revealing two flying mounts, a pegasus and a wyvern. As the airborne mounts hovered over the heavily armored knight, a player jumped off the pegasus and landed in front of him.

"Well at least searching for you wasn't hard." Ren said as he unsheathed his new blade.

"Back already are you?" Dark Knight questioned. "I thought the difference in our strength was made clear the last time we faced each other."

"I can't let you keep doing this." Ren told the knight. "You said you'd quit if I defeat you."

"And you think you stand a chance? How amusing." Dark Knight unsheathed Nemesis and pointed it at his opponent. "Do your worst."

"Bring it on!" Helios yelled as he charged on his wyvern. "Light him up Burner!" Helios's mount fired a stream of fire at the knight, who seemed completely unfazed by the attack. The wyvern rider then leaped off his mount to deliver a powerful blow with his axe. Dark Knight quickly swung his sword upwards, intercepting the attack and sending Helios flying back into his wyvern.

"Lucky shot." Helios moaned as he struggled to get up.

"You're gonna pay for that one pal!" Dagger snarled as she sped at Dark Knight with her blade drawn. The heavily armored player didn't even attempt to dodge, as the thief's sword simply bounced off after making a small hit.

"Is this all? How pitiful." the black armored player said in disappointment as he grabbed Dagger by the throat and lifted her into the air. "I was expecting more."

"How about this then?" Dagger smirked, pointing her blade into the air. "Now Mai!"

Mai quickly chanted a spell while holding out a bright yellow tome. A beam of light fired from the book, reflecting off Dagger's sword and right into Dark Knight's eyes under his helmet. Blinded by the glare, he let go of the red haired girl and stumbled back a bit.

"Now guys! Finish it!" Dagger called to her guildmates. They didn't need to be told twice as Mai fired a wave of magic attacks at the knight, making him stumble back further. Helios then followed up by ramming into the knight with his wyvern, knocking the guild's opponent off the cliff.

"Do it Ren!" the wyvern rider yelled to his guild leader. Ren jumped off the cliff and dived after the knight. He stuck his legendary blade into Dark Knight's helmet and used his full strength to pull it off. The helmet was blown off by Ren's Stormripper and the tactician leaped off the falling knight and landed safely on the ground while his opponent crashed into the earth. The rest of Ren's guild descended from the cliff and landed at his side.

"Alright, now let's your face Shino." Ren glared at his opponent, who slowly got to his feet. The smoke cleared and the knight's face became visible, although it wasn't who Ren was expecting.

'_No way… it can't be.'_

The person standing in front of them could only be recognized as one person. Only one of the front line's tacticians had that long blonde hair and those blue eyes.

Hikari.

**A/N: Phew, writing two chapters in one week was not easy, but definitely worth it. Next chapter will be the finale of the Fire Emblem arc. I hope you have enjoyed this one so far.**


	30. What the Heart Wants

**A/N: Hello everybody! It's time for the finale of the Fire Emblem arc. I hope you all enjoy it. And thanks for the awesome comments and suggestions everyone is giving me. You guys are awesome! Also, the third chapter of my side story Hollow Inferno will be up today as well. Check it out if you haven't already.**

**DeoxysSpeed: Thanks again. Happy to have someone who really likes this story.**

"Hikari?!" Ren gasped. "YOU'RE Dark Knight?!"

"That's right." the blonde haired knight stated. "I came to this world logging in with my SAO avatar. I raised my level and obtained legendary class equipment. All to prove myself to you."

"Prove yourself?" Ren questioned. "Why?"

"Because of HER!" Hikari yelled, pointing her finger at Alice.

"ME?!" Alice exclaimed. "What the hell did I do?"

"You stole Ren from me!"

The guild stared at the girl in shock. Ren was the most surprised by the blonde girl's statement. Alice however, was more pissed off than surprised. "Excuse me?" the black haired girl asked.

"You heard me." Hikari scowled. "I'm far better for him than you are!"

"Ok Hikari, you are WAY out of line!" Alice told her with her eyes filled with rage. "What makes you think I shouldn't be with Ren?"

"Because you can't understand him the way I can." the blonde knight responded. "You can't appreciate his tactical expertise the way I can."

Alice was glaring daggers at Hikari and looked like she was about to cut her head off, until Ren stopped her. "Look Hikari, I'm flattered. Really I am. But I'm with Alice, and there's nothing you can do to change that."

"Very well then." Hikari said as she opened her menu and unequipted her heavy black armor, replacing it with a long black coat. "I'll just prove to you my strength by taking you down."

"Fine. But when Ren wins, you back off!" Alice snarled.

"Fine by me." Hikari agreed. The two tacticians adopted their battle stances while the others backed away.

Hikari was the first to make a move, closing the distance between her and Ren surprisingly quickly and aiming to cut Ren's neck. Ren put his sword into a defensive stance to block the incoming hit, but it didn't arrive as his opponent pulled a feint and attacked with a slash to his chest. Ren leaped back to try and put some distance between them, but Hikari was unwilling to let her opponent escape as she pursued him jumping from tree to tree by kicking off from the trunk. Knowing his opponent couldn't pull a feint midair like this, Ren parried her attack and responded with an upwards diagonal slash, forcing her to fly back into one of the many trees populating the forest.

"Not bad *huff* Ren." Hikari admitted as she got to her feet. "But I'm not even close to being done yet."

'_She knew what she was doing when she took off the Armor of Disaster' _Ren thought. _'Not only can she now keep up with my speed, but it's harder to find an opening to hit her now'_

Hikari took her sword and swung it horizontally, creating an energy wave that threatened to slice her opponent in half. Ren responded by quickly swinging his sword at the ground to create a gust of wind that propelled him above the slash. He followed up with his own long range attack midair, swinging his Stormfurry as hard as he could to create an intense blast of wind that rocketed towards Hikari. The blonde girl did her best to endure the powerful gale, but gave in as the attack blew her back. Ren landed and sped at the exposed Hikari, preparing to deal the final blow. Not willing to give up, Hikari quickly maneuvered he weapon to intercept the slash and then followed up as she landed by hitting his weapon straight up, creating an opening to attack that she gratefully accepted. The horizontal slash from the girl cut through Ren's avatar, making his HP bar skyrocket down into the red. As she was about to finish him off, Ren quickly bent his body back and barely dodged the slash. He then kicked Hikari's legs, forcing her to trip over. Ren swung his blade down and finished off the rest of her HP.

"And don't ever call me Reny-kins again." Ren told Hikari as her avatar shattered into fragments. "Only Alice can call me that."

XXXXXXXXXXX

The final bell rang around the school, signaling it was finally time to go home. Alice grabbed her bag and left the classroom, preparing to head to the school courtyard to meet Ren and the others. Surprisingly though on her way, someone was blocking her path. The one doing so was none other than Hikari.

"Listen Alice." Hikari started. Alice prepared to hear some speech about how it wasn't over and Ren would be hers one day, but was surprised by what actually came out of the blonde girl's mouth. "I'm a girl of my word. I'll back off from Ren and stop PKing in Fire Emblem Online."

"Thanks Hikari." Alice said, trying to contain her surprise. "I really appreciate it."

"Don't get the wrong idea." Hikari told the black haired girl. "I'm only backing off for now. I'm not giving up on him. Remember that." Alice was about to say something to Hikari as the blonde girl walked away, but decided against it. She wasn't going to cause any more trouble in the game and she was giving up on Ren… for now at least. All in all, Alice could call this a win. She continued through the hallway and headed towards the courtyard to meet Ren and the others. She exited the school and saw the tactician laying on the bench at their usual hangout, using his bag as a pillow. Ren noticed his girlfriend coming and got out of his laying position to let her sit next to him.

"Hey Ren." Alice greeted.

"Hey." Ren greeted back. "So, anything you wanna do today?"

"It'd be nice to head back to Alfheim after being gone from it for a whole weekend" the black haired girl suggested.

After the Dark Knight incident was finished, Ren and his guild headed back to Roiyaru to tell everyone the good news and to return Stormfurry back to Gancelot. The five leaders thanked the guild for all the work they had done. Afterwards, the group returned their accounts to Alfheim Online. Helios cried a little, saying he'd miss the pet dragon he had grown to love. After returning to the real world, Ren emailed Kikouka, telling him that they had succeeded. The government official thanked Ren for his help and said their reward would be mailed to them in a few days.

"It will be fun to fly using our wings again." Ren agreed. "And to not have Hikari calling me Reny-kins anymore."

Alice giggled in agreement. "Yeah. You're MY Reny-kins. Nobody gets to call you that but me."

The couple left the courtyard and decided to meet up in Alfheim. Ren rushed home and logged in to Alfheim Online along with Clair.

"Link start!"

Ren opened his eyes and found himself in the tavern he had last logged out from in the game. He and his little sister walked out into the city and breathed in the virtual air. Even though it had only been a couple of days, it felt like an eternity since they had last been here. It wasn't long before Alice came out from the tavern as well, transformed back into her Imp avatar.

"Ah, it's good to be back." Alice smiled as she stretched her arms out. "So, what do you want to do first?"

Ren pondered on what the group could do. "Hmm… maybe we could-"

"Hey guys!" a voice called out to the group. Ren and the others watched as a player descended in front of them. From the looks of it, the player was a Salamander player. Her hair was a blonde color and she wore basic heavy armor. A two-handed sword was slung across her back. It was a different avatar, but the group could tell who it was right away.

"Hikari?" Ren asked. "What are you doing here?"

"Well I can't really play Fire Emblem Online anymore now that I lost to you." Hikari explained. "So I decided to try out ALO. And it's Asami in here."

"Asami don't get any ideas about-"

"Don't worry Ren." Asami assured the Imp. "I said I would back off and I will." She walked up to Alice and whispered in her ear "But Ren will be mine one day."

'_Don't make a scene.'_ Alice told herself. _'Resist the urge to hook her in the face.'_

"Anyway, I'll see you guys around sometime." the female Salamander told the group as she spread her wings and flew off, leaving the three players in the streets of Alne.

"She really is weird." Himiko said.

"Don't worry sis." Ren told her as he playfully rubbed her violet hair. "Someday you'll be in love and be like that."

"Don't even joke about that." Himiko told her brother as she playfully swatted his hand away. "Anyway, let's head out."

"Wait for us!" a voice called out to the group in the distance. Ren and the others looked to see Helios, Dagger, and Mai flying over towards them. "It's so nice to be back" the young Sylph said with glee.

"And now that we're back" Helios started as he grabbed Mai and brought her in for a noggy. "I can do this again, squirt. Cause you're no longer a white mage."

"Let her go Helios." Alice glared at the Salamander, forcing him to free his captive. "Remember I've got my scythe back now."

Ren chuckled in amusement at his guild, happy that things were finally back to normal… at least as normal as it ever was around them. The group spread their wings and flew off into the sky to revisit the world that they all loved.

**A/N: Phew. Finally done. Once again, I hope you all enjoyed this arc of the story. I apologize that this was a short chapter, but I have been pretty busy this week. Please comment and give any suggestions you guys have.**


	31. World Tournament

**A/N: Ok, I just found out the greatest news ever! Sword Art Online Lost Song is being released in the US this year! I am SO TOTALLY PSYCHED for this game! **

**Back to fanfics though, you guys are great! I am loving all the positive reviews you are giving me. A few people have been questioning what happened to Riku. That is my fault. I thought I explained that in a former chapter but after looking back, I realize that I forgot to add it. It will be explained what happened to him in this chapter and to any of you that liked him as a character he will be coming back later in the story.**

"Alright gaming fans, it's time for another MMO Stream!" the presenter exclaimed, dressed in her usual cat-girl outfit. "Today, we'll be focusing on a popular VRMMO, Alfheim Online!"

Ren and his friends sat in the living room of Ren's house watching the televised broadcast. Rumors had said that today's show would have an important announcement. Alice leaned her head on Ren's shoulder while they watched the gaming news show. Asuna and Dagger did the same with their boyfriends.

"I wonder what the big announcement will be." Ren said with excitement.

"Who knows?" Mai shrugged. "Maybe it'll be about some big upcoming update."

The group fell silent as the hostess of the show continued. "For all you hardcore ALO players out there, I hope you're watching. To tell everyone the big news for this popular game, we have the owner of the ALO server. Ladies and gentlemen I give you the president of the Leo Industries, Reiji Mitsusada!" The screen turned to show a man in his late twenties. He had silver hair and was dressed in a blue jacket and tan pants with a long red scarf around his neck. After the incident in ALO with the 300 trapped SAO survivors, Reiji Mitsusada was one of the people who bought the ALO servers in order to keep it running. Main control of the game was currently operated by his company, Leo Industries.

"I'm surprised he's making an appearance." Asuna said. "He usually doesn't do this kind of thing."

"Must be pretty big then." Helios guessed.

"Mr. Mitsusada" the presenter began. "Players of ALO have been eagerly awaiting this big announcement today. However, some are wondering if it will be a disaster, like the last update that included the Succubus race."

"I will admit that the Succubus race was a failure and a mistake on our part." Reiji stated.

"That's putting it lightly." Alice grumbled, remembering all the trouble caused by the race before.

"However, it is through our mistakes that we evolve." Reiji added. "And today, I have an announcement for every player of Alfheim Online. As you know, Alfheim holds an annual tournament to decide the game's strongest player. Well I am pleased to announce that the time for this year's tournament has come at last!"

Ren and the others widened their eyes in shock. The last Alfheim tournament had been a huge event. Ren remembered the fight he had with Yuuki in the top eight of last year's tournament, where he was soundly defeated. He was looking forward to a rematch with the powerful warrior.

"The tournament will be held in one month's time, in July." Reiji said, getting out of his chair. "But there's one more important piece of information I want to share with everyone. As I'm sure you all know, ALO has recently spread overseas, with gamers from all over the world enjoying its greatness. Well I am pleased to announce that this tournament will merge the multiple servers of ALO together. That's right, this tournament will be held worldwide!"

The jaws of Ren, his friends, and probably every ALO player in the world dropped from hearing this news. VR game tournaments rarely ever mixed servers. When they did, a special location was usually used for the tournament. But this was something new. A tournament held worldwide with players able to compete from their usual log in areas at home. Such a thing was almost unheard of for VRMMOs.

"This tournament will show the potential of all the players in the world. The winner of this game will not be the best in the country this time. They will be the best in the world."

Best in the world. It was something that every gamer dreamed of. And now, that dream could finally be a reality.

"You heard it here folks!" the cat-girl presenter yelled out to their worldwide audience. "A tournament that will decide the top ALO player in the world! I hope you're all looking forward to this as much as I am! Let's give a round of applause for Reiji Mitsusada! Next up after the break, we'll be showing a re-cap of the latest Battle of Bullets tournament, so don't go anywhere!"

Ren turned off the television and the entire group stared at each other before all breaking out into an ecstatic cheer of excitement.

"A worldwide tournament! This is gonna be awesome!" Ren cheered.

"I can't believe this!" Helios agreed. "We're gonna be able to fight players from overseas!"

"This month is going to be hardcore with training." Kazuto added, unable to contain his excitement either.

Asuna yanked on her boyfriend's ear. "You better not go thinking I'm just going to let you do your crazy solo grinding all month and leave me all alone."

"O-Of course not." Kazuto told the chestnut haired girl. "I promise I'll take you on a date once a week."

"TWICE a week." Asuna corrected him. "And training together is not a date, got it?"

"Y-Yes ma'am." Kazuto replied.

"I wanna spend time with Daddy too!" Yui added, speaking through Asuna's cell phone.

"How am I gonna get any training done." Kazuto sulked with his head down. The group all laughed at the black haired teen's misery.

"Well, all the training in the world isn't going to help you man." Helios grinned confidently. "Cause I'M gonna be the winner."

"In your dreams, Helios." Mai said. "You've got no chance."

"Oh like you're going to win." Helios countered, rolling his eyes. "You'll be lucky to make it past the first few rounds."

"If you end up getting beat by Riku, I'm never gonna let you live it down" the young brunette teased.

"As if I'd ever lose to him."

"Whatever happened to Riku anyway?" Asuna asked. "He isn't going to the SAO survivor's school, right?"

"He went back to his old high school from before SAO." Ren explained. "He still plays ALO with his old SAO account, but I don't see him very often."

"You're probably to blame for that." Alice pointed out. "Seriously, you were merciless to him back in SAO. How were you ever friends before that?"

"I wasn't THAT bad to him." Helios argued, causing the entire group to stare at him.

"You were an ass to him" they all said in unison, as if they had practiced it beforehand.

"It doesn't matter who enters! Daddy's gonna win for sure!" Yui cheered.

"I said I'm gonna win!" Helios barked back.

"You have no chance." Asuna stated.

"Sorry to break up your adorable little fight, but I plan on winning this." Ren smirked. "So don't go planning your victory speech just yet."

"It's rare to see you like this, Ren." Alice said. "You must be really excited."

"You bet I am." Ren told the black haired girl. "No way am I losing this time."

"Well this next month is sure to be interesting." Kazuto stated. The entire group all nodded in agreement.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

The streets of New York were bustling with people and vehicles alike. Gigantic buildings populated the wide city. In one of these buildings, a man sat in his chair and watched the MMO Stream broadcast.

"This tournament will show the potential of all the players in the world. The winner of this game will not be the best in the country. They will be the best in the world." Reiji spoke on the television screen, before the man shut it off. He pressed the button on the intercom on his desk. "Margaret, please send Dr. Richards to my office."

"Right away sir" the girl on the other side replied. A few minutes passed and a knock was heard on the door.

"Come in" the man said. The door opened and a scientist in a white lab coat entered the room. "I trust the project is going well?"

"Even better than expected" the scientist answered. "Even without the last bit of data we were expecting from Sugou Noboyuki, the tests are running quite smoothly."

"Yes, the failure from that idiot Sugou did set us back a bit" the man agreed. "Will the subjects be ready within the next month?"

"Some of them are still resisting, but we should have a few fully under control within the month." He replied. "Around ten to be exact."

"Ten should be plenty" the man said with a menacing grin. "I want them ready before the tournament starts. We can test their abilities there."

"As you wish, sir" the scientist replied as he bowed and walked out of the room, leaving his boss alone once again.

"Soon, very soon, things will be ready" he smirked. "When that time comes, all of Japan… no… all of the WORLD will be under my control." He broke out from a chuckle into a menacing laugh. "And when that time comes, no one will be able to stop me."

Dr. Richards walked through the halls of the building and entered an elevator. He pressed a button inside the elevator and went down far below ground. The doors opened up and he entered an underground lab. Several scientists typed on computers along the side of the room. At the end of the room, separated by a wall of glass, teens were laid down unconscious on beds. He walked over and stared at the sleeping teens. Another scientist walked over to him.

"How are they doing?" Richards asked.

"A few are being stubborn and resisting, but most are completely helpless under the power of our brain control. We've reset their memories and are in the process of transforming their minds."

"Perfect." Richards chuckled. "Soon, we'll have an army at our disposal. No one has caught on yet?"

"No sir. The authorities and public all believe they've just been random kidnappings. No one knows about this location."

"Good." Richards said. "The boss wants ten of these brats ready within the month."

"Understood."

**A/N: I hope you all are looking forward to what's to come in this story, whether it be the tournament, the new villain, or both. Also, for those of you that noticed, I am not killing off Yuuki in this story. I am keeping her around for now because I loved her character in the anime and was sad to see her die as I am sure many of you were. I will say right now that the tournament will not happen for at least another few chapters. Be sure to PM any OC ideas you have for the tournament as well as any match-up ideas you have for the tournament. I will take any into consideration.**


	32. Elza

**A/N: Hey guys. Happy to see all the great feedback and reviews this story is getting. I am taking everyone's ideas into consideration. Just like all the other chapters, please post any comments or reviews you have and pm me your ideas.**

Alice walked through the halls of the school, finally done with classes for the day. Ever since the announcement of the tournament, she had been excited to do some special training with Ren. Alice had thought about several places for her and her boyfriend to go to. There was a flower field in Sylph territory that was swarming with plant monsters. The majestic mountains of Imp territory were perfect for midair fights. She had even found a cool underground dungeon inside some ruins in Spriggan territory.

The black haired teen headed over to the usual meeting place for her and Ren. When she arrived, she noticed her boyfriend was already there waiting for her. She waved over to him as she ran over to the bench where he was sitting.

"Hey Ren!" Alice greeted, sitting next to him.

Ren replied with a peck on her cheek. "Hey Alice."

"You ready to do some training today?" Alice asked. "I was thinking we could go to the mountains in Imp territory or-"

"Actually, I can't today." Ren interrupted. "Clair and I promised we'd help our mom with some things around the house. Sorry."

"Oh" Alice said. "Well… I guess I'll just do some solo training for today."

"I'm really sorry." Ren apologized. "I promise I'll do some training with you some other time."

"No, it's fine. Really" the black haired girl assured him. "Don't worry about it."

Ren gave his girlfriend a quick kiss before he got off the bench and headed out. "I'll see you later."

Alice waved goodbye and decided to go home as well. Mai was busy with some after school stuff, and Dagger was probably doing something with Helios. It was rare that she ended up walking home on her own.

The black haired teen walked through the door of her empty house. She went upstairs to her room and threw her bag down. She grabbed her Amu Sphere and fit it around her head. She closed her eyes and uttered the two words that granted her access to the virtual word.

"Link Start!"

Alice's vision went white and her consciousness drifted away from her real body. She entered her username and password and entered the world of Alfheim. The female Imp opened her eyes to find herself in the inn she had last logged out of.

'_I guess I'll head to Imp territory'_ Alice decided. She shuffled through her menu and grabbed a teleport stone, which allowed her to go to any city she had already previously visited. She held it into the air and called out her destination.

"Teleport! Komori!"

The female Imp became veiled in a bright light and her avatar disappeared from the inn. She reappeared in the cave city of Komori, the capital city of Imp territory. Azure colored lights illuminated the city. Imps of all kind roamed the streets.

Alice exited the large cave city and took off into the sky with her bat-like wings. Several monsters flew around the wide skies of Imp territory, but none of them proved to be any challenge for the female Imp.

"This is so boring." Alice complained. Usually she would go to the dungeons for training, but without a party it was difficult to clear them. The black haired girl was so lost in thought that she didn't even notice the monster creeping up right behind her until it was mere feet away.

The monster was about to rip through the girl, until a sudden flash came and sliced the monster in half. The monster shattered into fragments. Alice frantically looked around to see where the mysterious person who saved her was.

"Up here."

Alice looked above her to see a player she had never seen before, leaning on a long scythe. It was a female Imp with short violet hair that fell down a little past her shoulders. She had red eyes and was wearing a long violet dress with a golden trim and long black leggings with black boots to match. She had two moon shaped earrings with blue jewels in the center of the crescent shaped accessories. The scythe she was wielding had a long violet handle with a curved red blade. A long chain extended from the end of the scythe, and attached to a silver bracelet on the girl's right wrist.

"Who are you?" Alice asked.

"My name is Elza" the girl replied. "And you're Alice, correct?"

"How do you know my name?"

"I've been looking for you." Elza explained. "People say you're the top scythe user in this game."

"That's what they call me." Alice replied. "Are you looking to challenge me?"

"I guess you could say that." Elza shrugged. "I want to test you to see if you're any good."

'_Someone sure sounds confident'_ Alice thought. "Alright then. Bring it on."

The two girls landed on the mountain range below them. The two eyed each other down. Alice gripped her scythe and got into her battle stance. Elza got into her own battle position as well.

"Try to make this interesting." Elza said in a relaxed voice.

"I'm gonna make you eat those words." Alice glared.

The black haired girl sped at the violet haired Imp and swung her scythe with a horizontal slash. The attack was blocked however as her opponent knocked Alice's weapon into the air with her own. Elza then followed up with a series of slashes, cutting down a large chunk of Alice's health bar. Alice got away from the curved blade of her opponent as she leaped back and spread her wings to increase the distance. Elza wouldn't let her recover though, bringing out her own wings and quickly closing the distance between them. The two girls went into a swift clash between their scythes. Elza cut down more and more of Alice's HP, while Alice was only able to inflict a few scratches on her opponent.

'_Who is this girl?'_ Alice wondered as she struggled against the short haired girl. _'I've never seen anyone this skilled with a scythe'_

Alice swung her scythe with an upwards diagonal slash, but Elza easily blocked it by stabbing her own scythe into the ground and having the handle intercept her opponent's weapon as she balanced herself on the end of her scythe and delivered a kick to Alice's cheek, then following up with a downwards kick, knocking the long haired Imp into the ground. Elza removed her scythe from the ground and leaped back.

"This is the best you've got?" Elza questioned. "And you call yourself the top scythe user in ALO? That's a riot."

"I'm not… done… yet" Alice glared as she slowly got to her feet. "I won't give up. Not ever."

Elza leaned on her scythe and rolled her eyes at Alice. "You really think willpower will be enough? You're so naïve."

"Shut up!" the long haired Imp yelled. "I've been through way tougher fights than this, and I've always made it through with my friends.

"You mean like that guy you're always with? Ren?" Elza smirked. "Let me tell you something. Friends won't be enough to help you. Especially men."

"You don't know what you're talking about!" Alice shouted. "Ren would do anything for me! He's always there for me when I need him!"

"Oh really?" Elza questioned. "Then where is he now? Is he coming to your rescue? Cause I seriously doubt it."

"I said SHUT UP!" Alice screamed. She charged at her opponent and her scythe gave a violet glow as she activated a sword skill. She swung her scythe and hooked it around Elza. The long haired girl yanked it forward, ready to cut off the girl's head, only for it to be blocked as Elza stabbed her own scythe into the ground behind her. The handle easily stopped the incoming curved blade coming for its owner's head.

"What?" Alice gasped as she unsuccessfully tried to yank her scythe forward. "No way."

"You're too weak." Elza said with an unamused sigh. She ducked and unearthed her weapon, causing Alice's scythe to come forward over her head. Alice lost her balance for a second, but a second was all Elza needed to finish it. She put some distance between herself and Alice and then sped at the girl. The curved blade of her scythe didn't follow her however, as it stayed there midair, while a chain followed the wielder.

"What the heck?!" Alice exclaimed. "What is that scythe?!"

"My Demonic Moonlight is a chain-type scythe." Elza explained. "It can extend itself with this chain, as you can see. The short haired Imp swung her extended scythe and wrapped the chain around Alice.

"Damn it." Alice grunted as she tried to break free. "I can't move."

"Game over." Elza smirked. She reeled her scythe back, spinning Alice around dizzily. As it finished reeling back, she extended and swung it once more, making the blade go right behind Alice before reeling it in once again. The curved blade ripped through Alice's avatar as well as the rest of her HP.

"Maybe this will teach you that friends in life are worthless. Take my advice. Become stronger on your own."

**A/N: Sorry this chapter was so short. I will try to make the next one longer. Look forward to it.**


	33. Training

**A/N: Hello readers. I have been really busy doing my best to finish this chapter on time while recovering from a cold. Even stil, I refuse to let my writing suffer as a result. I hope you enjoy this chapter.**

The final bell for school echoed through the halls. The halls were filled with students heading home for the day. Alice however sat in the school's cafeteria alone. The words of the mystery Imp girl named Elza that she fought yesterday echoed through her mind.

_Maybe now you'll realize that friends are worthless. Take my advice. Become stronger on your own._

"Is she right?" Alice asked herself with her head buried into her arms. "Am I weak because I rely on my friends?"

The black haired girl thought of Ren. He had always been able to get through plenty of fights with his own skill, even back in SAO. How many time had he saved her life in that death game? Compared to him, what was she? She had always been the one getting helped by Ren, and never the other way around. Had that made her weak?

Tired of thinking about it, Alice decided it was best for her to head home for the day. Maybe if she played ALO solo for a little, she could find the answer she was looking for. As she walked through the halls, she heard something come from the school gym.

"Take this!"

Alice stopped at the doors of the gym. That was Mai's voice. She peaked open the door and looked in. Mai was currently fighting someone, using one of the fencing club's rapiers for a weapon. She attacked with thrust after thrust. Her opponent, who was dressed in a fencing suit, kept barely dodging the attacks. Alice continued to watch as her sister kept up the relentless assault with the rapier. It was about a full minute before she finally landed a hit and stopped. Her target took of his protective mask, revealing his identity to be none other than Ren.

'_What's going on?'_ Alice asked herself.

Ren grabbed a bottle of water and took a sip, wiping the sweat from his forehead. "Phew. You're pretty good Mai."

"Thanks" the young brunette grinned.

"Sorry for taking up your time to train with me." Ren apologized.

"Oh don't worry about it." Mai assured him. "This helps with my training too."

Alice quietly closed the door and walked away. She couldn't even help Ren with his training for the tournament. Had she really become that weak? That settled it. She had to get stronger on her own. She'd become strong enough where she wouldn't need Ren's protection anymore. Strong enough to fight on her own.

XXXXXXXXXX

"So why didn't you ask Alice to be your training partner?" Mai asked as she and Ren sat against the gym wall for a break.

"Alice is a great training partner." Ren said. "But out of everyone in the guild, you're the best with a rapier. Training like this is the best way to improve my reaction speed. It's better for me to do it in the real world like this. Plus, I don't want to take time away from Alice's training for this. She wants to win too."

"I guess that's true." Mai agreed. "This is helping my speed and accuracy as well."

"So you wanna go another round?" Ren asked.

"You bet." Mai grinned. "I'm gonna make sure I hit you way sooner this time."

"Hold on a second" a voice called out to the duo. Ren and Mai turned their heads to see Asuna standing at the doors of the gym.

"Hey Asuna." Ren greeted. "How's it going?"

"Well I saw you two training, and I thought I'd help. My mom's been on my case like crazy and I need to let out some steam." the chestnut haired girl explained. "Mind if I take over, Mai?"

"Go ahead." Mai said, handing her the rapier. "After seeing Ren dodge my attacks for so long, I really want to see him get some bruises."

"That's a bit harsh." Ren said. "Besides, Asuna won't destroy me or anything."

"Oh is that so?" the chestnut haired girl smirked. "Put the safety mask on. You're gonna need it."

'_Oh god, what have I gotten myself into?'_ Ren wondered as he put the fencing mask on and stood across from Asuna, who got into her fighting stance with the rapier.

"Mai, keep your phone at the ready." Asuna grinned. "Ren might need an ambulance after this."

XXXXXXXXXXX

"Link Start!" Alice uttered, leaving behind her physical body and entering the virtual world. She reopened her eyes and found herself in the inn she logged out of yesterday after her loss to Elza. She decided to head over to Liz's shop in Alne. Her scythe's durability was getting low, so it would be best to get it back to max before doing some heavy grinding.

Alice teleported to the capital city of Alne and headed over to Liz's shop. She opened the door and heard the sound of a hammer hitting metal that was all too common in the shop. Liz turned her head towards the female Imp.

"Hey Alice." Liz greeted. "Isn't Ren with you?"

"No, I'm doing some solo training today." Alice explained as she brought her scythe out. "Think you can restore the durability on this quickly?"

"Anything for a friend" the pink haired Leprechaun smiled. "I'll get started on it right away."

"Thanks Liz. I really appreciate it." Alice said as she handed her scythe over to the blacksmith.

Alice relaxed on the couch available in the shop while Liz repaired the scythe in the back. It was only about ten minutes when Liz came back out, holding the black haired girl's Twilight Crescent in her hands. The curved blade shined brightly as Alice held her treasured scythe once again.

"By the way, any idea where you're going to train?" Liz asked.

Alice pondered for a moment. Now that she thought about it, where would she train? She'd need something a lot better than some regular fields for grinding. She needed to improve her own skill, not just her stats. "I don't really know" the female Imp admitted.

"Well I heard about this really cool place in Gnome territory." Liz explained. "Apparently there's a player who's a martial arts skill expert in a temple near the northeastern area of the Snowpeak Mountains. He's created a ton of martial arts OSSs. Maybe he can help you with your training."

It was true that Alice had raised her skill points in martial arts as well as scythe skills. Maybe it would help her. Even if it was in the bitter cold Gnome territory.

"Alright, I'll try it out." Alice decided. She handed the blacksmith the money for her scythe. "Thanks for the info Liz."

"Don't mention it." The pink haired Leprechaun said. "Good luck with your training."

Alice exited the shop and immediately took off into the skies, with the Snowpeak Mountains as her destination. The trip to Gnome territory did take a bit longer than usual, since she was going alone, but she got some decent exp along the way. She changed her equipment to a hooded black winter jacket to protect against the cold. Even still, the freezing wind tormented her along the way.

Alice stood at the base of the giant Snow peak Mountains. The wind blew past her as she steeled herself for the climb, as the mountain's summit was above the altitude limit.

'_I can do this'_ Alice told herself. _'I have to get stronger on my own'_

Alice sheathed her scythe onto her back and began climbing the steep mountain. Gripping onto the side of the mountain as she climbed up made the female Imp's hands ache with pain, but she pushed on determined to succeed. It seemed like it had been forever when she finally reached the ledge on the summit. After pulling herself up, she collapsed on the snowy ground from exhaustion. She felt like she had just soloed against a floor boss.

"How am I going to do this if I can barely climb one stinking mountain?" Alice asked herself.

"How indeed."

Alice quickly jerked her head towards the sudden voice, startled by his sudden appearance. He was a gray haired Gnome dressed in a long black and white robe, decorated with a yin yang symbol. A long gray beard fell from his chin. From the looks of it, he was probably around sixty years old. It was rare to see people of that age playing VRMMOs. "I am Shenlong, master of this temple. And you are?"

The black haired Imp sat up from the snow and brushed some of the snow off her. "My name is Alice."

"You'll catch a cold if you stay out here. Come inside." Shenlong offered.

Alice followed the man inside the large temple. From the outside, it looked like an old building covered with snow. As she walked inside however, she noticed the beautiful design of the building's interior. Golden pillars with a dragon design held the structure up. At the other side of the room was a large fire bowl with a dragon statue rising out of it. In the dragon's mouth seemed to be a scroll of some kind.

"This is incredible." Alice said in amazement.

"I don't get many visitors." Shenlong explained. "Now then, we can have some tea and then you can be on your way. I make a mean brand of-"

"Wait a second." Alice interrupted. "I can't leave yet. I came here because I need you to help me train." Shenlong looked at the female Imp for a second before chuckling to himself a little. "What's so funny?" Alice asked.

"Young lady, you are far from ready for my training." Shenlong explained. "You were barely able to climb the mountain."

"But I did make it up to the summit." Alice argued. "That means I can handle the training, doesn't it?"

"How long did it take you to climb that mountain?" Shenlong asked.

Alice shrugged in response. "I don't know. Maybe an hour or so."

"It was approximately fifty-two minutes and thirteen seconds." Shenlong corrected her. "I've watched you since you arrived at the base."

"So what's the problem?" Alice questioned.

"That mountain is the first test of your training. In order to begin the real training you must be able to climb it in under thirty minutes."

"THIRTY MINUTES?!" Alice gasped. "Is that even possible?"

"I actually climb that mountain every day, and it only takes me about twenty."

Alice felt the exhaustion from her climb come washing back over her. "Isn't there any other way?"

"I'm afraid there isn't." Shenlong said. "Come. I'll show you the way down." He brought Alice outside and she stared down at the steep mountainside. She couldn't even see the bottom.

"I have to climb up here in under half an hour?" Alice asked. Shenlong silently nodded his head in response. "So how do I get back-"

Alice was interrupted as Shenlong pushed her from behind and she fell over the side of the mountain.

"Don't worry!" the gray haired man called down to the falling girl. "The snow should cushion your fall!"

"YOU CRAZY OLD GEEZER!" Alice screamed as she fell. "WHEN I GET BACK UP THERE, I'M GONNA RING YOU'RE NECK!"

Just as Shenlong had said, her fall ended with her crashing into the snow. Surprisingly it did cushion the fall. Alice's HP hadn't fallen by that much. She stared back up at the tall snowy mountain. Could she really climb to the top in thirty minutes?

'_I have to do this'_ Alice reminded herself. _'There's no way I'm giving up'_

The female Imp gripped the rocky side of the mountain and began climbing once again. Every moment was just as excruciating as before, but her will kept her going. She was going to make it to the top, if for nothing else than to prove herself to Shenlong and beat him to a pulp. The howling blizzards did everything they could to push the black haired girl down, but she refused to fail at this test. She would make it up there no matter what.

After a painful trip back up the mountain, Alice finally got back to the summit. She didn't stop to rest this time though. This time she marched straight to the temple. She swung open the doors and re-entered the golden inside of the temple. Shenlong was calmly sitting in the center of the room drinking some tea.

"Oh, you're back. Did you enjoy your trip?" Shenlong asked in a casual tone.

"Don't you give me that crap!" Alice yelled as she stomped over to the old man. She swung her fist full strength at him, but the punch was easily blocked as Shenlong grasped her fist with his hand.

"Do you know how long it took you to climb the mountain this time?" Shenlong asked.

"I don't care how late I was!" Alice yelled. "I'm gonna-"

"Twenty-eight minutes and thirty-two seconds."

"… Come again?" Alice asked.

"Twenty-eight minutes and thirty-two seconds." Shenlong repeated, letting go of Alice's fist. "You passed the test."

"I… I did it?" Alice asked.

"You are now ready for my training." Shenlong smiled. "You have shown your immense willpower."

"Yahoo!" the black haired girl cheered as she jumped for joy. "I passed the test!"

"Don't celebrate yet, kid." The gray haired man reminded her. "The training will be far harder than that mountain."

"I don't care." Alice said. "I'm going to do this, no matter how hard it is."

"Good answer." Shenlong nodded. "Now then, follow me." Shenlong lead Alice into another room of the temple. The room was a wide rectangle with four pillars at the corners of the room holding the place up. Other than that, the room was pretty empty.

"What is this place?" Alice asked.

"This is a training field." Shenlong explained as he walked further into the room. "This is where we will have the next test."

"So what is this test?" Alice questioned.

"Simple" the old man said. Suddenly, he sped at Alice and threw a punch at her face. The female Imp barely reacted in time to dodge. "You must fight me."

Alice leaped back to put some distance between her and the old man. She then got into a fighting pose. "Alright then" she replied with a determined look. "Bring it on."

Shenlong charged at Alice at performed a barrage of attacks at the black haired teen. It took everything she had to deflect and evade the endless assault. She ducked under a straight jab and performed a low kick at Shenlong's legs to get him off balance. The gray haired master quickly leaped back to evade the attack. Before Alice could follow up and go on the offensive, Shenlong had already leaped into the air and came diving down at Alice with his leg veiled in a violet aura. He yelled out the name of his attack.

"Liger Bomb!"

Alice quickly dodged the attack, but couldn't evade the massive shockwave the attack created. She was sent flying back and crashed into the wall. The female Imp didn't even have time to be amazed as Shenlong came out of the dust cloud from his diving kick and prepared to attack Alice again. This time, it was his palm that had the bright light of a skill. "Tiger Claw!"

This time the skill connected, hitting Alice full force and taking away a large chunk of her health. Alice endured through the pain and sent a right hook towards Shenlong's cheek, but her arm was grabbed before the attack could connect. He tossed Alice into the air like a rag doll. As her body flopped around helplessly in the air, the old man leaped at her and attacked with another martial arts skill. "Crane Jab!"

Shenlong's hand became pointed like a blade as he jabbed his hand into Alice's left shoulder. He attacked with another Liger Bomb attack and sent her crashing into the ground, leaving a crater as an implant.

'_He's so strong.'_ Alice grunted to herself as she slowly got up._ 'I can't find an opening to hit him. I can't win with my martial arts skills. Without my scythe, I'm useless'_

Shenlong landed on the ground and sped at Alice yet again. _'Is this it? Am I too weak to even do anything on my own?'_ Shenlong's fist became veiled in light as he prepared to land the final blow.

'_No'_ the female Imp told herself. _'I refuse to let it end like this! I will not lose here!'_ Alice jerked her body to the right, barely avoiding the attack. She grabbed Shenlong's arm as it went past her and drived her knee up into his stomach, following up with a series of attacks to the old man. As she sent a final jab for her combo at Shenlong, her fist was stopped by Shenlong's hand. She closed her eyes and prepared for the incoming counter attack. When it never came however, she slowly opened them to see Shenlong just standing there with a pleased smile on his face.

"Congratulations" the old man told her. "You pass."

"What?" Alice questioned. "How did I pass? I barely landed a few blows on you."

"And that was all that was required" he explained. "Believe it or not, most of my students can't even land a clean hit on me. You're one of the first to actually do this much damage to me."

Alice sighed with relief. It had been a long struggle of climbing a mountain, climbing a mountain again, and then surviving a battle against the old man, but she finally did it. She could finally become stronger.

"First I have a question." Shenlong asked. "Why is it you wish to become stronger?"

Alice looked at the old man. "Because I want to prove myself."

"Prove yourself?" Shenlong questioned.

"Yes" Alice nodded. "There's a friend of mine that's always been there to save me. I'm too weak to do anything on my own, but I only realized this yesterday when I got my butt kicked. I had always been the top scythe user in the game, but she completely schooled me. She said she was strong because she did it on her own. I wanted to get to that next level."

Shenlong considered Alice's words for a moment, before finally bursting out laughing. Alice glared at the gray haired master. "What's so funny?! I'm serious about this!"

"Sorry, it's just I never thought you to be so dense." Shenlong replied.

"Excuse me?!" Alice yelled. "What about wanting to get stronger makes me dense?!"

"Let me answer your question with another question." Shenlong said. "This friend of yours. Is he important to you?"

"Yes" Alice nodded. "More than anything."

"And are you important to him?"

"Of course" she answered. "He'd do anything for me."

"Then you have your answer right there." Shenlong explained. "Your friend's source of strength isn't from the training he did by getting stronger alone. It's you."

Alice's eyes opened wide with shock. "Me?"

"He gets stronger because he wants to protect you, just as I'm sure you want to protect him" the old man continued. "Those with someone precious to them will be able to unlock a hidden strength inside them. That is how human beings are."

"How can you be so sure?" Alice wondered. "You don't even know him."

"When you get to my old age, you learn a thing or two." Shenlong said with a chuckle.

Alice thought about Shenlong's words. She had always assumed that Ren's grinding and skill with a blade had been what made him so strong. She didn't even stop to consider why he was always getting stronger. It was for her. The thought made her want to cry with joy. And here she was, trying to fight solely for herself. She felt ashamed.

"I'm such an idiot." Alice said as she wiped away her tears. "All this time, my answer was right in front of me." The female Imp rose to her feet. "Shenlong, please fight me again."

Shenlong raised his eyebrows with a slight surprise. "Raring to go so soon?"

"I'm going to get stronger." Alice replied with determination. "Not for me, but for my friends."

"Very well." Shenlong grinned as he got into a battle ready pose. "Show me what you've got."

**A/N: Phew, writing this much in a week while recovering from being sick. I should hopefully be better by next week so the chapter should still be up on time. I hope you enjoy what's to come. The next few chapters will steer away from the tournament and focus on other things. Look forward to it.**


	34. Home Sweet Home

**A/N: It's time for another chapter readers. Can I just say that you guys are awesome?! I am finally free of that cold I was fighting last week. Thanks for all the support you guys gave me in wishing for me to get better. You guys rock.**

**Also, I have an announcement to make. Starting with this chapter, I will be introducing the IRL names of each of the characters in Blazing Revolution. I have gotten a few suggestions to do this by several fans and I thought it would be good for the story. This chapter will introduce a few and the upcomming ones will introduce others. I will also be using the IRL names of the cannon characters when they are not in-game. If you do not know them, you can easily find them on the SAO wiki site. Please enjoy.**

Alice looked out the window of her house. The bright sun radiated in the sky and seemed to warm the world. Birds chirped and made her want to hum in rhythm with them. This was all the proof she needed that summer was here, though being off from school helped spread that feeling too. Summer vacation had started a week ago. The tournament would be here in only a couple more weeks. But that didn't matter to her right now. All that mattered right now would be when Ren was going to show up. She stopped gazing out the window and paced around her house.

'_Where is he?'_ she wondered. _'I wish he'd hurry up and get here'_. The sound of the doorbell ringing finally came and the black haired teen rushed to the door. She opened it to see Ren standing on the other side. In his hand was an Amu Sphere.

"Hey Ren." Alice smiled. "What took you so long?"

"You're the one who wanted me to come over here" Ren reminded her as he walked in. "I said we could meet up in Alfheim, but you insisted on this."

"Well my parents aren't home and Mai is over at a friend's house" she told him. "We barely ever get a chance to be alone in the real world."

"I guess so" Ren admitted.

"So? What is it?" Alice asked.

"What?"

"My surprise, Ren! You said you had a surprise for me!" the black haired teen eagerly said.

"It's in Alfheim." Ren told her.

"I didn't ask WHERE it is. I want to know WHAT it is."

"Well if I told you, it wouldn't be much of a surprise now would it?"

"Come on" Alice begged. "Pretty please"

"If you want to find out, you have to log on" he said, teasing his girlfriend with suspense.

"You better not be pulling my leg or something."

Ren gave a small laugh at her pleading. "You sound like a little kid when you talk like that."

"I do not!" Alice said with her face puffed in semi-mock anger, making Ren laugh even more.

Alice and Ren walked upstairs into her room. Alice grabbed her Amu Sphere and laid on her bed. As she did, she saw Ren just standing there.

"So do you have a chair for me to sit in or something?" he asked.

"Ren" Alice told him "Just lay next to me"

"A-Are you sure?" Ren asked with his face now a shade of red.

"My bed is big enough for both of us. Just lay down"

Ren did as she said, and hooked his Amu Sphere around his head. The two of them simultaneously uttered the words to enter the virtual world.

"Link Start!"

XXXXXXXXXX

Ren and Alice flew through the skies of Alfheim, making their way to Yggdrasil City. The two Imps went straight up the World Tree and entered the city on top of the gigantic structure. Making their way through the crowded streets of the city, the couple finally reached the teleport gate.

"Alright Ren, can you tell me where we're going?" Alice asked.

"Not yet" Ren replied.

The pair stepped onto the pedestal of the gate and called out their destination together. "Teleport! Lunet!" A bright light enveloped them and they vanished from the city, reappearing in the town of Lunet on floor 17 of New Aincrad.

Lunet was a small, peaceful town. The town was covered with wide plains of grass with flowers of various colors in bloom. Few houses for sale existed here, mostly because of the huge prices they were at.

"Can you tell me now?" Alice asked, this time with pleading eyes.

"Soon" her boyfriend told her.

Ren led Alice through the town, towards their destination. As they walked, Alice couldn't help but admire the beauty of the town. She had been here before in SAO, but was too busy trying to clear the game to admire the town. Now, she could truly appreciate the artwork of the town. While walking through the town, Ren stopped and reached for something in his pocket.

"What's going on?" the black haired teen asked.

"Nothing" Ren told her. "I just want you to wear this." Out of his pocket, Ren pulled out a long piece of white cloth.

"A blindfold?" Alice asked. "Really?"

"It'll be worth it. I promise" Ren assured the black haired teen. Alice took the blindfold from her boyfriend and wrapped it around her head, blinding her vision. She grabbed Ren's hand and he continued to lead her to their unknown destination. It was another few minutes till they stopped again. While she couldn't see anything, the pleasant breeze flowing through her hair made her feel at peace.

"Now?" she asked.

"Yes." Ren said. "Now."

Alice removed the blindfold and slowly opened her eyes. She had spent their entire trip wondering what the surprise Ren had planned for her was. But never, not in her wildest dreams, would she have thought this was what it could be.

"Surprise!" Ren said with a smile.

"No way…" Alice gasped. "You bought us a house!"

"You like it?"

"I LOVE IT!"

The house in front of them was a large log cabin with a dark blue roof. It was surrounded by trees and a field of colorful flowers. It had taken Ren a full week of nonstop grinding to gather enough Yld to buy it. The sight was probably the most beautiful thing Alice had ever seen. Tears began to form in her eyes as Ren put his arm around her shoulder.

"You're the best Ren." Alice said. "I love you."

"Not as much as I love you" he replied.

The couple walked into their new house as they held hands. While there was no furniture in it yet, the house showed plenty of space for it. Alice and Ren walked around the cabin, exploring their new home. Alice was already picturing the new furniture she should buy and where to put it. Ren was just happy to see Alice's smiling face, telling him he had definitely made the right choice.

After she finished looking around her surprise, the couple logged out from the new house and returned to the real world. As Ren removed the Amu Sphere from his head, he found Alice's lips press against his. The two laid together in bed cuddling, until they heard the front door open.

"Alicia?" a voice called out from downstairs. "You home?"

"Crap!" Alice said in a hushed tone. "My dad's home!"

"Alicia?" her father called out again. Footsteps could be heard coming up the stairs.

"Quick" Alice told her boyfriend. "We can't let him come in and see us like this!" Ren and Alice quickly got out of their cuddling position and sat on the edge of her bed.

"Alicia?"

"In here dad" Alice called out. The door opened and the black haired girl's father looked inside.

"Oh hello Ren" Alice's father greeted. "I didn't know you were here"

"H-Hello Mr. Tsuki" Ren said, feeling the awkwardness in the room.

"So then…" Alice's father began. "If you don't mind a father prying, what have you two been doing?"

Alice's face became red with embarrassment "Dad! W-We were just talking!"

Mr. Tsuki chuckled at his daughter's embarrassed face. "I'm just joking sweetheart. I trust you and Ren. Don't worry." Both Ren and Alice's faces were shaded with a deep red, but they were relieved that Alice's father wasn't asking any more questions. "Well why don't you kids come downstairs" he offered. "I'll get some snacks out for you."

"Y-Yeah. Sure thing dad" Alice nodded.

"By the way, did your sister Emi say what time she'd be back?"

"I think she said she'll be home by six" Alice told her father.

"Alright. I'll get dinner ready when she gets back." Alice's dad walked out of the room and the couple took a sigh of relief.

"That was close." Ren said.

"Yeah" Alice nodded in agreement. "It's a good thing that my parents like you."

"You're on good terms with my mother too." Ren pointed out. "Although that's mostly because she loves to embarrass me."

"She doesn't do it THAT much."

"You obviously haven't met my mother then."

Alice giggled at her boyfriend's statement. Suddenly Ren said something that caught her attention. "Alicia… it's been awhile since I heard someone call you by your real name."

"Yeah, that's true" Alice agreed. "We usually call each other by our names from SAO. I can't remember the last time I called you Dan"

"Well we did call each other by our in-game names for two years. It's a hard habit to shake off."

"Well whether I call you Ren or Dan, you're still the best boyfriend ever" Alice told him as she leaned over and gave him a kiss.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

A weeks passed by and the log cabin Ren had bought had changed completely. The empty house with nothing in it that Ren had bought was now filled with furniture and accessories that Alice had picked out herself. When she had finally finished all her decorating, the couple invited their friends over to see the new house. They had invited their guild, along with Kirito, Asuna, and the rest of their friends from ALO.

"Wow." Mai said with a yawn as she laid on the couch. "This place is great."

"It better be." Ren said. "It cost me most of the Yld I had to buy this place."

"I think it's lovely." Asuna said as she looked around the house. "You did an excellent job decorating the place Alice."

The black haired girl smiled at being praised for all the hard work she had put into decorating her new house. "Thanks. It took a lot of work to get everything just right."

Ren took a seat on the couch near the fire place as his friends explored the new house he had bought from all the crazy grinding he had done. Kirito walked over and took a seat next to him. "You found a nice place, Ren" the raven haired boy said. "Alice was really surprised, wasn't she?"

Ren nodded his head. "Yeah. Seeing her face light up when I showed her this place made all that vigorous grinding worth it."

"I bet she did more than just smile when she found out." Klein smirked as he leaned over them.

Ren and Kirito gave the Salamander a confused look. "What are you talking about?"

Klein gave his usual devilish grin that he always had whenever he was thinking about that which was most important to him. "Come on man. All that Yld you spent and she didn't… you know…"

"Shut up" Ren told the Salamander as he delivered an uppercut to his jaw. "Don't bring your perverted beliefs into my love life."

As Klein nursed his aching jaw, the group's info broker friend Argo came over to the tactician with her usual innocent smile. "I see things worked out well."

"Yeah. Thanks a lot Argo." Ren told the Cait Sith. "I really owe you one for finding this place for me."

"I know how you can pay me back" she grinned.

"Alright, alright, here you go." Ren said as he opened a trade window and paid most of what was left of his money to the info broker. "By the way, I have a question to ask that I was hoping you know the answer to."

"I'm the best info broker there is. There isn't anything I don't know. Fire away." Argo said.

"How many times has Klein been rejected?" Ren asked.

"This month, or this week?"

Klein immediately ignored the pain in his jaw and leaped over the couch, tackling Argo to the ground. "You are not telling him that! Any price he gives you, I will pay double!"

"Ok then, new question." Ren decided. "Everyone here, raise your hand if Klein has asked you out." In response to the Imp's question, the hands of Liz, Sinon, Leafa, Argo, and Mai all swung up into the air.

"Ok, now how many of you has he asked out within the past month?"

No hands fell.

"How many of you has he asked out multiple times?"

Still, no hands left the air.

"Ok, I've gotta ask this." Kirito said. "Who has he asked out the most?"

Argo started the group off. "Twice"

"Three times for me" Mai said.

"He asked me ten times." Liz stated.

"Seventeen for me." Leafa added.

"Twenty-five. I win" Sinon told the group. "And only twelve of those landed him in the hospital"

Ren looked at the Salamander in disbelief. "Really?"

Klein shrugged in response. "Hey, can't blame a guy for trying."

"I can definitely blame a guy for asking my sister out though." Alice glared. "Especially if he's a pervert."

Klein waved his arms in front of him, terrified of the female Imp. "N-Now Alice, let's not do anything we would regret."

"You mean like asking my sister out, even though she's years younger than you?" Kirito asked in a subtle angry tone.

"Come on guys" Klein begged. "We're all friends, right?"

"You're right Klein. We are friends" Alice said as she cracked her knuckles. "That's why I'm giving you five seconds."

"To explain?"

"To run. Five"

"H-Hold on, Alice. Let's-"

"Four"

"Please, hear me out"

"Three"

"Violence won't solve anything"

"Two"

Klein made a breakneck run for the door, until Argo tripped him.

"What the hell, Argo!"

"That was for tackling me"

"One"

"I WANT TO LIVE!" Klein cried as he sped out the door, with Alice right on his tail.

The group all listened to the Salamander's screams of terror as he fled from the female Imp. "Should we stop her?" Dagger asked.

"Not a chance" Sinon said. "If anything, I'd chase after them just to enjoy the show. Shall we?"

"Hold on." Ren said. "Watching Alice beat up Klein for our amusement would be wrong… wait, what am I thinking? This is gonna be hilarious."

Ren and the others ran out of the house and flew in the direction where screams of terror could be heard. By the time they arrived however, Alice and Klein were nowhere to be seen. Several players seemed horrified though.

"Did two players just come by here?" Ren asked one of the trembling players.

"I think I heard them teleport to Alne" he said. "God help that poor Salamander guy."

"I'm not sure even God will be able to repair the damage Alice is going to do to him." Mai stated.

The large group stood on the town's teleport gate and teleported to the capital city of Alne. When they arrived however, the streets were deserted.

"Forget Alice and Klein, where's all the players in the city?" Helios wondered.

As they looked around the empty streets, a loud scream was heard. The fairies took to the sky to get a better view, where they saw a high speed chase taking place. Klein dived down into the streets to try and evade his enraged pursuer. Alice quickly read his movements and took another route, cutting him off at the alleyway.

"A-Alice, please" Klein pleaded. "Let's talk this out. You already scared off everyone in the city."

"I don't want to hear it you pervert." Alice glared. "This'll teach you not to bring your perverted ways around my sister."

And thus began the worst hour of the poor Salamander's life.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Alright everybody, here it is!" Rika called out to the group as they all took a seat in the Dicey Cafe. "I present to you, Beauty and the Beheaded." A roar of applause filled the bar as Rika played the video of Klein's beating that she had recorded using a recording crystal she had. The group laughed as they looked at Klein's horrified face as Alice beat the Salamander to a pulp over and over again.

"Rika, can you email me a copy of this?" Dagger asked. "I could make a fortune selling this to players"

"Do I get a cut of the profits?" the blacksmith asked.

"Ten percent"

"Only ten?!"

"Fine" Dagger sighed. "Fifteen percent. But that's as high as I'll go."

Rika looked at Dan for help, but the brown haired teen only shrugged saying "Take it. It's better than anything I've ever gotten from her."

"I'll give you twenty percent." Argo interrupted.

"Argo?! Not cool, girl!" Dagger yelled. "Fine, I'll go twenty-five."

As the two girls argued between each other over who would get the video, Dan sat at a table with Alicia right next to him. "Do you think you may have gone overboard?" he asked the black haired teen.

"Pft. If you ask me, I didn't go far enough" she said. "For his sake, I hope he learned his lesson."

"Oh he never learns his lesson." Shino said as she took a seat at their table. "If he did, he wouldn't have gone to the hospital twelve times."

Dan and the group laughed together as the video of Klein's beating continued to play, creating a moment that none of them would forget any time soon.

**A/N: As I said before, I hope you all liked the chapter. The next one will introduce the IRL names of some more OCs for this story. From now on, whenever characters are IRL, they will be referred to by their real names in the story as you could see from the end of this chapter. Also, in case I didn't make it clear, Emi is Mai's real name. Alice does not have another sister. (Be kinda weird if she did and was introduced this late)**


	35. Hyde Gekido

**A/N: What's up readers! Time to find out more of the real names of the cast of Blazing Revolution. Luckily I didn't have a lot going on this week so I was able to no-life this chapter and post it early. Hope you all enjoy.**

The city bathed in the sun's light as it approached one o'clock. People bustled all around the busy streets. Various shops and buildings stood along the roads. Among the many people there was a young couple. The girl was wearing a bright yellow dress with a white miniskirt and had her red haired tied up in a ponytail. The guy had messy black hair and was wearing a gray t-shirt and black pants.

"Come on, Helios" Dagger said. "This way"

Helios walked along with his girlfriend, tired from being dragged all over the city. "Can we please take a break and rest?"

Dagger giggled at her boyfriend's exhaustion. "Come on, Helios. You need exercise like this"

"We've been walking from store to store for three hours" Helios argued. "Let's go to the park and relax or something"

"Oh fine, Mr. Lazybones" Dagger teased. "Let's go to the park"

The couple walked through the busy city streets and finally arrived at the large park in the center of the city. Dagger led Helios over to a bench and the two sat down. Dagger leaned her head on her boyfriend's shoulder. "It's so nice to get to spend time with you like this."

Helios and Dagger continued to relax together with the serene breeze flowing through the air. Suddenly, a voice was heard in the distance that caught Helios's attention.

"Hyde! Yo, Hyde!"

Helios scanned the area. Had he imagined that voice just now? He must have. There's no way that could have been him. He was soon proved wrong however.

"Hey, Hyde!" the voice called out again. "Hyde!"

Helios jerked his head towards where the noise was coming from. He saw the person calling out the name and immediately started to panic. "Crap! What's he doing here?"

"What's wrong, Helios?" Dagger asked as she took her head off the black haired boy's shoulder.

"Hyde!" the voice continued to call out, its owner waving towards the couple. "Over here!"

Helios grabbed Dagger's hand and got off the bench. "Quick, this way!" Before Dagger could even ask what was going on, Helios was already running and pulling her along. They exited the park and ran through the city streets. They finally stopped running as they hid in an alleyway.

"What's going on?" Dagger asked.

Helios took a quick peek out of the alley to see if they had eluded the stranger. "Phew. I think we lost him."

"Helios, who was that?" Dagger asked again.

"Well?" the voice from before said, reappearing as its owner walked into the alley and into the eyesight of the couple, making Helios jump back a bit. The stranger had the same dusty black colored hair as Helios and emerald eyes. He was wearing a brown and yellow shirt and black pants. "You going to answer her, Hyde?"

"How the hell did you find us?" Helios asked.

"Wait a second" Dagger interrupted. "Who's Hyde?"

"That's… my real name" Helios grunted.

"And you must be Dagger" the stranger said with a greeting bow. "Thank you for looking after my little brother"

"Brother?!" Dagger exclaimed, looking over towards her boyfriend. "You never told me you had a brother Helios"

"Fine" Helios said with an annoyed tone. "Dagger, this is my brother Shu, aka Mr. Perfect"

"It's really nice to meet you" Dagger said, greeting her boyfriend's brother. "Helios hasn't mentioned anything about his family before"

"That doesn't surprise me" Shu sighed. "Our mother's probably to blame for that"

"Well if you're done bugging us, can you leave us alone?" Helios glared at his brother. "I'm busy hanging with someone that doesn't actually annoy me"

"That's a little rude, don't you think Helios?" Dagger told her boyfriend. "I mean, he is your brother after all"

"No, it's ok" Shu told the red haired girl. "He's never been a big fan of me or our mother"

"That's because she's too busy idolizing over YOU!" Helios pointed out.

"I should probably go" Shu said as he walked away and left the couple alone. "See you at home bro"

Dagger watched as Helios's brother walked away, the two of them once again alone. "So… Hyde…"

"What about it?" Helios asked.

"It's just weird hearing you be called by a different name" the red haired girl said. "It's different… but I like it"

"Really?"

"Yeah." Dagger giggled. "It's cute"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

-The next day-

"Do we HAVE to do this?" Rika whined as she carried a wrapped present in her hands, walking with her friends on their way to Helios's house.

"I told you guys that it was his birthday yesterday." Dan said, himself carrying a present. "That's why I had Dagger distract him the entire day so we could get him some gifts."

Rika pouted as she gave the tactician a hard look. "But I hate him."

"And he hates you too but let's face it. If Helios didn't bug you as much as he did back in SAO, we might have never met." Dagger said from behind the blacksmith.

Rika sighed as she couldn't really say for sure if she was right or wrong. Back in their SAO days Helios came into her shop one day and demanded she make him an axe strong enough to cleave a dragon's neck off with one slice. When she had told him that it was impossible at her current level, he got mad at her and started causing problems. If it hadn't been for the rest of his guild showing up Helios might've started breaking things in her shop. While she was glad that he had gotten better at controlling his anger, he was still an egotistical pain in the ass in her eyes.

"Well either way, he's been a big help in helping clear some floors in New Aincrad." Kazuto said at Dan's and Asuna's side. "He did take that blow for Mai against the fight with that Chaos Wyrm."

Alicia rolled her eyes as she remembered that incident. "Yeah and later when we revived him he was still an ass to my sister saying, 'Next time move faster you idiot. Don't expect me to do that again.' Next time he says something like that, I'm punching him straight in the face."

As the group of friends approached the birthday boy's house they started to hear loud yelling coming from the tan colored two story house.

"Is something going on there?" Suguha asked as they approached the front door. The yelling seemed to get louder and louder as they all gathered in front of the door.

Dan, taking the lead, decided to knock on the door to see what was up. A few seconds passed before Helios's older brother Shu opened the door. "Oh hey Dan. What are you all doing here?"

Dan lifted his gift into Shu's view. "We're here to give Helios some gifts for his birthday. Can we come in?"

Shu sighed for a bit as he turned to look inside his house. The sounds of Helios and an older woman yelling was heard, much clearer than the muffled yelling from before. "Now's not a good time. Mom is really laying into bro right now."

"Oh great." Rika said. "Saw that coming a mile away. What did he do this time? Throw another chair through a window at school? In fact can I come in? I really want to have a front row seat to watch his mom verbally tear into him."

Dagger frowned at the blacksmith's words. "How can you say that? From the sounds of the yelling this sounds like it's a serious problem."

"You have NO idea" Dan said, knowing how bad these screaming matches got sometimes.

"Hey excuse me for wanting to see him get what's coming to him from his mom."

Shu shook his head. "Look just come back later, this argument is getting… rather personal."

As he said these words, the argument upstairs started to become clear enough for it to be heard by the guests at the door.

"Why can't you just let me live my life how I want to!?" they heard Helios yell with an amount of malice they never heard before in his voice. "Why the hell do you have to butt in and shit all over me the minute I form an opinion against you!?"

"Like you can even make your own decisions!" a woman's voice yelled right back at him. Dagger and the others assumed the voice to be his mother's. "All you are is a damned trouble maker! That's all you are and ever will be!"

"Shut up! You don't know a damn thing about me! All you do is throw me in the shadow of Shu's success and only bring me into the light when it makes you look like a better parent!"

"Oh here it comes! Let's listen to how I'm such a horrible person!"

Emi started to look in the other direction, finding the bush in the front yard very interesting as she tried to distract herself from the violent conversation.

"You don't even care about me! While Shu did all these great things you focused on, you never once acknowledged any of MY achievements! You threw me to the side and it didn't matter how hard I tried to win your attention, I was ALWAYS left in Shu's shadow!" At this point Helios was all but screaming at his mother. "I never mattered to you!"

"It sounds like this is a problem with Shu, not me. Don't even compare yourself to your brother. Shu is an angel compared to you."

"Oh so I'm a demon? Is that it!?"

"You might as well be! Ever since you came back from that death game, you've been even more of a menace than when you were a child!" the group shivered at the amount of venom in that statement. "All the calls I get for your trouble making attitude towards the other kids and even the teachers. Hell some of them are SCARED of you! I knew I never should have let you buy that stupid game and let you play it on your brother's device, it only caused more trouble for us!"

At this statement Helios grew enraged beyond belief as he bellowed at his mother. "IF I'M SUCH A DAMN PROBLEM TO YOU, THEN MAYBE I SHOULD'VE DIED IN SAO SO YOU WOULDN'T HAVE TO SEE ME!"

After that statement was uttered, Helios started to stomp down to the front door, slipping on his jacket as he shoved his brother out of the way. "Out of my way asshole!"

Shu quickly grabbed his brother's shoulder and turned him around to look at him. In his eyes all he saw was rage. "Hyde your friends came to see you."

"Like I give a damn!" he yelled as he shoved his brother's hand off of him. "Get bent asshole!"

Dan stepped forward to his childhood friend. "Dude what's wrong?"

"None of your damned business that's what's up!" he pushed his way through his friends and started to walk down the sidewalk away from his house. "Don't any of you assholes follow me! Or you're gonna regret it!"

"Get back here you ungrateful bas-" Helios's mother yelled as she came down the stairs. The rest of her statement died on her tongue as she saw the amount of people at her doorway. "Oh hello. Shu are these your friends?"

Kazuto shook his head. "No miss, we're friends of Helios. We're here for his birthday."

"Friends is a rather strong word for me." Rika muttered to herself.

Helios's mother gave a confused look to the group of students before her eyes lit up in realization. "Oh Helios, you mean Hyde's stupid online persona. Is he still going by the dumb name he gave himself at school? That boy needs to face reality already."

"Who's Hyde?" Keiko asked from behind Asuna.

"It's Helios's real name." Dagger said as she pointed to Shu. "His older brother told me yesterday when we met up."

"And you say you're friends with him?" Shu's mother said with disdain in her voice. "Did he have to threaten you to become friends?"

Alicia shook her head at the woman. _'Seriously what the hell is her problem with her own son?'_ she thought. "He saved me and my sister's lives with his other guildmates back when SAO first started. If it wasn't for him and Ren, we would've died."

"Oh wow, he made himself useful for once? What a miracle."

Dagger's face grew red from anger at the way Helios's mother talked about him. "What the hell is your problem!?" the others looked at the red haired merchant with wide eyes as she stepped forward and pointed an accusing finger as her boyfriend's mother. "Why are you being such a… such a… bitch to him!? What did he do to deserve that!?"

"...I actually wanna know that myself too." Rika said. "I mean the guy can be a Grade A asshole but from the looks of it, we figured out where these problems came from."

"Excuse me!? How dare you make such an accusation! I have tried my hardest to make that boy to be something other than a crook but all he did was fight me every step of the way! I just gave up on him after he turned fourteen. He isn't worth all the headaches I get from him and fixing all his damned problems." his mother yelled back at the group.

'_Wow...'_ Asuna thought as she glared at the woman in front of her. _'She might be even worse than my mom. At least she had good intentions in mind when she pulled her crap.'_

"I have had enough of you all making such baseless statements!" She turned to her eldest son. "Shu, please escort these kids off of my property. I'm going to take a few painkillers. I can feel the headache coming already." with that she stormed off back upstairs and slammed her door shut.

Shu sighed as he looked back to his brother's friends. "Sorry guys, you gotta leave. I don't want to be caught in the middle of this storm and trust me, neither do you." Shu lead the others out the door and closed it behind him.

As the group walked away from the house, one collective thought ran through their heads.

"What a bitch!"

Everyone turned to Rika as she covered her mouth in surprise. "Oh geez, did I say that out loud?"

"It's okay Liz, we're all thinking it." Kazuto said as he patted her on the shoulder. "You were right when you said you found the source of his anger."

"What kind of mother treats her son like that?" Emi asked to no one is particular. "It's like she regrets having him or something?"

"That's his problem to deal with." Dan said. "As much as I'd like to help him, this is like a blood feud between them. It wouldn't be smart to get involved. We should focus on finding the guy."

Asuna raised an eyebrow at the tactician. "You sure that's a good idea? I'm pretty sure he gave us a vague death threat before he stormed off."

"If he did threaten us that just means he needs us more than ever." Dagger said. "I've been with him longer than almost everyone here. Dan, being his childhood friend should agree with me."

Dan nodded his head. "She's right. We have to find Heli- no, Hyde before he hurts himself or others."

"I'd say others are more in danger at this point." Alicia pointed out.

"Right so here's the plan. We're all gonna split up and look for him at his usual hangout spots. If one of us finds him, text the others then try to calm him down okay? Let's go!"

The group then split up, hoping to find their angry friend before he could lash out at some poor soul.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

'_Where is he?' _Dagger thought with worry. _'He isn't at the game store, he isn't at the ramen shop and I didn't see him at park. I hope nothing happened to him.'_

As she ran through the streets by the riverbank, she caught a glimpse of a familiar black head of hair. Running towards it, he was greeted by the sight of her boyfriend sitting on the grass with his jacket on the grassy hill. As she got closer, she remembered to send a quick text to everyone to her friends. 'Guys, found him, by the riverbank. Come quick plz.' the message read. She slowly walked up to him, careful not to make any sounds. As she got closer, she heard soft crying coming from him, his shoulders jerking upwards every now and again as he sniffed and cried. To his side was a small dog. He looked rather middle aged with matted gray fur and cute blue eyes. Though it didn't have a collar on it, meaning it might be a stray. Hyde softly pet to dog, as if to comfort himself from his sadness. Deciding to make her presence known, she slowly walked to his left side and sat down near him. "Helios… no, Hyde. Are you alright?"

Hyde's head turned around to see if girlfriend looking at him. His eyes were red from crying and held a mix of sorrow and rage in them. "The hell do you care? No one cares about me, don't pretend like you do."

"Hyde I do care about you! I love you, ever since SAO when you saved my life and even now. That's not gonna change."

Hyde shook his head. "No you don't. No one does! I've been alone my whole life."

Dagger placed her hands on his shoulder so to look him in the eyes. "What about Dan? What about Shu? They cared about you! If they didn't don't you think they would've abandoned you already? All of us are here for you Hyde."

"You say that now." he muttered with a harsh laugh. "But you'll all leave me some day. They always do."

"Hyde!" Dan's voice called from behind him. All the others came running down to where he and Dagger sat. The dog that was quiet before suddenly started growling at the newcomers.

"Bark! Bark! Bark!" the stray yelled at them.

Hyde gave a pet to the dog's head to calm him down. "It's ok Koro." he pulled out a ragged looking rope from his pocket and gave it to the dog. "Play." The dog yipped happily as he grabbed the knotted rope and began chewing on it. Hyde got up from his seat on the grass and looked at them. "What do you want!?"

"Dude we're here to help you." Dan said as he approached his friend. "After that whole episode with your mom, she started talking crap about you to us."

"Yeah." Alicia said next to her boyfriend. "That woman's beyond cruel."

Rika walked up to Hyde as well. "I always used to think you were just an ass to be an ass but now we see where it all comes from. You were letting out the rage from your mom on others."

"Geez! Took ya that long to make that conclusion Sherlock?" Hyde bit at the blacksmith.

"Hyde, we're here to tell you that she's wrong." Asuna said. "You aren't a demon and you aren't a waste of space. You're our friend."

Hyde rolled his eyes as he turned around and looked at the river. "Yeah right. We're forced acquaintances at best. You're only friends with me because I'm Dan's friend…"

"I won't deny that." Shino said from the side, as candid as always. "Let's face it, you're a jackass."

"Shino!" Emi yelled at the archer.

'"Let me finish." she said as she looked at Hyde again. "You have the ego the expanse of the sky, you talk down to everyone even if they can kick your ass in a heartbeat, you spit upon common morals and joke about grave situations."

"Really feelin' the love here." Hyde said sarcastically. "Really I am."

Sinon sighed. "But with all your bad qualities you also have some good ones. You're fiercely loyal to your guild. You're apparently a sweetheart when it comes to animals. You beat up those who bully people weaker than themselves and you make Dagger happy as a boyfriend. Somehow, some way, you've managed to become memorable to us. For better or for worst you are a vital friend in this group. It wouldn't be the same if we didn't have someone making an ass out of himself to make us smile."

Hyde stood silent at the archer's words. He could deny everything she just said, tell her that she's wrong and just leave right now if he wanted to. But if he did that, he might be walking out of the best group of friends he ever had. Granted they are his ONLY group of friends but the point still stands. "You guys…"

Dagger hugged him from behind. "We love you Hyde. I love you. Don't think that you're alone cause you're not. We're here for you."

"Well love is stretching it a bit but… well I have to admit it's fun having you around Hyde." Rika said with a small smile.

Alicia nodded her head. "Yeah, we need our raging psycho to complete the whole group of misfits thing we got going on."

Hyde looked down at the ground for a moment before they started to hear him sniff. Tears fell from his face as he let the tears of joy fall freely. "...Thanks… Dagger… you guys. It… it means a lot to know I matter to someone."

"Lilina." Dagger said suddenly.

"Huh?"

"My real name. It's Lilina. Lilina Yoake. I know you're real name. Only fair that you know mine too." she said with a smile.

Hyde felt himself smirk as he wiped his tears away with his sleeve. "Heh… that name doesn't suit you."

"Hey!"

"Just kidding." Hyde gave a small kiss to her forehead, making her blush softly. "It's beautiful."

"H-Hyde…"

"Oh what is this?" Keiko said with a smirk. "Hyde showing human emotions? Is that the sign of the apocalypse?"

Hyde rolled his eyes at the younger girl. "Piss off you glorified pet owner. You're just jealous that you don't have a guy to do that to you."

"H-Hey! That's not true!"

The group shared a laugh at Keiko's expense. Looking at his friends, they noticed they were all carrying gifts. "Huh? What's with the boxes?"

"Um, hello, it's your birthday? How can you forget that?" Rika said with an annoyed sigh.

"And YOU got me a gift?" Hyde asked. "I think THAT'S a sign of the apocalypse if I ever saw one."

"Shut up jackass!"

"Bite me blacksmith!"

Kazuto gave a chuckle at the scene before him. "Glad to see things are back to normal. Now are you gonna open our gifts or not?"

The group spent the rest of the day by the riverbank as Hyde opened his gifts that his friends gave him. As he did so, the dog Koro came back and yipped happily to see his friend having fun. Silica squealed in delight as she picked up the small dog and hugged him while cooing. "Who's a cutey pie? That's right you are!"

"Whose dog is that anyway Hyde?" Dan asked as he pointed to the stray.

Hyde smiled as he pet behind the dog's ear. "Don't know. He's been here for a while. Ever since I was fourteen when I found him by himself with no one to help him. I tried to find his owner but I never found them, they abandoned him. We kinda grew close cause well… I felt like I could relate to him."

"He really means a lot to you doesn't he?" Lilina asked from his side.

"Yeah…"

"Well neither of you are alone now." Suguha said. "We're here for both of you."

Hyde felt himself smile at Kazuto's sister. _'She's right. I'm not alone anymore.'_

"Hyde you okay?" Dan asked from his side. "You're kinda spacing out."

He gave his best friend a smile before addressing the whole group. "Alright, that's enough with the touchy feely crap. Keep it up and I might get diabetes from all this sweet crap. Let's go get something to eat at the ramen joint."

Everyone gave a nod of approval as they all started to walk back on to the street of the riverbank. As they were leaving, Hyde noticed Koro was staying put, seemingly sad by them leaving. "Hey come on, don't give me that look. You're coming too."

Koro's ears shot up in joy as his tail wagged back and forth as he followed the group to get their food. Two lonely souls found themselves to be welcomed by people that cared about them after so long.

**A/N: Phew, good thing I was so free this week or else I might have had to post this late. I hope everyone liked having a look at Helios and Dagger romance. Also with this, all of the real names of the Blazing Revolution cast for Wyvern Inferno (not including Riku) are now revealed. For those of you that need a reference, here it is.**

**Ren- Dan Hiryo**

**Himiko- Clair Hiryo**

**Alice- Alicia Tsuki**

**Mai- Emi Tsuki**

**Helios- Hyde Gekido (I know I didn't say his last name in the story but I'll put it here in case it ever comes up later)**

**Dagger- Lilina Yoake**


	36. I'm Not My Brother

**A/N: Wow, this week has been crazy busy with finals and everything. Luckily I was able to finish within the week though. Thanks for all the support you guys have been giving me. Really happy that so many people liked the last chapter. In other news, Lux has been confirmed as the new character in the May update for SAO Lost Song! I'm so excited! (For those of you who don't know who Lux is, she was in the SAO Girls Ops manga. She's also Kuro from chapter 5 of I Will Not Bow).**

**Guest: Wow man, can I just straight up say Thank You? You're comment literally made my day when I read it. I'm glad to have so many fans, including you, for this story. And don't worry, I have no plans for this story to go on hiatus any time soon.**

Clair yawned loudly as she woke up, with the morning light shining through her bedroom window. She dragged herself out of bed, got dressed, and went downstairs for breakfast. Her mother was already down there like usual.

"Morning mom" Clair greeted in a drowsy voice.

"Good morning dear" her mother greeted. "Did you sleep well?"

"Yeah" the young brunette replied as she stretched her arms. "I wish I could have slept a little longer, but I'm gonna be busy today."

"Busy with what?"

"Big bro's helping me train for the tournament." Clair explained. "I need to get a lot stronger before it starts."

"Honestly" Clair's mother started, shaking her head "I don't get why all you kids are so excited that you're going out of your way for this thing."

""It's a worldwide tournament mom. How can we not get psyched for it?"

"First your brother and now you. It seems like everyone's into these VR games these days."

"It is pretty cool though" Ren said as he suddenly came into the kitchen. "The virtual world is something you have to experience for yourself to understand."

"Hey big bro" Clair said to her brother. "You ready for training today?"

"That's my line." Dan said with a grin. "Don't think I'm going to be lenient on you, just cause you're my sister."

"Bring it on"

After eating a quick breakfast, the two siblings did their morning chores and went to their rooms. They fit their Amu Spheres around their heads and entered the virtual world they both loved.

"Link Start!"

Once logged in, the two siblings made their way to the woods outside of Alne. Ren and Himiko unsheathed their weapons and faced each other. Himiko had practiced over and over with her katana Murakumo. Her current katana skill level was at 782. Ren had already maxed out his one-handed sword skill level at 1000 a long time ago. Most of the group had already done the same with their weapons as well. Besides her skill points for the weapon, she also hadn't mastered how to use her katana to its full potential.

"I'm ready whenever you are, sis." Ren said with a confident grin. "Show me what you've got."

Himiko accepted her brother's challenge and sped at him. Everything she had learned about fighting for the year and a half she had been playing ALO went through her mind. All the lessons and tips Ren and the others had given her. Start off by getting a feel for your opponent's fighting style, then follow up by trying to break their stance and get in as many hits as possible. When the time was right, finish with a sword skill to deal as much damage as possible.

She had fought against her brother countless times in practice duels, so she knew his fighting style down pat. He always fought using his lightning fast speed to his full advantage. She just had to anticipate his movements and find an opening. Himiko started off with a horizontal slash at his chest, but Ren easily blocked it with his own weapon. The young Imp continued to assault her brother with a barrage of slashes, but none of them were getting through. Ren on the other hand, didn't seem fazed in the slightest and stuck to blocking her attacks, refusing to attack.

'_He's not even going all out'_ Himiko realized. She couldn't let it end this easily. She sped up her attack speed, desperately trying to break through. While he was now having to put a serious effort into fending off her attacks, Ren still remained undamaged. Himiko knew she only had one choice. She sped at her brother full speed with Murakumo becoming veiled in the light of a sword skill. The young Imp swung her weapon down with a swift vertical strike, too fast for even Ren to block. The skill followed up with an upwards diagonal slash, but Ren quickly reacted and leaped back out of the range of his opponent's blade. As the skill ended, and Himiko found herself unable to move due to the side effect of using a sword skill, Ren quickly sped at her and delivered a powerful slash to the exposed Imp. Her health took a huge hit and skyrocketed down. Before he could finish her off with his next slash, Himiko regained movement and blocked the attack with her katana. The two siblings stood deadlocked in a test of strength.

"Not bad sis." Ren said with a smirk. "But you've still got a ways to go."

"I'm not done yet" Himiko glared, struggling to keep her brother's sword back. She finally got out of the deadlock and went for another swing, but Ren dodged the attack and stabbed his blade, slashing the side of the young Imp's body. Her health hit yellow and the duel ended.

Ren took out a health potion from his inventory and handed it to his sister. "Here, drink this." Himiko took the bottle and gulped down the red liquid.

"I still can't beat you" she frowned.

"Don't take it too hard." Ren said. "You're getting a lot better. You didn't weaken your stance even once during your attacks."

"But that was only because you defended the entire time." Himiko argued. "I've got to get stronger. I'm gonna go train somewhere else."

"You sure?" Ren asked. "I can still help you some more if you want."

Himiko shook her head. "No. I want to do some solo training. I need some time to myself to think."

"Alright then." Ren said. "Be careful. If anything happens, message me. Let's meet back up in the real world at noon for lunch."

"Got it." Himiko nodded. She spread her wings and took off into the sky.

Himiko flew back to Alne, wondering exactly what she should do to hone her skills quickly. As the young Imp continued to ponder, a hand tapped her on the shoulder. Himiko turned to see a player of the Pooka race, about the same age as her. She greeted Himiko with a smile. "Hey Himiko. Long time, no see."

"Hey Mira!" Himiko said, greeting her friend with a smile of her own.

When she had first started playing ALO, Himiko usually hung out with Ren and the rest of his friends, most of which were SAO survivors. She didn't have many friends outside of that group. Then one day, about six months ago, she met another player while training on her own. The two of them partied together, did a few easy quests, and became good friends. That friend was the girl standing before her now.

Mira was of the Pooka race in ALO, a race that specialized in music related magic, and support skills. She had semi-long golden hair that was tied up into two ponytails. Her outfit consisted of a bright yellow dress with an orange trim and a white miniskirt at the end. Her boots were a light pink and she had a shiny white dagger with an azure colored handle at her waist, but she mostly used magic to fight.

"So are you doing anything today?" Mira asked.

"Well, I'm training for the upcoming tournament." Himiko explained. "But I can take a quick break."

"Ok then." Mira cheered. "Let's go get a drink and catch up."

"Sure." Himiko nodded. "I know the owner of a good place in Yggdrasil City. Let's go there."

The two fairies took off into the sky and flew up the outer trunk of the World Tree, arriving in Yggdrasil City at the top of the massive structure. Himiko led her friend into the virtual version of the Dicey Café. Luckily, it wasn't very crowded. The owner greeted the two girls with a smile. "Hey Himiko. How's it going?"

"Hello Agil." Himiko greeted back. "I'm fine thanks. Can I get two of the usual?"

"Coming right up" the muscular Gnome player replied.

The two girls took a seat at an open table. Mira leaned in closer to the young Imp and whispered something to her. "He's so big. How do you know a guy like that?"

"He's a friend of my brother's" she explained. "He may look a little scary, but he's a nice guy."

"Your brother's Ren, right? The leader of Wyvern Inferno?"

"Yeah."

"You're so lucky." Mira told her. "I wish I had a super awesome brother like that. He's one of the top players in the game."

"I wish people would stop seeing me as just my brother's sister." Himiko sighed. "Most people only talk to me because they want to get close to him."

Agil came over to the table and handed the two girls their drinks. "Here you go."

"Thanks Agil." Himiko said as the Gnome walked back to the bar area.

"I guess you've got a point." Mira said, continuing the conversation as she took a slurp of her drink. "Being the sister of someone as popular as Ren must come with its share of troubles. But he's probably taught you all kinds of cool things, I bet."

"True." Himiko shrugged. "He did teach me how to fight a lot better than most players my age."

"By the way, did you hear?" Mira asked, changing the subject.

"Hear what?"

"There's a guy who's been going around challenging female players to duels in some ruins in Spriggan territory" the golden haired girl explained. "Apparently when you lose to him, you become his slave."

"Why?"

"I don't know. It's like they don't have a choice or something."

"It's probably just a stupid rumor. You shouldn't buy into stuff like that, Mira."

"Well I for one can't stand guys like that!" Mira said. "If he's real, I'm gonna take him down and teach him a lesson!"

The two young girls continued to chat about various things. Before they knew it, a full hour had passed. Mira couldn't stop talking about the strange player that was attacking female players, and Himiko couldn't stop talking about how it couldn't be true. Looking up at the top right area of her vision, Himiko could see it was getting close to noon.

"Sorry, I gotta go" the young Imp told her friend. "I promised my brother I'd log off at noon to eat lunch. My mom keeps feeling like we're spending too much time online."

"Ok" Mira replied. "Will you be back online later?"

Himiko nodded her head. "Yeah. I should be back on by one. Let's do a quest together then."

"You got it."

Himiko walked out of Agil's bar and headed towards the nearest inn she knew of to log out. She ran through the streets, not wanting to keep her brother waiting. As she turned a corner she accidently bumped into another player, causing her to fall down. She couldn't tell who the player was, or even what race he was from, as he had a hood over his head.

"S-Sorry" Himiko apologized.

"Don't be sorry" the player said with a hint of malice as he walked away. "I like to get to know my prey before I capture them." Before Himiko could even say anything else, he vanished without a trace, leaving her alone.

'_That was weird'_ she thought. _'Just who was that guy?'_ The young Imp decided not to let it bother her and continued to the inn. She entered the building and logged out.

As Clair walked downstairs, she could already hear her brother in the kitchen talking with their mother. The young brunette entered the room and took a seat at the table with him. A lunch of two sandwiches, one for each of them, was already on the table.

"So" Dan began as he took a bite of his sandwich "How was solo training?"

"Actually I didn't get a chance to do any training yet" Clair admitted. "I ran into Mira back in Alne."

"Mira… she's that Pooka girl you know, right? Gold hair, about the same age as you?"

"Yeah. That's her." Clair nodded. "We chatted a little and are gonna do a quest this afternoon."

The two siblings continued to chat about ALO and other things. Once they finished eating, the two decided to go back online. Himiko opened her eyes and found herself sitting in the inn she had logged out of before.

Himiko walked outside and stretched her arms out. She opened her menu to see if Mira was still online. She scrolled down her friends list and found Mira's name. The tab wasn't shaded, meaning the girl was still online. She tapped her name and selected 'Find friend'. A large map of Alfheim appeared in front of her. A blinking dot was shown in Spriggan territory.

'_What's Mira doing in Spriggan territory?'_ Himiko wondered. She zoomed her map in to find Mira's exact location. It showed her to be heading towards a place called the Ruins of Chains. Suddenly, Himiko remembered something that Mira had told her.

"_There's a guy that's been challenging female players to duels in some ruins in Spriggan territory. If you lose, you become his slave"_

Himiko immediately realized what was going on. She spread her wings and flew towards the large teleportation stone in Yggdrasil City. _'I can't believe she'd do something so stupid!'_ she thought. Even though the young Imp thought the story was just a rumor, it was way too risky to try it out. _'Please let me get there in time!'_

The young Imp teleported to the Spriggan capital and flew off towards the Ruins of Chains. As she hovered over the dungeon area, she got a good look at the place. There wasn't much to see aboveground. Just a few old looking structures and a lot of cobwebs to emphasize the old age of the ruins. However, most ruin areas had underground areas where the real monsters and secrets were. She landed near what seemed to be the main entrance underground. As she walked in, she heard a loud scream that had to have come from Mira.

"Hang on Mira! I'm coming!" Himiko yelled as she broke out into a full speed run. She ran down into the underground area and found herself inside a large wide room. Azure flames surrounded the arena, except for the entrance where Himiko was standing, but soon died down. Mira lied on the floor, defeated.

"Mira!" Himiko cried out, running to her friend's side. As she got close to the Pooka girl, a sudden black fireball came at her. Himiko leaped back and avoided the attack, and a new voice began laughing hysterically.

"Wow! And here I had this whole big plan lined up to bring you here, and you come out of the goodness of your heart! What a moron!"

"Who's there?!" Himiko called out. "Show yourself!"

Granting the young Imp her wish, a figure emerged onto the arena right next to Mira. He had a black robe on with a hood that shrouded his face. Himiko recognized him as the player that she had run into before she logged off at noon.

"Who are you?!" Himiko asked.

The shrouded player removed his robe and revealed his face. He seemed to be fairly young, around fifteen or so. His dark black hair showed he was a Spriggan. He was equipped with a black shirt with leather armor and dark brown pants. His boots were a muddy color and had a skull mark on their soles. Slung across his back was a one-handed sword. "My name is Kiba. And you are Himiko, correct? I've been waiting for when I'd have this chance."

"What did you do to Mira?!"

"Mira? Oh, you mean this girl here." Kiba said as he grabbed Mira by her hair and pulled her up. The Pooka girl looked as if she had been beaten to a pulp. Looking at her cursor now, Himiko could notice a chain icon was present next to her race symbol. "This girl here was so intent on stopping the player who had been defeating female players here. I just gave her a chance to do so, with my usual wager as always."

"What are you talking about?"

"This arena has a very special aspect to it." Kiba explained. "If two players duel here, the loser is forced to do whatever the victor tells them to do for their next twenty-four hours online. She challenged me to a duel with the rule that if I lose, I stop doing so. All I did was accept. You can see from this chain icon there what the outcome was."

"Himiko…" Mira said, struggling to speak. "Get out of here… run…"

"Let her go!" Himiko yelled.

"Oh I don't think so." Kiba chucked. He wrapped his arm around Mira's waist in a very seductive manner. "No, I think I'm going to enjoy myself with her for a little."

"You creep!" Himiko spat out at him, grabbing the handle of her sheathed katana. "Let her go right now!"

"If you're so intent on saving her, then how about this?" Kiba suggested. "We'll duel, just you and me. If you win, she's free to go. However, if I win then you get added to my little collection. I'm sure I can have loads of fun with the legendary little sister of Ren."

The very thought of what this player was trying to do made Himiko shiver with disgust. He was nothing more than a jerk, trying to force female players to do his bidding. She didn't even want to think of what he had in store for her if she lost. But at the same time, she couldn't just abandon Mira to this creep. She unsheathed her beloved katana.

"Fine. I accept."

"No Himiko…" Mira warned "Don't do it…"

"Shut up" Kiba said as he grabbed Mira and tossed her to the side, like a ragdoll. "Just lay there and watch. Soon, all three of us will be having plenty of fun. I guarantee it."

'_I can't lose this'_ Himiko told herself. _'I'm going to win here, no matter what'_. The two players walked to opposite sides of the wide room and each stood on a blue circle. Kiba sent a duel request to Himiko. The young Imp tapped the 'Yes' tab and the room became veiled in blue flames once again. A faint light shined above them and a deep voice spoke.

"Thou who loses this battle will lose their freedom. Dost thou agree to these terms?"

A window appeared in front of Himiko and Kiba, asking if they accepted the terms. Both of them selected yes and a timer counted down in the middle of the room. Kiba unsheathed his weapon off his back.

5… 4… 3… 2… 1… START!

The two players quickly sped at each other and locked swords in the center of the room. Getting a better look at his weapon now, Himiko could see that it was jagged on one end. The jagged end of the blade kept Himiko's Murakumo katana locked in place as Kiba delivered a kick to her stomach, forcing her to stumble back a bit. Kiba went in for another series of slashes, but the young Imp was somehow able to block each of them. She jumped back to put some distance between her and the Spriggan. She took a look at her blade and her eyes opened wide with shock. Scratches and dents were covering her prized sword.

"Looks like you noticed, huh?" Kiba smirked. "My blade here has a very special bonus skill to it. The more it collides with a weapon, the lower that weapon's durability gets. Pretty neat, right?"

Himiko glared at her opponent. She hadn't had a chance to get her weapon's durability restored before coming out here, so its condition was less than perfect. The longer this battle dragged out, the more of a disadvantage she would be at.

The Spriggan didn't give Himiko much time to think up any countermeasures as he went in for another series of attacks. Himiko ducked under his first attack and went for a slash at Kiba's legs. Kiba quickly reacted however and jumped over her, landing right behind the Imp. He went in for another attack, this one connecting with her avatar's body. Her health dived down, going towards the yellow zone. Not willing to let it hit yellow, Himiko spun around and went for another slash, but it was intercepted by Kiba's jagged blade. The jagged weapon dragged across Murakumo's once shiny silver blade, dealing even more damage to the weapon.

'_I can't let this go on'_ she thought. Himiko broke free of the deadlock and delivered a blow to Kiba's avatar with a kick. She went in to deal some more damage, but her blade was blocked and once again made contact with Kiba's weapon. There was doubtfully much durability that her katana had left. She jumped back and desperately tried to figure out what to do. Another direct hit from Kiba and her health would hit yellow and she would lose. However, if her katana took any more damage, it would be destroyed.

"You're finished!" Kiba yelled as he sped at Himiko to deal the finishing blow to her. "Time to say goodbye to that katana you're so fond of!"

Himiko lowered her weapon as her opponent ran towards her. Murakumo had taken too much damage from Kiba's blade. Another clash and it would break in two. Even if it meant losing the duel and making herself a servant to Kiba, she wasn't willing to let her treasured weapon that had always been by her side be destroyed. She closed her eyes and shed a tear of self-pity, not wanting to see the blade cut her down. When that blow never came however, she slowly opened her eyes to see a player standing between her and Kiba. She immediately recognized the player to be none other than her brother Ren. Kiba grinned as he jumped back.

"Well, well, the legendary leader of Wyvern Inferno finally shows up to help his precious little sister."

"Well when I hear someone's trying to bully my sister, I can't just let that go now can I?" Ren replied. "First you use my sister's friend to get to her, so you can then use her to get to me. I gotta say, that's a pretty complicated plan you've got there."

"H-How did you know I was here?" Himiko asked.

"I got a message from someone saying that you were in trouble and to come to this location." Ren explained. "I couldn't just pass it off as nothing."

"What?"

"You're a fool!" Kiba laughed. "You thought that was just a random person? Well guess what? The person that sent you that message was-"

"Quit acting like a bigshot. I knew it was you from the very beginning" Ren interrupted, causing Kiba's eyes to widen. "If that was your best attempt at trying to fool me, I seriously advise you not take up a career as an actor. Cause that was just sad."

"Whatever!" the Spriggan yelled. "At least I finally get to face you! You can't beat me! I've been preparing for this day for a long time. I've researched exactly how you fight. I know every move you have."

"I see. I had no idea you were such a big fan of mine." Ren retorted sarcastically. "If you wanted my autograph, all you had to do was ask."

"I'm going to love making you eat those words once I take that legendary sword of yours."

"And just how do you plan on doing that?"

"Because I have a little wager for you." Kiba explained, pointing to Mira. "I was planning on using your sister as a bargaining chip, but you got here earlier than I expected. So I'll just use her. If you can beat me, I'll release her. If I win however, I get that sword of yours, and your precious little sister. Of course, you could always leave and I'll just finish my duel with her, making her my slave anyway."

"Don't do it!" Himiko begged. "His sword is made to destroy your weapon's durability! Forget about me and leave!"

"Not a chance." Ren said, finally getting serious. "I won't run from someone who treats others like their objects to be won." He unsheathed Ragnarok and pointed it at Kiba. "You're on. I'm gonna rip you in half with this sword you want so badly."

Kiba took out a health potion and gulped it down, restoring his health to max. "Alright then. Let's get started."

Ren didn't even get into a fighting position. He just stood there and beckoned the Spriggan to come at him, taunting his opponent. Kiba glared at Ren and charged at the Imp, going in for a vertical slash down on his opponent. Before he could even get in close though, Ren vanished without a trace. Kiba stood there, perplexed at what just happened.

"Is that all? Man, you're slow." Kiba turned around to see Ren casually standing behind him with a smirk on his face. "And here I thought you might at least be good for a warm up."

"Impossible…" Kiba gasped. "There's no way… No one's that fast…"

"You made two very big mistakes" Ren said with a glare. "First, you underestimated me and thought you actually knew everything about my skills. And second…" Ren continued as he sped past Kiba once again and ripped through his avatar with his legendary weapon. "You threatened my sister."

"Wh-When did you get this fast?"

"When you put everything you've got into training for a full month, you'd be surprised at the results."

Realizing he had no chance at victory, Kiba quickly looked for a way out. He looked over to Himiko, standing at the side and completely vulnerable. He ran towards her. If he couldn't beat Ren, he could at least finish the duel with Himiko and make her his servant. As he was about to go in for the kill, he found his right arm grabbed by Ren.

"You know, only cowards attack bystanders" Ren said. He took his sword and cut Kiba's arm, ripping the limb off and making his jagged weapon fall to the ground. Kiba kneeled over in pain. Ren took his right leg and delivered a powerful kick to the Spriggan's chest, sending him flying into the wall of the underground room. Kiba's health fell to zero and he burned away into a remain light. The chain icon on Mira's cursor disappeared.

"Mira!" Himiko cried running over to her friend. She got to the girl's side and helped her get to her feet. "Are you ok?"

"Himiko…" Mira began as tears began to flow down her face. "I'm so sorry. This was all my fault."

"No it wasn't." Himiko told her, shaking her head. "You tried to stop someone harassing other players. That was incredibly brave."

"But all I did was cause trouble for you."

"Come on, Mira. It's not like you to be such a crybaby." Himiko teased as she smiled at her friend. "Friends help each other out when they're in trouble. That's how it works."

"Himiko…" Mira cried as she gave the female Imp a hug. "Thank you so much. You're the best friend a girl could have."

Ren and Himiko helped Mira get back to the Spriggan capital, where she could restore all the health she had lost. After recovering, Mira thanked Himiko and Ren once again and logged out. Ren looked at his sister and Himiko brought her head down, ready for what was coming.

"Go ahead." Himiko said.

"Go ahead with what?" Ren questioned.

"You're gonna scold me, telling me that I was being stupid, that I shouldn't have gone off on my own to do something that dangerous, that I should have called you for help."

"That's all very true." Ren told Himiko as he kneeled down and looked at her. "But there's one thing you should know."

"What?"

"You did the exact thing I would have done."

Himiko stared at her brother, in disbelief. "You mean you're not going to yell at me?"

"You put yourself in danger in order to help your friend." Ren told the young girl as he ruffled up her hair. "I would have done exactly the same thing in your shoes."

"Big brother…" Tears began to form in Himiko's eyes as she wrapped herself around her brother's comforting arms and began crying, unable to put on a brave face any longer. "Thank you… I… I was so scared!"

"It's alright, sis. Don't worry." Ren said in a soothing voice as he stroked her violet hair. "Just promise me that next time, you'll ask for my help."

Too choked up to say anything, Himiko gave a silent nod in response.

**A/N: I hope everyone liked this chapter. Also, for those of you that have been impatient for the ALO Tournament to begin, it will be coming within the next few chapters.**


	37. Anniversary

**A/N: What's up SAO fans! It's time for another chapter. As always, comments and reviews are always more than welcome. Also, the english version for SAO Lost Song will be released on May 12! I am so excited for this!**

The feeling of summer enveloped the city of Tokyo with a refreshing and warm breeze. The sky was clear, and the weather was nice. People bustled around the busy city streets. Alicia rode through the city's subway system, impatient to get to her destination. When they finally arrived, she exited the train and made her way through the city. Cherry blossoms were in full bloom as their petals danced in the air as she walked. Finally arriving at her destination, Alicia opened the door to the Dicey Café.

Inside the café, Dan and Kazuto were busy working with some sort of machine and talking in their mechatronic nerd language that Alicia could never understand while Asuna was sitting at the bar and conversing with Agil. Alicia walked into the café, making her presence known to her friends.

"Hey guys!" the black haired teen greeted.

"Hey Alicia" Dan greeted back with a smile. "Sorry I moved our date all the way out here, but Kazuto needed my help with this."

"Sorry. My bad" the raven haired boy apologized. "I'm almost done adjusting these last few parts, then we'll be done."

Alice took a seat at the bar next to Asuna. "What are they working on?" Alicia asked.

"Kazuto's making an upgrade to the machine he made for Yui to be with us in the real world. But he's having some trouble with the circuitry so he called Dan here to help." Asuna explained. "Apparently this should make Yui be able to interact with us a lot more when we're here."

Alicia took notice of four tall poles with camera-like objects attached to them, standing at each corner of the café. A few other small machines that looked like projectors were hung up at other parts of the café. Kazuto went on to explain the mechanics of the machine. "The cameras take 3D high resolution pictures of the café, they're transmitted to this machine here, and Yui can link herself into it so it's as if she can move around the café like in the virtual world."

"It drains a lot of power when we use it though" Dan pointed out. "We should really try using a generator as portion of the power source or it could blow a fuse."

"I've got a generator upstairs." Agil said. "But it's a bit heavy. Mind helping me bring it down Dan?"

"Sure thing" the brown haired teen nodded. The two of them went up to the second floor of the café. Once they were out of earshot, Alicia let out a big sigh.

"What's wrong Alicia?" Asuna asked. "You seem down."

"Well the thing is… you know the anniversary of when Dan and I became a couple is coming up right?"

"Oh yeah, that's right!" Asuna remembered. "What are you getting him? Is it something special?"

"That's just the thing. I don't know what to get him. I can't seem to find the perfect gift."

Asuna put her hand on her friend's shoulder. "Don't stress out about it too much. I'm sure Dan will be happy with whatever you give him. He loves you after all."

"I know, but I really want to get him something special." Alicia explained. "He's done so much for me. He even bought us that house in ALO. I want to give him something that will show how much I care about him."

"You're really dead set on finding the perfect gift, aren't you?"

"Absolutely."

"Alright then." Asuna grinned. "Make sure your schedule is clear for tomorrow."

"Tomorrow? Why?"

"Because you and I are going shopping!" Asuna declared. "Together, we are going to find Dan the perfect gift you're searching for! We can even bring the Rika and the others with us!"

"Thanks Asuna." Alice said with an appreciative smile. "You're the best."

"You better believe it!" the chestnut haired girl grinned.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

-The next day-

The warm weather from yesterday still had not left Tokyo. Another beautiful day was in store for everyone. The female group of Alicia, Asuna, Lilina, Rika, Keiko, Suguha, and Shino walked through the busy city streets. Their mission, to help find Alicia the perfect anniversary present for Dan.

"So why didn't Emi or Clair come along?" Lilina asked.

"I asked them to keep Dan busy for the day." Alicia explained. "They should be hunting together in Alfheim right now."

"You're quite the strategist." Suguha grinned. "Dan better watch out or you might take over as leader of Wyvern Inferno."

"I could see that." Lilina laughed. "He trusts you more than anyone else after all."

"That's why I really want to get him a great present." Alicia told her friends. "I want to show how much I love him."

"Awwww, you guys use the L word! That's so cute!" Rika teased.

Ignoring the blacksmith's comment, the girls continued on towards the mall. Their first stop in the mall was an old game store Dan and Helios often went to that sold older video games. Alicia had only gone there a few times with her boyfriend. While she wasn't a hardcore gamer when it came to vintage video games, she liked the store. It was a nice well-organized place and the manager was a very kind person.

As Alicia and the girls walked into the store, the manager greeted them with a smile. "Hello Alicia. How are you today?"

"Hello Mr. Ichijo." Alicia replied with a bow. "I'm fine, thank you."

"Oh, I see Asuna is here as well."

"Hello sir" Asuna greeted.

"You've been here before?" Shino asked.

"Kazuto's taken me here a couple times. It's a nice place, but there are some… difficulties being here."

"Difficulties?" Keiko questioned.

"You'll see soon enough" Alicia said.

The girls looked around the store, looking at several old games. The store shelves were lined with games you couldn't find in most game stores. Pokemon Crystal, Donkey Kong, Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, there was even the entire Megaman Battle Network collection. As they continued to browse, the girls couldn't help but feel the stares of several gamer nerds in the store.

"Geez. They might as well just hold up a sign saying 'I'm Desperate'." Rika whispered.

"I know. It's like they've never seen a girl before." Shino added.

"It's easier when Dan's here." Alicia told them. "They know better when you've got a guy with you."

The girls continued to browse at the games, while doing their best to ignore the stares. Finally, Alicia gave up. "Let's try somewhere else. I don't see anything that would work." After saying goodbye to the store manager, the girls went to look at some other places.

As Alicia and the others walked around the mall, Rika had an idea for a place they could go to. The blacksmith led them through the mall and finally stopped at one particular store. One word went through the minds of each of the girls.

"No"

"Just hear me out" Rika said.

"There is no argument you can make for this as an anniversary present." Shino said.

"You haven't heard what I have to say yet."

"I have a good idea what you're going to say, and I'm still saying no." Suguha told the blacksmith.

"But I have a really good argument for it."

"My anniversary present to Dan is not going to be seducing him with something from Victoria's Secret!" Alicia told her friend.

"But it would lead to the perfect gift." Rika argued. "Asuna can tell you. I bet she and Kazuto have done it."

"Rika!" Asuna yelled. "That's crossing a line."

"Oh come on, it's a fair guess" the blacksmith said. "How many times have you done it? Sixteen and a half?"

"What Kazuto and I do is none of your business" the chestnut haired girl stated. "And where did you come up with that number? It doesn't even make sense."

"I'm not hearing you say that you haven't done it with him."

"So what if we have? Why are you going on about this?" Asuna asked.

"Well it's not like Alicia and Dan have done it." Rika pointed out. As she said this, Alicia's cheeks blushed nervously, catching the blacksmith's attention. "Alicia? You haven't done it with Dan… have you?"

"N-No" Alicia stuttered which made her sound very unconvincing.

Rika's eyes opened wide, as did all the other girls. "Oh. My. God."

"I-I said we didn't!"

"What was it like?"

"We didn't!"

"Not to egg Rika on, but you definitely did." Asuna retorted. "I know that look."

"Asuna!"

"Come on, tell us!" Rika begged. "We promise anything you say won't leave this group."

"Why are you suddenly asking me instead of Asuna?"

"Because this is WAY more juicy!"

"Rika!"

"Alright, that's enough Rika" Asuna said, coming to Alicia's rescue. "Just let it go."

"But-"

"Unless you want us to go on about the fact that the reason you're doing this is that you don't have a boyfriend."

Rika fell silent, realizing that she had lost this battle. "That was a low move Asuna"

"Then don't go fanaticizing over our men." Asuna smirked.

After finally getting Rika to give up on the Victoria's Secret idea, the girls decided to take a break for lunch. They went to the mall's food court and sat together at a table.

"Today has been nothing but failure" Alicia said with her head bowed down.

"Don't worry." Lilina assured her friend. "We'll find something perfect for Dan. Don't worry."

"Well if all else fails, we could go back to Victoria's-"

"No!" the entire group said in unison to Rika.

Shino took a sip of her soda. "We just need to think of something special."

"How about we think of some memorable moments the two of you have had and use those." Asuna suggested. "What's the most special memory you have of with Dan?"

Alicia thought to herself for a bit for the answer. "Well if I had to pick the most important one, it would probably be when the two of us got married in Alfheim."

"That was pretty romantic" Lilina agreed. "But it's not like the two of you can get married IRL yet."

"Oh my gosh, if they could that would be perfect!" Keiko squealed.

The group continued to think in silence for a solution. Suddenly out of nowhere, Alicia got out of her chair with a look of inspiration on her face. "I'VE GOT IT!"

"What? You thought of something?" Shino asked.

Alicia nodded her head. "I thought of something that just might work." She leaned in and the girls all huddled together as the black haired teen explained her idea.

"That's actually a really great idea." Asuna said.

"Great? It's perfect!" Lilina stated.

"This idea is genius!" Suguha agreed.

"I'm gonna need your help with this, girls." Alicia said. "Will you help me?"

"You bet!" the girls all replied together.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

-A few days later-

Alicia looked at herself in the mirror. She had spent the last hour doing everything she could to make herself look perfect. She picked out a nice red dress to wear, and her mother helped her with her long black hair. Once she was completely finished getting ready, her mother drove her down to the place where the anniversary dinner was supposed to take place.

"I'm still not sure about the place he picked out for you two to have dinner" Alicia's mother said as she drove. "It's not exactly a fancy restaurant."

"I thought the same thing, but I'm sure Dan has his reasons." Alicia argued. "He's not the kind of guy who cheeps out on stuff like this."

"Well in any case I hope you have a good time" her mother said as she pulled up near the place Dan had told Alicia to meet him at. She gave her daughter a kiss on the cheek before the black haired girl exited the car. Alicia waved goodbye to her mother as she drove off.

Alicia walked up to the Dicey Café and opened the door. The place was completely empty, except for Dan, who was wearing a nice suit with a green tie. Dinner music that would usually be heard at fancy restaurants was playing in the background. She took a seat next to him at the table he was sitting at and Agil came out dressed in a waiter outfit. Alicia used all the self-control she could muster to not break out laughing at how different the muscular owner of the café looked.

"Good evening. I'll be your server tonight." Agil said in a formal manner. He handed out a menu to the couple. "We have a very special selection tonight. Can I get you anything to drink?"

After ordering their drinks and their food, most of which was far fancier than what Alicia had ever seen on the café's menu before, Agil left the couple alone and went to prepare the food. Once he was out of earshot, Alicia let out a quiet chuckle. "He looks so weird when he's dressed like that."

"Come on, cut him some slack." Dan said, trying not to show how funny he thought Agil looked either. "He's doing his best to make this seem like a fancy restaurant."

"Why did you want our date to be here anyway?" the black haired girl asked. "As funny as it was to see Agil like that, I doubt that's all you had planned."

"Well the main reason I wanted it to be here was because of this." Dan said as he flipped a switch, turning on the machines he had been working on with Kazuto the other day. "Oh and before I forget" he added as he pressed a button on one of the machines and spoke into it. "Yui, you can come out now."

As he said this, two of the three projector like objects on the walls shined a blue light by the table where Alice was sitting at. Several small pixels began to appear and manifested together, revealing Yui in her tiny pixie form, looking like a blue hologram. She was distorted a little, but that was unmistakably the small navigation pixie that was Kazuto and Asuna's daughter.

"Yui?! Oh my gosh, this is so cool!" Alicia exclaimed.

"Looks like it worked." Dan said. "How is it, Yui? Can you see us?"

Yui nodded her head. "Yes. Everything seems to be working fine. I can see and hear you perfectly."

"How did you do this?" Alicia asked.

"Well like Kazuto told you before, the cameras at each corner of the café take 3D pictures and then send them these" Ren said pointing to one of the projectors. "Yui then links herself to these like a wifi hotspot and she can move around a virtual version of the café, while this astral version of her moves around here. To put it simply, it's like there's two Dicey Cafes linked together, one with astral versions of us and a real Yui, and one with an astral Yui and the real us."

"That's incredible!" the black haired teen said.

"I was planning on it just being us, but Yui really wanted to see this next part." Ren said as he walked to the projector that wasn't turned on. "We'd usually also use this third projector for her astral image, but I needed it for something else."

"Something else?" Alicia asked.

"Just watch." Dan told her. He dimmed the lights and turned the last projector on, sending an image to the left wall of the café. Dan sat down with Alicia, while Yui sat on the table as the projector began to show a slideshow of some of Dan and Alicia's greatest moments spent together. Tons of pictures the couple had taken together came one after the other while the song "Thousand Years" played in the background.

Alicia was at a loss for words as she reminisced at the pictures of her and Dan and the one and a half years they had spent together since SAO ended. Tears of joy began to form in her eyes as she leaned on her boyfriend's shoulder and watched the memories pass by.

"This is so beautiful"

"I was hoping you'd like it." Dan said.

"I'm not even sure my present for you even comes into the same league as this."

"Don't worry about it. I know I'm going to love whatever it is." Dan told her as he kissed her forehead. "What did you get me anyway?"

"It's a secret." Alicia giggled. "You'll have to wait until later."

Agil brought out the food and drinks for the couple. The two of them ate their meal together as the slideshow continued to play. Alicia had ordered a plate of spaghetti and ate most of it, leaving a single noodle left on her plate. Dan looked into her eyes and knew immediately what she was thinking. Alicia fed him one end of the noodle, while she put the other in her mouth. Their lips slowly made their way to the center of the spaghetti noodle where they shared a long kiss. They both knew it was cliché and maybe even a little cheesy, but they didn't care.

After the slideshow ended and they finished their dinner, Dan thanked Agil for letting him use the café like this, and the couple went back to Dan's house. Alicia had already told her parents that she'd be spending the night with him. When they walked into Dan's house, it was already nine o'clock. Dan's mother smiled at the sight of the couple.

"How was your dinner?" she asked.

"It was great" Dan replied.

"Mind telling me the details?"

Dan was about to argue and say he just wanted to spend time with his girlfriend until Alicia leaned in and whispered into her boyfriend's ear. "Just talk to her for a bit so I can get your present ready. Meet me upstairs in ten minutes."

Dan obeyed the black haired girl and walked into the kitchen to talk with his mother for a bit while Alicia went upstairs. After giving her some time, he went upstairs as well. He entered his room and found Alicia lying on his bed with an Amu Sphere on her head. A note was right next to her, which Dan picked up and read.

_Meet me in Alfheim. Your gift's in there._

Dan grabbed his Amu Sphere and fit it around his head. He laid down next to the already logged in Alicia and entered the virtual world.

"Link Start!"

Ren entered the world of Alfheim and woke up on the bed of the player home he had bought for him and Alice. He got off the bed and walked into the living room of the house. Alice had told him to meet her in here, but where was she.

"Alice? Where are you?"

Right after he said this, a pair of hands covered his eyes from behind. He heard Alice giggling behind him, showing that she was the one blinding the male Imp right now. She turned him around and removed her hands from her boyfriend's eyes. His mouth dropped when he saw Alice.

The female Imp was not dressed in her usual gear and her scythe was unequipped as well. In their place, Alice was wearing a long elegant white wedding dress. In her hands was a bouquet of pink flowers.

"Do you like it?" Alice asked.

"You look… beautiful" Ren said, barely able to contain his surprise.

"I got something for you to wear too." Alice told him. "Check our inventory."

Ren opened his menu and scrolled down his item storage that he shared with his in-game wife. Finally, he found the item the female Imp was referring to. He equipped it, and the coat he usually wore was replaced with a black tux.

"What is this all about?" Ren asked.

"It's your anniversary present." Alice smiled. "I got Mai to bring my Amu Sphere to your place while we were out eating." She grabbed Ren's hand and led him outside. When the walked outside, Ren found the area in front of their house had transformed.

A white pathway was laid out in front of them, leading to a small pedestal at the end. All of their friends from ALO were gathered around, all dressed in semi-formal clothes. Kirito, Asuna, Yui, Liz, Silica, Sinon, Leafa, and everyone from their guild were there.

"I know we already got married in-game" Alice said "But we never had any official ceremony or anything. So I thought we could do a mock wedding ceremony."

Ren was shocked beyond belief. "This… this is… wow"

"I got everyone together and told them to meet up here." Alice explained. "I know it's nothing special, but-"

"Are you kidding?" Ren said. "This is amazing."

"You really like it?"

"How could I not?"

Alice grabbed Ren's hand and the two of them walked down the aisle together. They stood in front of the pedestal, where Asuna came up to with a book in hand.

"Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today… oh screw it, let's skip this and get to the part everyone cares about. Do you Alice take Ren to be your husband?"

"I do" Alice smiled.

"And do you Ren take Alice to be your wife?"

"I do" Ren said as he gazed into Alice's eyes.

"Then by the power vested in me by the gods of Alfheim, I now pronounce you husband and wife." Asuna declared. "You may now kiss the bride."

Ren didn't need to be told twice as he grabbed Alice by her waist and brought her in for a long passionate kiss. Cheers were heard by all of their friends, congratulating the couple. As they finished their kiss, Alice whispered something into Ren's ear.

"I know this was just a mock wedding, but why don't we have a special private honeymoon?"

"I agree" Ren whispered back. He took Alice and lifted her up with a bridal carry, causing even more cheers from their friends. Alice wrapped her arms around Ren's neck. The two went back inside their house.

"Bet you wish you had that stuff from Victoria's Secret right now!" Liz called out jokingly as the couple walked inside.

"Shut it, Liz!" Alice yelled back as the door closed behind them.

Ren brought Alice back to their bedroom and the couple cuddled together in bed, embracing each other and blocking out everything else in the world.

"I know I say this a lot" Ren said "But I love you. I love you more than anything else in the world."

"I love you too" Alice said back. "When I'm with you, it makes everything else in the world seem so small. You make me glad that SAO happened. I know that sounds wrong but-"

Ren interrupted Alice with a kiss on the lips. "I feel the same way"

The couple continued to lay there in bed, trapped in their moment of happiness, not needing anything other than each other.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

Alicia opened her eyes as the morning light peered into the room. She rubbed her groggy eyes as she sat up from the bed. She looked over to see Dan still fast asleep next to her. When he slept like this, he didn't seem like the powerful warrior that had helped clear SAO. Rather, he looked like a little kid taking a nap.

"Dan…" Alicia whispered softly into her boyfriend's ear. "Wake up. It's morning."

"Mmmm?" Dan murmured as he slowly opened his eyes. He still felt a little sleepy, but waking up to the sight of the girl he loved made him smile. "Hey Alice. Good morning."

The couple got dressed and went downstairs. Greeting the two of them as they walked into the kitchen were Dan's mother and his sister Clair.

"Good morning you two lovebirds." Dan's mother smiled. "Did you sleep well?"

Dan could easily tell the hidden question behind her words. He walked up and whispered into his mother's ear so Clair couldn't hear "Before you start, I'd like to remind you that Clair's in the room. You wouldn't want a repeat of what happened the night of the school dance, right?"

"Fair point" his mother agreed, giving up on her plans to embarrass the couple with her questions.

The group all sat down and ate breakfast together. Dan had already gone out of his way to keep his sister from telling their mother what happened last night in Alfheim, so at least the couple was safe from that being leaked.

It was a little before noon that Alicia's father pulled up to the house to pick up the black haired girl. Alicia grabbed her belongings, gave her boyfriend a kiss goodbye and left with her father. It was a long awkward car ride back, as Alicia knew her father would be asking questions any second now.

"So…" Mr. Tsuki began "I have a question for you, Alicia."

'_Oh god, here it comes'_ the black haired teen thought.

"Where exactly did you sleep last night?"

"I-I slept in the guest room." Alicia said.

"Alicia…"

"What?"

"I can tell when you're lying, you know."

"How did you know?"

"Alicia, I raised you. I'm pretty sure I can tell when my own daughter is lying to me. After all, I taught you everything you know about lying."

"Fine" the black haired girl admitted. "I slept in Dan's room."

"And did anything happen between you two?"

"No! Nothing happened, I swear!"

"… Alright, I'll give you the benefit of the doubt and believe you're not lying about that" Alicia's father said.

Alicia took a sigh of relief.

"I know Dan is a good kid and he'd never take advantage of you" her father continued "So as long as nothing bad happens, I won't disapprove of you two sleeping together every now and then. Just make sure you don't do anything stupid."

"Y-Yes dad" Alicia nodded, with her face red from embarrassment which earned a chuckle from her father. "… Are you going to tell mom about this?"

"Well, I don't think she'd be too harsh on you" Alicia's father said. "But for safety's sake I'll tell her the lie you tried to sell to me. Unlike you, I'm pretty good at it. As long as you make sure to keep that promise with me."

"S-Sure thing dad." Alicia agreed.

**A/N: Phew, writing this chapter took longer than expected but I'm finally done. I hope everyone enjoyed the chapter this week. Also, if you haven't checked it out yet, I started another SAO fic called Secrets Revealed. The first two chapters are currently up. Please give it a look and give any comments and reviews you have for it or this story.**


	38. A Looming Threat

**A/N: It's finally the time you've all been waiting for readers! The long awaited tournament is right around the corner. This chapter will be reintroducing two characters from Blazing Revolution's past. At the end, I will show the chapters they appeared in if you want to look back at them.**

**Guest: That's for me to know, and for you and Liz to spend eternity wondering.**

Dan sat in front of the computer in his room browsing the main site for Alfheim Online. Excitement for the upcoming tournament was larger than ever. After all, today was the day the servers would be officially linked together. In one week, the ALO World Tournament would finally begin. Once it ended however, the servers would become separated once again. As a result, everyone was dying to enjoy this opportunity while it lasted. The VRMMO had been offline for the past two days for the special server maintenance required for the big event.

As Dan looked around the website for any new information, he heard his phone buzz. He picked up his phone and saw a text from Alicia.

_It's almost time! I am so psyched for this!_ –Alicia

A large window with a timer counting down was on the homepage of the Alfheim website. Once it hit zero, the new fused server would be officially opened to dive into. Only two minutes remained on the timer. Clair was in her room as well, looking forward to diving into the soon to be worldwide ALO. The same was true for all of their friends as well most likely. There wasn't an ALO player alive that wasn't excited for this.

Ren inserted ALO and got ready. He fit his Amu Sphere around his head and laid down on his bed. The clock slowly ticked towards the moment everyone was waiting for. In a few seconds, the world would be echoing two simple words.

3… 2… 1… 0

"Link Start!"

Ren dived into the world of ALO. He waited patiently as the update downloaded onto his game and he entered the virtual world.

The male Imp woke up in his player home on floor 17 of New Aincrad. Within seconds, Alice's avatar appeared next to him. She smiled at the sight of her in-game husband.

"Looks like I beat you here" Ren grinned. "I'm still the fastest there is."

"Maybe but you're forgetting one thing" Alice pointed out.

"What?"

"I'm gonna beat you to Yggdrasil City!" Without any warning, Alice sped out the door of their house and took off into the sky towards the teleport stone in the center of town, leaving the tactician behind.

"Hey, no fair!" Ren yelled, unable to contain his laughter as he flew off after Alice.

"All's fair in love and war!" Alice called back. The female Imp sped through the air at full speed, not slowing her pace for even a second. The town's teleport stone was within sight.

'_I've got this. There's no way Ren will catch up to me'_

As she thought this to herself, a speeding figure zoomed past her, blowing her long hair around wildly. Alice looked ahead of her to see Ren had passed her. He turned his body around as he flew on ahead and had a playful grin on his face.

"Nice try, Alice. Maybe next time."

"No fair!" Alice pouted.

"Like you said, all's fair in love and war!" Ren replied, using Alice's own words against her. He quickly landed on the altar in front of the town's teleport stone. "Teleport! Yggdrasil City!"

Alice watched as Ren vanished into light in front of the stone. She stood on the altar and called out the same destination. "Teleport! Yggdrasil City!"

The black haired girl became veiled in light and disappeared from the floor of New Aincrad. She reappeared in the large city on top of the World Tree. Ren was standing nearby, waiting for her. The couple spread their wings and took off. They flew outside of Yggdrasil City and looked at the city of Alne below them. Alne had always been a place that was constantly populated with players. Now with the servers linked, that usual population had doubled, if not tripled. Thousands of dots could be seen across the city.

"Hey guys!" a loud voice shouted. The couple turned to see Helios, Dagger, Himiko, and Mai all fly over towards them. Ren and Alice waved to their friends as they flew over.

"This is so cool!" Mai said in awe. "There's so many players!"

"And more players means more suckers to scam" Dagger grinned, thinking about the profit she could make off the unsuspecting foreign players.

"I'm looking forward to bashing some skulls!" Helios said with excitement. "Who should be my first victim?"

"Hey, Ren! Long time, no see!" a new player called out. The group turned to see Yuuki flying over to the guild. "Isn't this just the coolest?! It's like a giant ALO convention!"

"How's it going, Yuuki?" Ren greeted. "You doing any better?"

"Yep!" Yuuki nodded. "My condition is improving a bit. It's a little sad that I can't go to school with everyone anymore since it's summer, but now I have so many new people I can meet!"

"Good for you" Ren said. "I'm really looking forward to the tournament."

"None of you guys have any chance" Helios smirked with pride. "I'm going to be the champion hands down."

"Umm didn't you lose to Yuuki in the last tournament?" Mai reminded him. "Not just lost, she destroyed you."

"Quiet you!" Helios growled as he grabbed the Sylph and brought her head in for a noggy. "If I face you in the tournament, you are so going down!"

"Unfortunately for you, I will be the victor of the tournament" yet another new voice said. Everyone looked above them to see Yaksha floating above them. He had the same black hair tied up in a ponytail just as it was in SAO. He was now a Spriggan and was dressed in samurai-like armor with a red colored rope belt tied around his waist with a long katana held by it. A hawk mask still covered the top half of his face.

"Oh well if it isn't our mysterious little friend Yaksha" Helios retorted. "How are you going to win? Isn't Ren still ahead in that rivalry thing you've got going on by five wins or something?"

"I have dedicated myself to training for the past month" the masked Spriggan replied. "I think you will find that I am not the same as before. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to scope out the new players."

"Wow, everyone's appearing for the big tournament." Alice said as Yaksha flew off. "Wonder if we'll see anyone-"

"Yoo-hoo! Renny-kins!"

"… Please god no" Alice begged. The group looked over to see the blonde Salamander Asami flying over to them.

"Hey guys!" Asami cheerfully waved as she flew next to the group. She gave a separate greeting to Ren's in-game wife that was filled with a hidden cold taste. "Hello Alice"

"Hello Asami" Alice replied with a cold glare.

The tension between the two girls was so thick, you could almost reach out and grab it. Yuuki leaned in and whispered into Ren's ear in a very quiet voice to avoid catching the attention of the two glaring girls. "Mind filling me in here?"

"Trust me, it's a long story and you'd be better off not knowing." Ren whispered back.

"You know now I'm looking forward to this tournament even more" Alice said. "Cause I'm finally gonna get the chance to beat you into the dirt Asami."

"Bring it on" the blonde Salamander growled, accepting Alice's challenge. She turned away to fly off "I'll see you at the tournament." As if to anger Alice even further, she added "I'm especially looking forward to seeing you Renny-kins."

The group of friends was once again left alone, with Alice grinding her teeth at how angry Asami always made her when she tried to steal Ren. "Well, let's go check out all the new players" Ren suggested.

The group all cheered in agreement and flew down into the city, excited for all the new exciting battles to come.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The days that passed in Tokyo's Maximum Security Prison were increasingly long for the prisoners here. One person, a lone man, sat in a room and waited for the prisoner he was visiting to be brought to him. It was several minutes before the brought him in.

Looking at the once proud scientist, it was almost sad to see his condition now. Prison had taken its toll on him. He had gotten a lot thinner, and all signs of life seemed to be drained from his eyes.

"We can only allow you ten minutes" the guard said. "In addition, everything that goes on in here will be monitored by security camera. Please keep that in mind."

"Of course" the visitor said. "Don't worry. Ten minutes will be plenty."

"Very well then" the guard replied. He went outside and shut the door behind him. The two of them were now completely alone.

"Now then" the mystery man began. "I hope prison hasn't been too harsh on you, has it? Sugou Noboyuki."

"What are you doing here?" Sugou asked. "I already confessed to everything I did. What else do you want me to say?"

"Oh Sugou, you've got it all wrong" the man grinned. "I'm here to give you an opportunity."

"Opportunity for what?"

"For freedom"

"Freedom doesn't matter anymore" Sugou replied. "My career is ruined, I can't leave the country, and worst of all my beautiful Titania has been taken from me"

"Yes and that's very heartbreaking" the man said sarcastically, showing his patience was thinning "But what if I said I could help you with something else?"

"Like what?"

"For starters… revenge on a certain black haired swordsman."

"… I'm listening."

"I believe you're already familiar with the people I work for. The American company you were selling your research to" he said as he took out some snacks from his bag and offered them to Sugou, who gladly accepted the food.

"I see… so you're with them" Sugou said as he took a bite of the food. "By the way, isn't this conversation getting recorded?"

"I wouldn't worry about that. Guards these days are quite easy to fool. Our conversation is being taped over with a fake version as we speak."

"I see you people are as resourceful as ever." Sugou said with a small grin. "So what do you need from me?"

"We heard rumors that there was some special data taken out of ALO when it was first created. Is it true?"

"Special data? Ah, you mean the viral spells." Sugou realized. "Yes, I was unfortunately forced to remove them as they had inverse effects on the mind of those that used them. They would have been perfect for those mindless zombies I was making out of those SAO survivors though."

"So it IS true" the man smirked. "Now where is the data for them?"

"First, I want proof that you can help get me out of here so I can get revenge on that brat Kirito"

"Very well then" the man said as he took out some papers from his bag and handed them to the prisoner. "I believe these can help prove your 'innocence'."

Sugou read the papers in front of him and grinned. "I'm impressed. You're even more resourceful than I had thought."

"Now then, the location of the data?"

"Of course" Sugou nodded. He wrote an address and some other info on a sheet of paper and handed it to the man.

"Thank you for your cooperation" the mystery man grinned as he read the papers. He got out of his chair and began to walk away. "By the way, did you enjoy your meal?"

"My meal? Oh yes, it was quite good." Sugou said. "Where did you find it?"

"It's a homemade brand" he chuckled. "I think you'll find the taste quite unique."

The next day, an interesting news story was in the paper. The article began reading "Prisoner Sugou Noboyuki died yesterday at 6:43 pm. The cause is believed to be food poisoning."

**A/N: Hope everyone liked the reappearance of Yaksha and Asami, and the look at what's to come. Next chapter will bring back yet another two characters from this fanfic's past, and will also be the start of the tournament. As I promised in the beginning of the chapter, here are the chapters that Yaksha and Asami were featured in.**

**Yaksha: Chapters 14 &amp; 15**

**Asami: Chapter 30**


	39. Let the Games Begin

**A/N: What's up everybody! The tournament for Blazing Revolution is about to start. The actual fights won't be until next chapter, but this one will explain the basics and will also reveal one of the match-ups for the first round. And I know I said I'd be brining back two characters this chapter, but that was actually a typo, sorry. I'm bringing back one character this chapter, and the second one will be brought back next chapter. I apologize for the mistake. I hope you all enjoy it.**

**Also, last weekend I went to a small anime/game convention called Clover Con. While I was there, I found someone who does OC drawings and was able to get her to do a sketch of Alice (would have asked for her to draw the rest of the guild too, but was short on time and money). I have posted the picture for the cover of this story temporarily. If you are interested, take a look.**

Ren opened his eyes as he found himself lying on his bed in his player house. He didn't know why, but he always felt like he was waking up from a nap whenever he logged in from here. Perhaps because it was because he was waking up on a bed in a sense. He got off the bed and stretched his arms a little. Before long, Alice arrived as well as her avatar manifested on the bed.

"Hey Ren" Alice greeted. "You ready for today?"

"Of course" Ren grinned. "Today's the day the tournament starts. I'm ready to go out there and win."

"Someone sure sounds confident. If you act all cocky, you might lose in the first round."

"Hey, I'm not acting co-"

"I'm just joking Ren. I know you're gonna kick butt out there" Alice giggled as she got off the bed and gave him a kiss.

"Thanks." Ren smiled. "I know you'll do great too."

Alice nodded in agreement. A lot of things had happened this past month. Besides her intense training with Shenlong, Alice had done everything she could to hone her skills with her scythe. This tournament was also another chance for her to see Elza, the female Imp that had beaten her all those weeks ago. She hated to admit it, but Elza was a lot stronger than she was back then, almost in another league. But that loss had made her far stronger in the long run.

'_If I run into Elza again, this time I'll make sure to win'_

"So, you ready to get going?" Ren asked.

"You bet!"

Ren and Alice walked out of their house on floor 17 of New Aincrad and took off into the sky. They quickly made their way to the teleport stone and vanished from the town, reappearing in Yggdrasil City. The couple looked around and soon saw Kirito and Asuna walking around the streets.

"Kirito! Asuna! Hey guys!" Alice called out as she waved to her friends.

"Hey Alice" Asuna smiled as the two Imps made their way over to them. "Today's the big day. You guys excited?"

"Of course" Ren grinned. "This tournament is gonna be awesome!"

"And daddy's gonna win for sure!" Yui cheered as she flew out of Kirito's coat pocket and landed on his raven black hair.

"Thanks Yui" Kirito smiled, delighted to be praised by his daughter. "I'll be sure to do my best"

As the group continued to talk about the tournament, the rest of Ren's guild arrived and walked over to the two couples and the navigation pixie.

"It's almost time" Helios grinned. "I am so stoked for this!"

"I can't wait!" Mai cheered, unable to contain her excitement.

"I can't wait to scam some suckers." Dagger grinned. "I'm gonna make a fortune"

The group all looked at a floating island in the sky above Yggdrasil City. Sitting on the island was a large coliseum, where the tournament would be held. A barrier was currently surrounding the island, waiting until three o'clock would come which would be in five minutes.

"Well look who it is" a mocking voice chuckled within earshot of the group. Everyone's heads turned to see a Gnome player with a large two-handed sword sheathed across his back. He was equipped with leather armor and had tan hair.

"Sorry, have we met somewhere?" Asuna asked. "I don't recognize you."

"Wait a second… you're that jerk that ambushed us right after Ren got Ragnarok!" Himiko yelled.

"What do you want Noboru?" Mai asked in an annoyed tone.

"I just want to talk to Alice" Noboru replied. "I wanted to see if she's come to her senses, and has finally realized how great we'd be together."

"For the last time Noboru, I don't want anything to do with you!" Alice yelled. "You're a selfish ass that only thinks about himself!"

"Oh and the guy your with now is all that special? Face it, outside of the virtual world he's nothing."

Asuna leaned towards Mai and whispered in her ear "Who exactly is this guy?"

"A guy named Noboru" the young Sylph explained. "We used to be friends until he ran away and left us to die during the early days of SAO."

"And he just thinks Alice should forgive him for that?!"

"It happened a long time ago." Noboru argued. "I've known Alice since we were kids. Her boyfriend here is just some wannabe hero."

"Ren is more than you'll ever be, Noboru! Now get out of my sight and leave me alone!"

"I guess you just won't listen to reason" Noboru shrugged. "It's so obvious we'd be a better couple. Why can't you-" Noboru didn't get to finish his sentence as he soon found himself flying back from a punch to the face from Ren.

"She said to leave her alone" Ren said, annoyed with the Gnome harassing his in-game wife.

Noboru grasped his face in pain as he picked himself off the ground. He wobbled around a bit, struggling to stay standing. He finally managed to choke out "Didn't hurt" but untrue to his words, the Gnome player fell over, this time not getting back up.

"Way to go big bro!" Himiko cheered. "Nice shot!"

"Pft. I could've hit him harder" Helios shrugged as he tried to act tough, but was soundly ignored by the rest of the group.

"Nice job" Asuna smiled. "Way to stand up for Alice"

"Thanks Ren" Alice said as she leaned next to him. "You're the best"

As the group all cheered together and all the players in the crowd looked at the unconscious Gnome lying on the streets, an echoing bell sound began to ring throughout the city. Everyone turned their heads towards the floating coliseum in the sky and watched as the barrier around it dissolved.

"It's finally time!" Himiko said with excitement. "Let's get going!"

All the players in the streets summoned their wings and took off towards the colossal structure. As Ren and his friends flew through the air, they noticed many other familiar faces, including Asami, Yaksha, and Yuuki. Everyone flew into the coliseum with cheers of excitement flowing around the army of players.

Approximately five thousand players in total had signed up for the Alfheim Online World Tournament. All of the five thousand players gathered in the center arena, while the others sat in the stands. Out of Ren's guild, the only one not entering the tournament was Dagger as she was too busy collecting bets from the foreign players that were oblivious to her marketing scams. After everyone had finally gathered, a large figure began to descend from the sky. Everyone watched as the sponsor for the tournament, Reiji Mitsusada floated in the air with his online avatar.

"Players of the world, I thank you for coming today" the corporation CEO said to the crowd in a loud and echoing voice. "I cannot express my joy that we have had such a large turnout for this historic event. Over the next three days, we will hold the preliminary rounds of the ALO World Tournament. Are you ready players?" In response to Reiji's question, a deafening cheer of excitement was heard from all the players in the coliseum. "Very well then. To all of you who have entered, your opponent will now be selected randomly. Please take a look at your menus"

As these words escaped his mouth, windows appeared in front of each of the five thousand players. On one side of the window was a picture of the player's avatar. On the other side was a box that was shuffling through various other players. After a few seconds the shuffling stopped and a name was present on the opponent's side. Everyone examined who their first opponent would be.

"I don't recognize my opponent" Ren said as he looked at the name on his screen. "Probably a foreign player. What about you Alice?" When no response came, he looked at his girlfriend to see her staring at her window with a serious look on her face. "Hello? Alice?"

"It's him"

"Who's who?" Ren questioned. He leaned over and looked at Alice's window to see her opponent. His eyes widened when he read the name.

"Well, it looks like I get to show you my skills personally" the voice of Alice's opponent said from behind them. They turned to see him standing with a condescending grin on his face.

'_Of all the players in Alfheim, it had to be him'_ Alice thought.

Standing before Alice was the Gnome player Noboru.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

The streets of New York City were as busy as ever. Inside one of the many colossal buildings that populated the city, one man sat in his office watching the large television monitor in the room. It was currently tuned to the ALO World Tournament being broadcast live by MMO Stream. As he watched Reiji Mitsusada give his opening speech, a call came on the phone in his office. He muted the tv and picked up the phone. "I'm expecting the reason you're calling is because you have good news Richards"

"Yes sir" the scientist on the other end replied. "I just wanted to tell you that we just received the data for the viral spells."

"Excellent" the man grinned. "It's a shame we can't implement them to our test subjects for the tournament. It's not important though. Have all of them been fully completed?"

"Yes. All ten subjects we have entered in the tournament are completely under our control. We should be able to get some interesting results from them."

"Perfect. Have you tested the changes to their abilities after they went through the process?"

"Of course. Would you like to see one?"

"Bring it up on the monitor"

The screen on his television monitor soon left the live broadcast of the ALO World Tournament and now showed a simple white room. A lone boy, a Cait Sith player to be exact, was standing in the middle. Within seconds, several NPC opponents began spawning in at a rapid rate. They all charged at the boy in the middle. Any normal player wouldn't last a minute in this situation. Good thing this wasn't a normal player.

"Let the show begin" the man watching the test said to himself with a grin.

The first wave of NPCs soon found themselves getting ripped to shreds as the boy used his claw-like gauntlet weapons to slash and stab them violently. He leaped around from foe to foe, tearing away at their life. The look in his eyes didn't show that of a human. It was more like watching a wild beast on the hunt. Within a matter of minutes, all that remained were shattered polygon fragments from the defeated NPCs.

"This WILL be an interesting tournament" the man said as he chuckled to himself.

**A/N: I don't know why, but I thought of Mr. Burns from the Simpsons when I wrote that last part of this chapter. Maybe because both him and the OC I made don't care about morals. Anyway, I hope you all liked the chapter. Please comment and review if you have anything to say, and be sure to check out the sketch of Alice I posted. I will try to see if I can get the artist that did the sketch to draw the rest of the guild and maybe even a few other OCs in the story.**


	40. Alice vs Noboru

**A/N: It's finally time everybody! Time for the first fight in the ALO World Tournament! Time for the new returning character! Time to read! I hope everyone enjoys it. Comments and suggestions are welcome.**

The skies of Alfheim were shining brightly. It was a beautiful day in the virtual world. Up above the capital city of Alne floated the large coliseum in the sky. Inside it, the crowd roared with excitement from the non-stop flow of matches going on. Thousands of players were watching the exciting duels and many more were watching from the real world with MMO Stream's live broadcast of the event. In the waiting room of the stadium, Alice sat and waited for her match to come.

Ren and the others had already finished and won their matches throughout these past three days. The only one left in the group was Alice. No matter what, this was one match she had to win. She wouldn't be able to stand it if she let Noboru beat her here.

'_It's time for me to finally teach Noboru a lesson'_ Alice told herself. _'I'll win this for sure'_

"Next match, Alice vs Noboru. Both players will now be teleported to the stadium" an electronic voice said throughout the room. A bright light enveloped Alice as she was teleported away from the waiting room. She found herself in a dark space with nothing around her except a window in front of her that read the matchup. Alice vs Noboru. A timer counting down from sixty seconds was below it.

Alice equipped her scythe from her menu and mentally prepared herself for the upcoming fight. When the clock finally hit zero, Alice was once again teleported away. This time the female Imp found herself in the stadium.

The crowd was filled with players from various races. She spotted Ren and her friends watching in the stands. She smiled at the sight of the encouragement from her friends.

"Kick his butt, Alice!" Ren cheered.

"You can do it!" Liz called out.

"Don't you dare lose to him!" Mai yelled. She knew more than anyone what this match meant for her sister.

Alice unsheathed her scythe from her back and stared at the opponent across from her. Noboru gave a confident grin as he looked at Alice. "No hard feelings Alice, but I'm gonna have to beat you here. Maybe you'll see how perfect we'll be as a couple when I win"

"You won't be winning this fight Noboru" Alice glared as she got into her battle stance. "This is for Jaune and Olivia. The two friends that you abandoned that day in SAO!"

"You just can't let the past go, can you?" Noboru shrugged. "It's a shame they died, but if they didn't have the strength to survive then they would have died later anyway."

Alice's eyes went from anger to pure hatred from that last comment. That settled it. She would make Noboru pay for what he did with a thousand times interest.

The Gnome player unsheathed his large two-handed sword from his back and got into his own fighting stance. The sword was massive she had to admit. It must have taken a fair amount of grinding for his strength stat to wield it. A clock in the center of the arena counted down for the match to start.

5… 4… 3… 2… 1… START!

Alice and Noboru each sped at each other simultaneously with a sword skill. Noboru's skill was the two-handed sword skill Avalanche. Alice quickly maneuvered her scythe in the middle of the skill for it to connect just perfectly and block the attack. The two players were deadlocked in a test of strength. The overpowering weight of Noboru's sword was pushing Alice down slowly.

"How do you like that? Not as weak as you thought am I?" Noboru grinned as he watched Alice struggle to keep his weapon at bay.

Alice couldn't believe how foolish her opponent was. In a head on clash, the two-handed sword skill Avalanche clearly had the advantage in strength over her scythe. Actually, it should have broken right through her defense instantly. The fact that it didn't showed that Noboru wasn't nearly as strong as he was gloating to be. Even still, the massive sword Noboru was holding was gradually pushing further down on Alice. The female Imp finally managed to break free by tilting the handle of her scythe where Noboru's blade was pressing down on. The sword skidded across the handle and smashed into the ground. Alice took the opportunity to deliver an upwards kick to the Gnome's jaw. Noboru prevented himself from crashing back into the ground by spreading his wings and remaining midair.

"Not bad, Alice. But now it's time for me to get serious." Noboru said. He sped at Alice and swung his sword horizontally at Alice. Alice easily ducked under the slash and sped past Noboru, ripping her scythe into his avatar in the process. Noboru's health took a big hit from the powerful slash.

"So was that you getting serious? Or are you still hiding your full strength?" Alice remarked.

"Cocky little-" Noboru didn't get to finish his sentence as Alice sped at him and grabbed him by the throat. A look of hatred was clearly visible in her eyes.

"This one's for Jaune." Alice growled as she took her fist and swung it full force at the Gnome. Noboru slid across the ground from the blow, dropping his sword in the process, and finally crashing into the wall. Before he could even recover, Alice sped at him and swung her scythe down at him. "This one's for Olivia!" Noboru moved out of the way just in time to avoid a fatal hit, but the blade still ripped through his arm, leaving a gash visible. He ran from the enraged Imp and made it to the weapon he had dropped. He turned around to face Alice only to find she was already right by him with her fist reeled back. A look of fear was painted on his face. "And this one's for all the times you insulted Ren!" The fist made full contact with Noboru's cheek and sent him flying back. He recovered his balance just in time to keep himself from crashing into the wall once again.

"Damn it" Noboru grunted. "I won't let it end like this. Not until I've shown you my strength."

"Face it Noboru. You've lost. This is the best you can do" Alice said. "You keep acting like you're so incredibly powerful, but you aren't even half as strong as you claim to be."

"Shut up!" Noboru yelled. "All the times I've tried to make you fall in love with me and you just treat me like trash! You stay with that stupid tactician of yours! What does he have that I don't?! Tell me!"

"I've said it before and I'll say it again" Alice said. "Ren puts other people before himself. He'll risk his life to save others while you ran away and abandoned your friends just to save your own ass. I treat you like trash because you are trash Noboru."

Noboru's eyes flared up in anger. He ran at Alice and prepared to take her down then and there. He was so blinded by his rage, that he didn't even notice Alice speed past him and hook her scythe around his waist. The curved blade of her weapon gave a violet glow as she yanked it forward and ripped through her opponent's avatar. Noboru cried out in pain as he burned away into a remain light. The duel ended and the winner sign appeared showing Alice's face. The crowd roared with excitement at the female Imp's spectacular victory.

After being teleported out of the main arena, Alice left the stadium and met up with her friends. They all congratulated the female Imp for her victory.

"You were awesome Alice!" Mai cheered.

"Way to put that jerk in his place" Asuna added.

"I had all my bets on you Alice." Dagger smiled.

Alice was happy to hear the compliments from all her friends. She liked it even more when Ren came up and gave her a peck on the cheek. "I never doubted you for a second"

"Thanks Ren" Alice blushed.

As the group of friends continued to talk and congratulate Alice on her victory, they heard a deafening roar of applause from the crowd. "Looks like the next match is starting" Kirito guessed.

"Who's fighting?" Silica asked.

"Let me check" Mai said. She brought up her menu and looked at the schedule for the tournament's preliminary rounds. "Let's see here. The next match is Naoki vs… Riku?!"

"Riku?!" Dagger exclaimed. "I didn't know he was participating in the tournament"

"We haven't seen him in months" Alice remembered. "Let's go check out his match"

"Sure, why not?" Helios shrugged. "It should make for a good laugh"

The group headed out to the stands just as the match was about to start. They got a look at the new Riku as he stood in the arena. He had converted his SAO avatar over into Alfheim as a Sylph player. He had the characteristic blonde hair of the fairy race and had a long spear slung across his back instead of his usual dagger type weapon. His avatar was equipped with light weighted green armor and leather boots. A light piece of armor was fastened to his left shoulder. The spear he was equipped with was a shining golden color with an azure jewel near the pointed edge.

"When did he change to spears?" Mai asked.

"No clue" Ren shrugged. "It's been awhile since we last saw him. A lot can change."

"Whatever. He's still probably the same weakling he always was" Helios said.

The group watched as the timer finally reached zero and the match began. Riku's opponent was equipped with a heavy one handed sword and started the match off by rushing Riku with a powerful horizontal slash. Riku easily blocked it however and then twirled his weapon around, throwing his opponent off balance. The Sylph followed up with a series of thrusts with his spear, impaling the weapon in his opponent and ripping away a large chunk of health with each hit. His opponent tried to cut him down, but none of the slashes were making contact as Riku nimbly dodged each of them.

"What the heck?!" Mai gasped. "Is that really Riku?!"

The fight ended as Riku went in for the finishing blow. His spear lit up in a blue light as he impaled it into his enemy using the one hit skill Fatal Thrust. The attack took out the rest of his opponent's hp and he burned away into a remain light. The crowd roared in excitement while Ren and the others look at their old friend in shock.

"Did… did he just win without taking a single hit?" Dagger gasped.

"There's no way. When did he get that strong?" Mai asked.

"Who cares" Helios said, but a small hint of surprise was clearly shown in his expression. "He's still the same idiot from SAO. He won't win once the real matches start." In the back of Helios's mind however, he was thinking something completely opposite of what he had just said. _'How the hell did he get this strong in such a short time?'_

The day continued with more matches going one right after another. Finally after the last match had ended, the crowd dispersed for the end of the day. After three days the preliminaries had finally ended, and half of the players that had originally entered the tournament were gone. Tomorrow would be the next round of the tournament. All the players knew was that they needed to be in Alne tomorrow at noon and the rules for the next round would be announced.

Ren and Alice waved goodbye to their friends and teleported to New Aincrad's floor 17. The couple flew through the town and made their way back to their player home. The two Imp's landed in front of the house and entered. They went to their bedroom to log out. Ren sat on his bed and was about to open his menu to log out, until he noticed Alice seemed lost in thought about something.

"Is something wrong Alice?" Ren asked.

"Ren… can you just stay here with me for a little longer?"

"Of course"

Alice sat down next to Ren on the bed. She leaned her head on his shoulder. "It's just been a long day for me"

"Is this about Noboru?"

Alice nodded her head. "Kind of. Ever since he abandoned me and my friends, all I wanted was revenge on him. I wanted to make him pay for getting Jaune and Olivia killed. They were my best friends and because of one action, they lost their lives. But now… now I wonder if what I did really mattered."

"If it really mattered?"

"Yeah. Even though I'm glad I taught Noboru a lesson, it still didn't bring back Jaune and Olivia. I don't know, maybe deep down I wanted to believe the pain in my heart would go away if I beat him."

Ren put his arm around Alice's shoulder. "The fact that you still feel that pain just means that you really cared about them."

"I know" Alice said as she shed a tear. "I just… I really miss them" Alice then lost all control and began sobbing into her boyfriend's coat. "They were my best friends! Why?! Why did they have to die?!"

"It's alright" Ren said as he tried to soothe Alice. "I know I can't really understand what you're feeling right now, but I can promise you I'll do whatever it takes to help"

Alice began to calm down a little and wiped her eyes. "Thanks Ren. You really know how to help me feel better"

"Anything for you" Ren smiled as he kissed her on the cheek. "If you're ever feeling sad, just tell me. I'm here for you no matter what."

"Ok" Alice nodded. She continued to lean her head on Ren's shoulder. "Can… can we stay like this? Just for a little longer?"

"Of course"

XXXXXXXXXXX

-The next day-

The streets of Alne were bustling with thousands of players, both participants and spectators. There were five minutes left until noon, and everyone was excited for the next round to start. Ren and his friends were all standing together as they waited for it to start.

"I wonder what the format for the next round matchups are going to be" Asuna wondered.

"Who knows? It could be a round robin, battle royal, nothing would surprise me at this point" Kirito said.

"Maybe we'll run into Riku" Mai guessed. "After yesterday, a lot of people are talking about his match."

"Please, I can beat him easily" Helios smirked confidently. "Riku won't last ten seconds if I end up matched against him."

As the group continued to talk, the clock finally hit noon. An echoing bell sound tolled across the capital city of Alfheim. Players cheered in excitement. All eyes looked towards the sky as a screen showing Reiji Mitsusada appeared.

"Players of Alfheim Online, I hope you are excited for the second round of the ALO World Tournament." Reiji stated. In response, a huge cheer of approval from the players in the city answered that his hopes were correct. "We have spent these last three days with the grueling matchups of the preliminaries. To those of you that have made it past those, I congratulate you. But now the time has come for the second round to begin. Allow me to explain how it will work." Everyone watched as the map of Alfheim appeared behind him. "When this speech concludes, players will be automatically teleported to one of the nine capital cities in Alfheim at random and receive an emblem. From there, you must fly to each of the other eight capitals. Once you have entered the city, a window will pop up and give you the emblem for that capital. Your goal is to collect all nine emblems and make it back here to Alne and enter the base of the World Tree. If you do this, you will make it to the main rounds of the tournament. Keep in mind however that only the first sixty-four players to complete this task will move on. Teleportation will be disabled during the entire duration of this race and you may use any means at your disposal to hinder the progress of your fellow competitors, including PKing."

The eyes of all the players widened. Traveling across the entirety of Alfheim would take hours. This round would be a test of speed, stamina, and how well players knew the world of Alfheim. If you couldn't do voluntary flight, you had no chance at winning. Then again, those that couldn't do voluntary flight had no place being in the tournament in the first place. This tournament definitely kept up with the surprises, no one could deny that.

"I only have one last thing to say to you all" Reiji said. "Good luck. And may the best player win."

As he said this, the city became veiled in light as the more than two thousand players competing in the tournament teleported all at once.

**A/N: Hope everyone liked the chapter and the return of Riku. The next few chapters are going to cover this second round of the tournament. Look forward to it readers.**


	41. A Race Across Alfheim

**A/N: Hey guys. New chapter time. I am glad to see you're all enjoying the story and I'm happy to be receiving all these new OC ideas. Unfortunately, I've received too many and won't be able to put them all in. I be narrowing down my selections and will try to incorporate as many as I can. Sadly, this means I will be unable to take any more OC suggestions for this fanfic. Thank you for all your submissions. I really appreciate them. If you have any ideas for my Pokemon World Online story, which is currently on hiatus, I would be happy to accept those. Well, enjoy the chapter.**

All over Alfheim, players were scattered around and speeding from capital to capital. Everyone not participating in the tournament was currently stuck in the confides on Yggdrasil City to avoid any outside assistance to players from those not in the tournament. A large screen in the air was currently showing those same players what was currently going on in the tournament's second round. Players could also check their menus to see the current emblem collection of each individual player.

One of the many players watching the live feed from Yggdrasil City was Dagger. She checked her menu and looked up Helios's name. It currently showed that he had two emblems and was on his way towards his third one which would be at the Salamander capital, based on the path he was taking as she tracked his location.

'_I wish I could contact him and give him my support, but all communications are offline right now for the tournament'_ Dagger thought. _'All I can do here is silently cheer him on… in my free time that is'_

"Alright people! Taking all bets!" the female merchant called out to the crowd. "Who do you think will make it to the next round?! Try your luck!"

"Two thousand Yld on Sakuya!" one player called out.

"Five thousand on General Eugene!" another person yelled.

Dagger had been fairly busy throughout the second round so far. Ever since she opened betting, players had been swarming around her, practically handing over their money. She even made a little extra by selling special info she had acquired on some players, such as the grade of their armor and weapons.

"Hold on a second!" one player shouted, shoving their way through the crowd. "You sure are taking a lot of bets. How do we know you can pay to all of us that are going to win?"

"Simple" Dagger grinned. "I don't do something if I'll lose money on it."

"We're gonna need a lot more than your word if you expect us to trust you" he glared. Murmurs of agreement were beginning to be heard around the crowd around her as well.

"Fine then" Dagger shrugged. The black haired Spriggan merchant opened her menu and materialized an item from her inventory. It was a shiny golden dagger weapon with a ruby jewel embedded in the handle. "This weapon cost me 720,000 Yld to make. I had to spend five hours getting the basic materials from monster drops and another two hours to get the ruby that's embedded in this."

"So? What's your point?"

"Do you honestly think I would spend all that money and time if I wasn't filthy rich in this game?"

The female Spriggan had made a strong case. It was obvious to see that an item like the dagger she was holding was very expensive, meaning she must have had quite a bit of cash on her.

"Fine then" the player said, giving up. "Just make sure you can pay us our winnings"

"That's IF you win. Remember that" Dagger told him. She twirled the golden dagger around and tossed it into the air, ready to catch it when it came back down. "Now then, let's continue the betting! Who do you think will-"

Dagger was interrupted as a throwing knife was tossed and hit the currently midair weapon Dagger had thrown. The golden weapon flew away from its original trajectory and right into the hands of another player. The menacing smirk on his face showed that him catching the dagger was no coincidence.

"Please give that back, sir" Dagger politely asked. "It's not nice to take things that don't belong to you."

"No can do, little miss merchant" the new player smirked. "We'll be taking this as payment"

"We?" Dagger asked. "And payment for what exactly?"

"Payment for ripping us off" another player said as he emerged from the shadows of the crowd. He walked over and stood next to his friend while twirling around a throwing knife as if to declare that he was the one who had thrown the knife earlier. "You scammed us and took all our money from the bets in the first round! We know you did!"

"I believe the agreements were quite clear" Dagger corrected them. "Anyone who bet on a match had to guess who the winner would be and whether his or her health would be in the green, yellow, or red. You win, I pay back double. I win, I keep the money. It's not rocket science, and it's not my fault you gambled away your money on bets."

"I don't want to hear your excuses! You break our financial stability…" the knife wielder said as his friend took out a large hammer type weapon and proceeded to smash the golden dagger, shattering it instantly "… and we break your precious shiny weapon."

Dagger took a deep breath and then exhaled. "That was a solid gold, jewel embedded dagger, worth 720,000 Yld."

"So? What are you gonna do about it?"

Dagger opened her menu and brought out the shortsword she used for combat. She then proceeded to send a duel request to the pair that had destroyed her golden blade. The pair read the window. The rules set were a 2v1 battle with the winner getting all of the loser's cash.

The hammer user looked at the female Spriggan in disbelief. "You're kidding right? You think you can beat BOTH of us."

"Not just beat" Dagger said as she cracked her knuckles. "I'm going to break every single virtual bone in your bodies"

The two players looked at each other before breaking out into laughter. "Oh this is just too good. We get a chance to kill you AND take your money!" The two players hit 'Accept' and got into their battle stances. "Bring it on."

"You obviously don't know my title, do you?" the female Spriggan smirked as she got into her fighting stance as well.

"Of course we do! Everyone on the ALO Japanese server knows about Dagger, the Rip-Off Merchant!"

"No, that's my nickname" Dagger corrected. "The title I have is that I'm the second most psychotic player on the ALO Japanese server. I had to do A LOT of crazy things to get this title."

"… Just out of curiosity, who's the first?" the knife user asked.

"My boyfriend" Dagger grinned. As she said this the timer hit zero and the duel began… and ended in about ten seconds. The crowd watched in awe as Dagger ripped her two opponents apart in an instant. They lied on the ground defeated and moaning from the beating they had just gotten.

"I-Impossible. Who are you? WHAT are you?"

"Let this be a lesson to you boys" Dagger said as she lifted the knife user up by the throat. "NEVER make me angry."

"P-Please! We're sorry!" he cried out. He had never seen such a murderous look in someone's eyes.

"Well I guess I can forgive you" Dagger said as she tossed him to the side. "After all, you did just hand over all your money"

The player opened his menu and looked at his current inventory. All of his Yld had been transferred over to Dagger automatically, just as the rules Dagger set in the menu had said. His partner lying half dead on the ground next to him was the same.

"Now then, let's get back to business!" Dagger cheered. "Who wants to place some bets?!" The female Spriggan continued to write down the bets for all the players coming to her. One thought stayed with her as she went on with her business.

'_I just hope you're doing well too Helios. After all, you're the guy I'm betting on'_

XXXXXXXXXX

"Alright! Emblem number three!" Helios cheered as he spread his wings and flew away from the Salamander capital. The second round had been going on for almost an hour and thirty minutes, and he was doing pretty well. He had started in the Undine capital and decided to take a clockwise course around Alfheim. Now he had obtained the Imp and Salamander emblems in addition to the Undine one he had started out with. Next stop was Swilvane for the Sylph emblem.

'_If I keep going like this, I'll be in the top 64 no problem. I just need to avoid getting killed'_ Helios thought.

As Reiji Mitsusada had said, players were allowed to use whatever means to slow their opponents down, including PKing. If someone got killed, they'd end up in the last city they visited. Besides that obstacle, just waiting to respawn took a whole ten minutes unless you were revived with magic or an item, which was unlikely in this type of situation. It went without saying that if you died, your chances at making it to the next round were slim to none.

After a grueling half hour of flying, Helios finally made it to Sylph territory as he exited the harsh dessert area of the Salamanders. Since he was a Salamander himself, the brutal heat of the dessert had no effect on him, but he still didn't like the landscape. In his opinion, there wasn't enough stuff to smash enemies into. All the land had was a bunch of sand. Sylph territory was quite different however. There was fertile plant life and tall trees everywhere.

"Emblem number four, here I come!" Helios grinned as he continued at full speed to the city of Swilvane. "If I keep this pace up, I might even beat Ren to the finish line. I can't wait to see his face when I-"

Helios was interrupted in his gloating as a sudden force hit him from above and sent him crashing into the trees below. After landing hard onto the grassy ground, the Salamander picked himself up and brushed the dirt off his shoulders just in time for the player that assaulted him as well as two others to land and surround him.

The first of the trio was a muscular Gnome player that was equipped with fairly light-weighted gear, and two gauntlets on his arms. The second was a hooded Spriggan with a jagged dagger in his hand. The last of the trio was an Imp with a heavy two-handed axe.

"That was a pretty dick move you guys pulled just now" Helios said as he looked at his three opponents.

"This is a full out battle royale race" the Gnome player grinned. "All that matters is winning, not how we win."

"And taking out big competition like you will help ensure our victory" the Spriggan added.

"I see. So where are the others?" Helios asked.

The Spriggan looked at Helios questionably. "Others? What are you talking about?"

"Wait, you mean it's just the three of you?" the Salamander asked. "There's no one else waiting in the shadows to stab me when my guard is down?" In response, the three players shook their heads. "Well then, that makes you guys cowards in two ways."

"Two?"

Helios nodded. "Yeah. The first reason is because you ganged up on one single opponent."

"And the second?"

"Suicide is the coward's way out."

"Suicide?"

"You should have brought way more than the three of you if your plan was to take me down." Helios grinned as he drew his battle axe, Executioner. "Bring it on you pansies!"

"Someone sure seems full of himself" the Spriggan smirked. "Let's take him down guys!"

Helios watched as the Spriggan sped at him and went in for a swift first strike. Helios quickly dodged the attack and grabbed the dagger user by the face and slammed him into the ground. Before he could finish him off with Executioner, the Gnome came a sent the Salamander flying with a powerful punch to the jaw. Helios quickly recovered and charged at the Gnome, ready to swing his battle axe. To counter him, the Imp intercepted him and attacked with a swing of his own axe. Helios's strength was too great however and easily knocked the axe user back, following up with another slash that sent the Imp flying back into his two friends.

"Is that all you got?" Helios grinned confidently. "What a disappointment."

"That does it! You are so dead you little punk!" the Spriggan growled.

Helios taunted his three opponents even further with a bored yawn. The eyes of the three flared red as they all charged in together. Unfortunately for them, this was exactly what the Salamander was hoping for. Helios ducked under the double attack from the Gnome and Imp and then grabbed the incoming Spriggan by the throat. Before the Spriggan's two teammates could even react, Helios swung his captive around like a bat and knocked the other two away before smashing him into the ground. The impact took out what was left of his health and the Spriggan dissolved into a remain light. The Gnome and Imp looked at Helios with a slight look of fear painted on their faces.

"Who wants to be next?" Helios asked, cracking his knuckles.

The two players quickly turned the opposite direction and tried to fly away, but were quickly stopped as a spear came out of nowhere and impaled the two of them from the side. The spear flew them straight into the side of a tree and finishes off the rest of their health. The owner of the spear came down from above and grabbed his weapon, pulling out of the bark. He looked at Helios and gave a smirk. "Long time no see Helios"

"Yeah. It has been a while Riku." Helios said with a smirk of his own. "What, did you see those three were ganging up on someone and thought it might be a girl you could save?"

"No, it'd be pretty hard to think a gung ho idiot like you would seem even remotely feminine" the blonde Sylph countered.

"I'll take that as a compliment"

"Take it however you want. Either way, I'm looking forward to seeing you in the next round."

"Same goes for me" Helios grinned. "You'll be a nice warm up for the REAL competition."

"I can't wait to make you eat those words when I beat you" Riku said as he skillfully twirled his weapon and sheathed it onto his back. "How many emblems do you have by the way?"

"Three. Don't let it get you discouraged though. I'm sure you can catch up with me eventually, even if I have a big lead."

"How cute. You think three emblems is a big accomplishment" Riku smirked. He brought up his menu and went to his emblem collection, showing the window to Helios. On it were four emblems.

"What?!" Helios gasped. "How the hell do you have more than me?!"

"I don't know. Maybe you're starting to lose your edge." Riku said with a cocky grin. "Well I should get going. Next stop for me is the Salamander capital. Have fun catching up."

Helios watched as Riku flew off into the distance. Rage was building up inside him as he spread his wings and took off at full speed towards the Sylph capital of Swilvane.

'_I am NOT losing to that guy!'_ Helios told himself as he flew faster than he had ever flown before. _'Just you wait, Riku. If we meet in the main tournament, you are going down.'_

**A/N: Riku ahead of Helios... my how times have changed. I hope you're all looking forward to next week's chapter. I will try to get it out as soon as possible.**


	42. Dragon Tamer

**A/N: Hey guys. Sorry this is late, but I've been really busy. I recently got a summer job and have had little time to write. I will try to keep up my weekly update schedule but I can't make any promises. Also I'm going to Animenext this weekend! It's gonna be awesome!**

Approximately four hours had passed since the start of the second round tournament. Since then, players had been scattered all over Alfheim with the desperate attempt at obtaining all nine emblems. Many players had already been PKed and were currently behind the rest of the competitors. Among the many players flying in the sky were Mai and Himiko.

"We're doing great!" Mai said with an ecstatic cheer. "We'll make it through this easy!"

"Yeah, let's keep this pace up!" Himiko agreed.

When the two young girls had started the second round of the tournament, they both found themselves in the Spriggan capital. After meeting each other, the two girls decided to travel together in a counter-clockwise direction around the world map. They had both acquired six emblems so far and were currently on route towards Freelia, the Cait Sith capital. The area separating it from the Pooka capital was a large ocean. The serene ocean breeze blew through their hair as Himiko and Mai sped through the air.

"What did you think of the Pooka capital Mai?" Himiko asked.

"There was a lot of music playing everywhere. It's a shame we couldn't stay longer" the blonde Sylph responded.

"I know right. The first time I went with my friend Mira, I went all around town to listen to the music. If you stand on top of the central tower, you can actually hear all the music around the city playing in perfect harmony. It sounds amazing!"

"Seriously? We should go there after the tournament is over."

"Great idea!" Himiko agreed.

The two female players continued to fly across the vast ocean towards Freelia. While they were enjoying their trip, they still made sure to be cautious. They were flying over the wide ocean which meant that they had no cover to hide in if they were attacked by other players.

"I wonder how the others are doing." Mai said.

"Who knows? All we can do is try and make it to the top sixty-four and hope they do the same." Himiko told the blonde Sylph.

As the two young girls flew through the air, Himiko picked something up with her hearing and stopped. Mai paused as well, looking at her friend. "What's wrong Himiko?"

"I could have sworn I just heard something" the small Imp replied.

"An enemy?"

"Possibly. I don't know where it could be coming from. I mean, there's nothing around us except-"

As the words came out of her mouth, Himiko suddenly realized where the sound had come from. She looked below them just in time to see a blast of water shoot out from the ocean towards the two of them. Mai and Himiko moved just in time to dodge the attack.

"What was that?!" Mai exclaimed.

More shots of water spit out from the ocean towards the two girls. Mai and Himiko continued to avoid the relentless assault of water being blasted at them while trying to find a way to escape. As Mai dodged yet another blast, a sudden hit from above came and sent her flying down. As she tried to recover, a blast of water came from below and finally connected, dealing even more damage to the young Sylph.

"Mai!" Himiko exclaimed. As she turned towards where her friend was attacked, the figure that had hit Mai delivered a blow to her as well. The Imp was hit by the water blast that followed soon after.

Finally done with the tag team assault from above and below, the figure responsible for the water attacks emerged from the ocean and flew next to the player that had attacked Mai and Himiko. It was a dark-blue dragon with a saddle and reins which meant it was a tamed monster. The player that was its master was a Cait Sith male that looked about the same age as the two girls, maybe even younger. He had golden blonde hair and red eyes. His equipment consisted of a hooded yellow coat with a green trim, muddy brown boots, and two claw-like gauntlets strapped to his hands. What really made the two girls nervous however, was the murderous intent in his eyes.

"Who are you?" Mai questioned.

"… I'll kill you"

"What?"

The boy chanted a quick spell and his blue dragon disappeared, being replaced with a fiery red and black one instead. A devilish grin of delight was painted on his face. "I'll kill you! I'll kill everyone and everything!"

Before the two girls could even take a moment to comprehend the Cait Sith's insane behavior, he sped at the two girls with the murderous look in his eyes stronger than ever and his dragon following closely behind him. Mai and Himiko unsheathed their weapons as their opponent got closer and closer to them. The Cait Sith went in for a swipe at Mai with his claws, which Mai blocked with her rapier. He still kept attacking the Sylph with a relentless assault however, looking like a hungry lion on the hunt for its prey. He kept echoing "Kill" over and over again with each attack. Himiko wasn't faring too well either, as she was using all her strength to force back the dragon's fangs with her katana.

'_What are we going to do? We can't keep this up.'_ Mai thought as she deflected yet another attack from her Cait Sith opponent. She flew upwards into the air, but was quickly followed by the boy. He bit down on her leg, making her cringe a little in pain and disgust at the same time. As Mai was about teach her opponent a lesson by planting her boot firmly on his face, the Cait Sith threw her to the side and forced her to crash into Himiko. As the two girls recovered, a swing of the tail from the boy's pet dragon sent them flying even further down.

"Damn. This guy's strong" Mai muttered as she tried to catch her breath.

"No kidding. He almost seems like he's enjoying this." Himiko agreed as she stared at the face of the Cait Sith.

Mai looked down at her leg and saw the mark from where he had bit her and her face lit up with rage. _'I am so going to kill him for treating me like his personal chew toy.'_ She charged at the Cait Sith with her rapier positioned to pierce right through her opponent. She thrusted her rapier forward with the blade enveiled in the light of a sword skill. The dragon made a move to try and protect its master, but Himiko quickly stopped it with a quick slash to its back. The Cait Sith tried to block the attack with his claws, but the thin blade of Mai's rapier made it through and pierced his left shoulder.

"How do you like that?" Mai grinned. "Now it's time for some payback you-"

Mai stopped talking as she looked into the eyes of her opponent. They didn't show even the slightest sign of pain or fear. They still had that murderous look to them. The look that made it seem like the Cait Sith was enjoying this.

"Kill… kill… KILL!"

The Cait Sith took his claws and ripped through Mai's avatar. The blonde Sylph cringed in pain, suddenly feeling afraid of her opponent. It wasn't like the feeling she got when she was facing an opponent she couldn't beat. No, this was different. It was true fear, as if her very life was in danger. It was a feeling she had experienced all too much back in SAO.

"What the hell are you?" Mai questioned.

Just as the boy was about to go in for another strike, Himiko emerged and gave a powerful kick to his face, sending him flying back a bit. "Are you ok Mai?!"

"Y-Yeah. Thanks Himiko."

The two girls looked at the Cait Sith and his large dragon flying next to him. If things kept going the way they were, the two of them would die for sure. There was only one option.

"Himiko, get out of here." Mai told her friend. "I'll keep him busy."

"Are you nuts?! Mai, that's a suicide mission!"

"I know, but at least this way you'll survive." Mai explained. "If we both stay here, he'll kill us both."

"Mai…"

"Just go Himiko!"

The young Imp shook her head. "No way. I'm not running."

"Mai I told you already we can't-"

"I don't care!" Himiko told the blonde Sylph. "I'm not gonna run and leave my friend behind! That's not how I do things!"

Mai looked at Himiko and saw the determination in the young girl's eyes. She sighed, knowing that there was nothing she could do to change her mind. "Geez, you're almost a recklessly stupid as your brother sometimes, you know that?"

"I wouldn't have it any other way." Himiko grinned.

"Alright then" Mai said as she got back into her battle stance. "If we're going down, we're going down fighting! Let's do this Himiko!"

"You got it Mai!"

As the two girls were about to charge, another voice chimed into the area. "You mind if I join in on the fun?"

Mai and Himiko looked to see a new player fly next to them. She was a female Cait Sith player on a flying dragon. A choker with a bell attached was around her neck. The two girls recognized her instantly as she turned her head towards them and winked. "Alicia Rue, leader of the Cait Siths, at your service"

"Long time no see Alicia" Mai greeted, happy to have the extra support.

"Oh that's right! You were with Ren's group when we took on the World Tree! Your name was… Mai, right?"

Mai nodded. "Yep and boy are we glad to see you."

"Don't mention it" the Cait Sith leader grinned. "I was planning on just watching the fight, but there's no way I can stand seeing someone from my race bite a lady. That's just rude."

"Do you know this guy?" Himiko asked.

Alicia shook her head. "No. Never seen him. He either didn't stick around in Freelia for too long when he started playing, or he's a foreign player."

The three girls didn't get to continue talking for long as their lone opponent quickly went back on the offensive, charging at them while his dragon blasted a stream of fire. Mai and Himiko flew to the right and left while Alicia flew over the stream of fire and towards the dragon's master while beginning to chant a spell. She ducked under a slash from the Cait Sith boy and placed the palm of her hand inches from his chest just as she uttered the last word for the spell. Dark flames blasted from her hand and burned through her opponent's avatar. For the first time during the fight, the boy let out a cry of pain from an attack. Before he could recover however, a kick from above came from Mai as she smashed her boot across his head.

"You need to learn some manners you jerk!" the blonde Sylph yelled as she sent another kick his way, this one connecting with his cheek. She watched as he hovered back a bit with his dragon flying next to him. The Cait Sith let out a furious roar, as if he was a raging lion.

"Someone sure is fired up. Maybe it's time I got serious too" Alicia Rue said with a grin. She raised her hand into the air and recited another spell. When she finished this one, another dragon appeared. Its scales were a shiny golden color and it was equipped with high grade armor. "Now let's get down to business! Time to show you why I'm the leader of the Cait Siths!"

The male Cait Sith didn't seem the slightest bit fazed by Alicia's new pet. It was the opposite actually. He seemed more thrilled than ever. "Kill… Kill… KILL!"

Mai and Himiko watched as the two Cait Siths chanted spells simultaneously. At the same time, both dragons readied their own attacks.

"Take this!" Alicia yelled as she finished her spell and let loose a stream of fire, with her dragon doing the same thing. The two fire blasts merged together and created an even more powerful attack. The Cait Sith boy did the same thing as he merged his own blast of fire magic with his dragon's fiery breath. He only had one thing to say.

"I'LL KILL YOU!"

The two fire attacks collided together in an incredible display of power. Mai and Himiko put their arms in front of them to try and block out some of the intense heat. A small ball was being created in the center of the two blasts, and was slowly expanding. This was a fight with intensity that could only be between two extremely skilled players.

Alicia Rue continued her attack of dark fire magic as did her opponent. The two attacks continued to collide with each other. She had never met anyone this skilled in dark magic before. Nobody had ever been able to match the magic attack power of her combo attack with her dragon. _'Just who the hell is this guy?!'_

"Alicia! Get out of there!" Mai warned. "You'll die if you stay there!"

"If I die then so be it! I am the leader of the Cait Siths! As a leader, I won't back down from a challenge like this!" Alicia said with a grin. "Besides, I'm a gamer. A gamer lives for fights like this!"

Mai and Himiko understood she meant. Through VRMMOs, they had become big gamers too, so they knew what it felt like. That intense feeling they got whenever they were in a heated fight. It was something both them and their friends loved the feel of. It was something only a fellow gamer could understand. The two girls watched as the fire blast got more and more intense, finally resulting in a huge fire ball that engulfed both of the Cait Siths. When the blast of heat cleared, there were two remain lights floating midair.

"Wow" Himiko said in awe. "I've never seen such an intense fight like that."

"That's what a fight between two extremely high level players is like. As this tournament goes on, fights like that are bound to happen" Mai told the young Imp.

"But doesn't this mean Alicia's basically out of the tournament?"

"No way. I wouldn't count her out yet" Mai replied. "A badass player like her won't give up that easily. She'll catch up in no time"

"Well then we better get going. We can't lose to her after having a lead like this. She'll never let us live it down"

"Yeah. Let's go Himiko"

With that done, the two girls sped off across the sky towards their next destination. As they flew through the air, one thing tugged at Mai's mind. Something she couldn't help but wonder.

Just who was that boy they fought?

**A/N: Ooooooohh mysteries and questions. Anyways, I hope everyone enjoyed the chapter. I wanted to bring back a cannon character that wasn't shown a lot in the anime or light novels so I went with Alicia Rue as you guys saw. I didn't have much info about her character other than her being the Cait Sith leader and a user of dark magic, so this is the best I could come up with for her. There is still one more chapter left for this second round. I hope everyone enjoys it. **


	43. The Top 64

**A/N: Hey guys. Hope everyone's been doing well. Went to Animenext last weekend and it was GREAT! Had so much fun! It was not easy but I was able to finish this chapter within a week. This will be the finale of the second round. I hope you all enjoy it. Please review and/or PM me what you guys think.**

The race across Alfheim had been going on for what seemed like an eternity. In actuality however, it had only been about six hours so far. Most of the players that still had a chance in the tournament were very close to getting all nine emblems and making their way to the World Tree. A few however were already flying towards the tree.

One of the players already headed towards the gigantic tree in the capital city of Alfheim was Ren. The male Imp sped through the skies with incredible speed. He was getting closer and closer to the caves that separated Alne from the rest of Alfheim.

'_Thank you maxed out speed stat'_ Ren silently thought to himself as he soared in the air. As he approached the caves, he descended onto the ground. He would have to travel on foot from here. He put away his wings and started running into the dark entrance. If he was in a party, he would need to cast a night vision spell to allow everyone to see. Luckily, he was alone and the enhanced night vision skill from being an Imp was enough so he didn't need to waste the time or mana to cast the spell.

As Ren ran through the cave, he wondered how everyone else was doing. Alice and the others were all high level players, so they should be fine in a fight. The question was would they make it to the World Tree fast enough. Ren had already been in a couple of fights during the second round, but none of them had proved to be much of a challenge.

The caves were pretty dark, even with Ren's night vision skill. A few enemies had caught him by surprise but his stats were more than high enough to take care of them. It helped to have the legendary weapon Ragnarok with him. The sword's high attack power combined with Ren's high speed made for a deadly combo. The weight of the blade still slowed him down a bit, but he was still lightning fast as always.

Finally, Ren reached a more open area. Multiple passageways were available to him, but which was the right one. He opened his menu to check the map, as he had passed through these caves in the past and had the data for it. Before he could even open the map though, a sudden throwing knife was thrown from the corner of his eye.

Ren ducked just in time to avoid the projectile, but was soon attacked by another assault. To streams of lightning came out from the shadows. It didn't deal any damage to his hp, but he found himself unable to move his feet.

'_Damn it. The electricity is binding my legs'_ the male Imp realized as the two people who cast the thunder type spells emerged. They were both Sylph mages, one to Ren's left and the other to his right. The electricity that was coming out from their hands was a paralysis type spell of some sort, but Ren couldn't tell what it was.

"Looks like we caught someone" the player to Ren's left chuckled. "I love how easy it is to trap players like this."

Ren took a moment to analyze the situation. Both players had him trapped with the electricity spell, but why? As far as he could tell, there was no one else around. If the spell was supposed to paralyze him, why not just have one of them cast it and the other one go in for the kill. Was he missing something?

'_Of course! That's it!'_ Ren realized. Looking down at his legs, the electricity was acting like a stream, but as a wave. "I get it. Magnetism spell, right?"

"You catch on pretty quickly" the Sylph at the right grinned.

It all made sense now. The reason why it took two of them to fully paralyze him was because they were both blasting electromagnetic waves at him. Getting hit by one, would prevent him from moving towards the caster, but two blasts from players standing opposite from each other would bind him and lower his speed dramatically. By focusing on his legs, they prevented him from getting away. But there was still one question left.

"So what's your next move?" Ren questioned. "You can't attack me while you're casting that spell, and the second you stop it, I'll be able to either escape or kill you. We're in a stalemate."

"Exactly. You see, we're not in this to make it to the next round. We're just here to stall you. You'd be surprised how much some people pay for help like this."

Ren hated players like this. Entering a tournament just to help someone who hired them. Usually, this type of help would involve stopping the client's opponents from reaching the stadium on time to force a win by default or losing on purpose if they were paired up against their client to make for an easy victory. These type of players were just people with no dignity or honor in Ren's eyes.

"Well, you've succeeded in making me unable to move my legs" Ren shrugged. "But there's one vital flaw in your strategy"

"Oh? And what is that?"

"Simple." Ren smirked. "You didn't paralyze my upper body." The male Imp reached for the handle of his beloved sword and unsheathed it.

"Big deal. That sword isn't anywhere near long enough to reach us"

Ignoring them, Ren took Ragnarok and drove it into the rocky ground below him. Once he did so, the tactician took a moment to stretch his now free-to-move legs. "Ahhh, that's better"

"I-Impossible. How are you able to move your legs?"

"It's pretty basic." Ren grinned, keeping a firm grip on Ragnarok. "You were hitting me with electricity. I just grounded it."

The two Sylph's gasped in shock that their seemingly perfect trap had been broken so easily. The one on the right quickly regained his composure though. "This doesn't change anything. The second you let go of that sword, you won't be able to move your legs again. You're still trapped."

"True. But I can still do this" Ren said. He took the palm of his free hand and pointed it towards the player on his left and began chanting a spell. As he finished the spell, several blasts of energy shot out of his hand and flew towards the Sylph. Not wanting to be skewered, the player dodged the attack, but by doing so also forced his spell to stop. Ren pulled out his blade and rushed towards him, getting an extra burst of speed from the other player's magnetic spell. His sword lit up with the light of a sword skill. One powerful slash across the waist was all it took to kill the first of the duo. He quickly got out of range for the other's magnetic waves and grinned. "Looks like you're all alone."

Afraid of the tactician that had just cut his friend in half, the remaining Sylph turned to run. Ren was willing to let him go, but a new arrival wasn't as merciful.

"Aaaaauuuuuuugggghhhhhh!"

Ren watched as a new player appeared and cut the Sylph down with a dagger. He stabbed him over and over again, like some crazed serial killer. After brutally stabbing him, the stranger lifted the Sylph up by the collar of his shirt and gorged his dagger into the player's chin. The Sylph's hp finally gave out and he burned away into a remain light. Then the stranger turned his sights on Ren.

From the looks of it, the new player was a Spriggan. He was male, probably in his mid to late teens. He wore a muddy brown cloak but didn't cover his head with the hood. With the Spriggan's face exposed, Ren could see the thing that scared him. The murderous look in his eyes. Eyes that had lost all sanity.

"Weeeehhheeeehheeee!" the Spriggan cried in pleasure as he raced towards Ren. The tactician quickly reacted and swung his sword horizontally, but his opponent leaped over it, using his dagger to cut Ren's shoulder as he was over his head. "Die!"

Despite the crazy wild attitude of his opponent, Ren could tell he was definitely skilled and that this wouldn't be easy. _'Give me a break! First those two Sylph's, now this? I can't be wasting my time here'_

"Look, let's just stop right here and be on our way." Ren suggested. "We both want to make it to the next round and fighting now is only going to hurt our chances." The Spriggan didn't seem to care to what Ren was saying however as he rushed at him with his dagger once again. _'Oh well. Worth a shot'_

There was only one way this was going to end. Either Ren or this Spriggan was going to have to beat the other. Ren dodged the first attack that came for him and followed up with a slash of his own, which his opponent dodged. It went on and on with slash, dodge, slash, dodge. Neither one of them was getting a clean hit on the other. Finally, Ren found an opening as he ducked under a slash from his opponent and kicked his legs. The Spriggan began to fall over, but not before throwing his blade at Ren's face. He barely dodged in time, with the edge of the dagger grazing his cheek. His opponent followed up with a sideways kick from below. Ren leaped back in time to dodge it while the Spriggan grabbed his dagger and charged once again. He soon skidded to a halt however as a new person appeared in between him and Ren. Ren groaned at the thought of having another enemy to deal with but was soon surprised as the dagger user jumped back just before the new arrival's katana could rip him in half.

"Looks like you could use a hand Ren" the new player said with a grin as he turned to face the tactician. Ren widened his eyes in shock to see Yaksha standing before him. Only one Spriggan wore that hawk mask on the top half of his face as far as the tactician knew.

"Didn't expect you to show up Yaksha" Ren grinned as he walked over and stood next to his rival from SAO. The two faced towards the Spriggan who was now sizing up the situation.

"I advise you to run" Yaksha warned the player. "You can't take both of us on"

The mystery player ignored Yaksha and sped towards him and Ren. Ren got into his fighting stance, but was stopped by Yaksha. "I'll deal with him. I'm interested to see what this player can do."

Ren decided to trust his friend and jumped back to let Yaksha face the dagger user alone. Yaksha sped to meet his opponent head on. His katana gave a violet glow as he prepared to slash his opponent. The dagger user moved his small blade to block the attack. The first hit made contact with the dagger and knocked it back. Yaksha continued the skill as he spun around and delivered a downwards vertical slash to his opponent. The attack hit and took out a large chunk of the dagger user's health. Surprisingly, the Spriggan didn't seem fazed by the hit as he assaulted Yaksha with a series of stabs from his dagger.

"Die!" the dagger user cried out as he stabbed Yaksha over and over again. "Die! Die! DIE!"

As Yaksha moved back to get away he noticed next to his hp bar that there was a bleeding effect, causing his health to gradually go down. The more he moved around, the more his health would decrease. Ren took notice of the status effect as he watched the fight.

'_Clever bastard'_ Ren thought. _'He's restricting Yaksha's movements to give himself more openings to attack.'_

The fight continued as Yaksha continued to dodge the constant dagger attacks while trying to move his body as little as possible. He finally found an opening as he ducked under a slash and went in for an attack of his own. He thrusted his katana upwards, cutting into his opponent's shoulder and followed up with a martial arts skill. His right leg gave a violet glow as he brought it up and then smashed it into his opponent's head. The attacks had dealt a lot of damage, but the movements had caused the bleeding effect to drain quite a bit of his own hp as well. Yaksha moved back as his opponent got to his feet. They both knew this fight would end with the next attack. The two sped at each other with their weapons shining in the glow of a sword skill.

"You're finished!"

"DIE!"

It was a quick flash as the two sped past each other. The both stood firm in their stance. Which one had won? The question was answered as the dagger user fell to his knees and burned away into a remain light. Yaksha's hp was in the red, but he was still alive. The masked Spriggan opened his menu and pulled out an antidote crystal. He shattered the crystal and his bleeding effect disappeared. He then recovered his hp with a health potion.

"Nice going Yaksha" Ren congratulated. "That was a good fight"

"Indeed. He was much stronger than expected." Yaksha said as he sheathed his katana. "Now then, I shall be on my way. I look forward to seeing you in the main tournament, tactician of the front lines."

'_This guy never changes. Always acting so traditional and formal'_ Ren silently thought. It didn't bother him though. Despite his odd personality, Yaksha was still a good friend and rival. "Alright then. Make sure you don't lose till you face me"

"The same to you"

With that said, Yaksha sped off into one of the many passageways in the cave. All of them eventually led to Alne, but the question was which was the shortest path. Ren quickly checked his map and decided on a path towards the right. He ran through it full speed and hurried on towards the finish line.

After quite a bit of running, Ren saw the light at the exit of the cave. He ran out of the cave area and continued to run as he entered the city of Alne. Loud cheers were heard as he sped through the empty streets. All the players watching were at Yggdrasil City, above the World Tree. Even with the long distance, their cheers could easily be heard. Ren looked up to the sky as he ran to see a monitor floating in the air, focusing on him as he sped through the streets. He finally got to the base of the World Tree, which had its doors wide open. He ran inside and skidded to a halt. A few players had already arrived, but there was nowhere near the sixty four maximum.

"There you have it ladies and gentlemen!" an echoing voice that could only be the announcer shouted. "The fifth player to arrive at the World Tree with all nine emblems is Ren from Japan!"

Ren watched as his name was added next to the number five on a large list on the side of the inner base of the World Tree. The other four players around him that had already made it were Kirito, Asuna, Yuuki, and Leafa.

"Congrats Ren!" Yuuki cheered. "Way to go!"

"Thanks" Ren replied as he took a moment to catch his breath. "I was hoping for first place, but oh well"

"Asuna was the first to arrive" Kirito explained. "Yuuki arrived next, then me a little after. Leafa only got here about a minute ago."

Soon another figure emerged into the base of the World Tree. Everyone turned to see Yaksha. His name soon emerged on the long list of players that had made it to the main tournament.

"Well that's number six" Asuna said. "Wonder who's gonna be next."

The six players waited in the World Tree for the rest to show up. Finally, the suspense of who would be next was answered as two loud shouts were heard. They were both yelling the same thing.

"I WILL NOT LOSE TO YOU!"

Ren, Kirito, and the others watched as two female players zoomed into the world tree at a blinding speed. They hadn't slowed down even after entering and crashed into the side as a result. Ren and everyone cringed as they saw the crash landing. Looking over to the two female players, Ren easily identified them as Alice and Asami.

"Hah! I beat you!" Asami cheered.

"What are you talking about?! I was definitely here first!" Alice argued.

Watching the two girls go at it made it seem like the main rounds had already started. The six that had already arrived beforehand looked to see which of the two had made it in first.

"Looks like neither of you two won" Asuna said.

Alice and Asami looked at the list to see their times. While Asami's name was shown next to number seven, the times next to both their names were the same.

"A TIE?!" Asami cried out. "What kind of bull is that?!"

"Does it really matter?" Yuuki questioned. "I mean, you're both in the top sixty-four aren't you?"

"Of course it matters!" Alice yelled. "There's no way I'm letting her think she's better than me!"

"You're just jealous that Reny-kins will decide to go out with me if he sees that I'm stronger than you!"

"Don't call him Reny-kins!"

"I'll call him whatever I want!"

"Ren loves me!"

"No, he loves me!"

'_Here we go again'_ Ren silently thought to himself. He knew better than to get between these two when they were like this.

Eventually the screaming match between the two girls died down and everyone continued to wait for more people to show up. As time progressed, more and more people arrived, filling the roster for the top sixty four, including Mai, Himiko, Klein, Silica, Liz, Helios, Riku, Eugene, Sakuya, and many more. It was down to the last number on the list. Only one more player would be able to make it. As everyone waited, Ren saw Alice staring over at another player, a female Imp to be exact.

"What's wrong Alice? Do you know her or something?" Ren asked.

"You could say that." Alice replied. "Her name's Elza. She and I have a score to settle."

First Asami and now this woman. Ren could tell Alice was definitely going to have her hands full when the time for the main rounds started.

Cheering was heard once again, as another player entered the World Tree. Everyone looked to see Alicia Rue land and catch her breath.

"Hey, you made it!" Mai cheered as she and Himiko ran over to congratulate the Cait Sith leader.

"As if there was any doubt" the female Cait Sith winked. "Like I'd let one death stop me from winning this thing"

Alicia Rue's name was written next to number sixty-four and loud echoing bell was heard. The crowd's cheering grew even louder as the words 'Second Round End' appeared in the sky outside.

"VR gamers across the world, the second round of the Alfheim World Tournament is over! We are now left with just sixty-four players to battle it out for the title of best player in the world!"

The sixty-four finalists looked above them to see the top of the World Tree open up. They all flew up and entered Yggdrasil City, where they were greeted by the cheers of thousands of ALO players. The crowd silenced as Reiji Mtsusada appeared on a monitor in the sky in his own unique avatar, the same one he had always used for any appearances.

"Congratulations to the top sixty-four players that have made it this far" Reiji told them. "You should all be very proud of yourselves for making it this far. I believe I speak for all ALO players when I say you have our utmost respect" Cheers of agreement were heard throughout the crowd as he said this. "From this moment on, the tournament will consist of one on one single elimination duels. The first matches will now be randomized and selected."

A large tournament bracket appeared next to him. Avatar faces were shuffled and then displayed on the screen for all to see. One by one, matchups were shown. Helios vs Riku. Ren vs Eugene. Yaksha vs Sakuya. Alice vs Asami. Mai vs Elza. Yuuki vs Punisher. Kirito vs Viper. The list of matches continued on until all slots were filled up.

Each of the finalists had serious looks on their faces. They all knew that none of the fights from here on would be easy. A few matches were even personal to a select few. But even still, they all had one thing on their minds. Victory.

"The first matches will begin tomorrow." Reiji announced. "To those of you that have made it this far, I wish you the best of luck"

**A/N: Hope you all like the matchups to come. Please comment and tell me what you guys think. I would like to point out right now that I will not be writing out all of these fights, just a few each round. Just because I reveal a fight in a chapter, doesn't mean that it will be written out. For those of you wondering, the fights that will be written out for the first round of the main tournament are Helios vs Riku, Ren vs Eugene, Alice vs Asami, and Mai vs Elza. Some matches may be together in the same chapter depending on length. I will try and get the next chapter out as soon as possible.**


	44. Helios vs Riku

**A/N: Hey readers. To be honest, not much to say this week. Hope you enjoy the chapter.**

"Alright players, are you ready?!" the announcer yelled out to the crowd. In response to this question, the players in the stadium roared in excitement.

Yesterday, the second round of the Alfheim World Tournament had ended. Sixty four players was now all that was left. Today would be the first round of matches for those sixty four players. And the first of those matches was one that was a long time in the making. It was between two people that both had something to prove.

For the first round of matches, fights were being held in multiple locations. Besides the stadium that was host to this match, there were also the four floating terraces across Alne. Ren and the others didn't have their fights scheduled until later, so they were all sitting together to watch the outcome of this match between two of their friends.

The crowd watched as two players were teleported into the arena. The first was the red haired axe-wielding Salamander Helios. As usual he had a cocky grin painted on his face, acting as if he had already won.

The second was a blonde male Sylph that had gotten a lot of praise for his victory in the first round. He had once used a dagger and throwing knives as his weapon of choice but now had the legendary spear Gae Bolg equipped. He was a former member of Wyvern Inferno back in Sword Art Online, but now acted on his own, Riku.

Helios casually laid his axe along his shoulder with a firm grip on the handle. "You know Riku, if you want to give up now and spare yourself the humiliation, I completely understand. After all, most people crap their pants when they get paired up against me."

Riku smirked as he held his spear in his hand. The smooth golden metal felt natural as he grasped it. As if him wielding it was meant to be. As if it understood that he had to win this match and beat Helios. The Sylph's eyes looked at his opponent with confidence. "You are going down Helios. I'm going to enjoy beating you into the dirt."

The crowd watched in anticipation for the match to start. In one portion of the crowd, Ren, Kirito, and everyone else were watching as their matches had yet to start. Out of all of them, Liz was shouting the loudest. "Kick his butt Riku! Tear that pompous Salamander asshole a new one!"

Helios rolled his eyes as the pink haired Leprechaun's screaming could be heard even among all the other players in the crowd shouting in excitement.

"Well it looks like Liz is on my side" Riku grinned.

"Like I care. All she does is go on and on about me neglecting to maintain my weapon. It's so annoying"

"Yeah, that sounds like her alright" Riku chuckled in agreement.

Finally, the time for the match to begin had come as the announcer called out into his mic. "It's time for the first match to begin with Helios vs Riku, two extremely strong players from Japan. These two are sure to give us an exciting fight. Let's begin!"

The roars of the crowd began to die down as a timer appeared in the center of the arena, counting down from thirty seconds. Both Helios and Riku got into their battle stances as the timer went down.

5… 4… 3… 2… 1… START!

Both former guildmates charged towards each other, both radiating with an aura to win. The crowd cheered with excitement as their weapons clashed in a spark of power. Gae Bolg against Executioner. Lance against axe. Helios pushed forward using her impressive strength to push back RIku and stagger him backwards and followed up with a front horizontal slash. The Sylph ducked under the massive blade and backflipped away from the powerful Salmander and threw his lance forward. Helios smirked as he batted the weapon away with a swift strike and charged forward like a train to his rival. Riku's eyes widened as Helios drove his knee into his stomach and grabbed his face. With a show of might, the Salamander threw the blonde haired teen into the air and jumped after him following up with a mighty swing from Executioner. A good chunk of RIku's HP depleted from his gauge as he smashed into the ground.

"Come on is that all you got RIku?" Helios taunted as he swung his axe around in a showful fashion. "I thought you got stronger. Was that a bunch of talk?"

RIku rolled his eyes as he got up and picked up his weapon from the ground. "Do you ever shut up? This is a fight, not a place to stroke your already blimp sized ego."

"It's the job of the strong to remind the weak of their feebleness."

"Is that so?" RIku smirked. "Then maybe I should take this seriously then!"

Before Helios could blink, Riku appeared in front of him and pierced his chest with his lance. Helios sputtered backwards as he jumped back and started to parry the suddenly swift thrusts and strikes from the Sylph. Helios grit his teeth as numerous slashes knicked him on the sides as he couldn't keep up with his block game. Try as he could, Helios was started to get overwhelmed by his opponent's burst in speed. The Salamander's health was steadily dropping, already going into the yellow zone.

'_Damnnit!'_ Helios thought furiously as another slash cut his virtual cheek. _'This bastard is way too fast! How did he get so good after he moved? I can't believe I'm losing to him! ….Is this what losing feels like!? Hell no! I'm not gonna lose to this guy!'_

With a roar, Helios started playing the aggressive game and used his superior strength to slash forward at Riku. But in this battle of speed vs power, this was not a smart move for the Salamander in question. RIku gave a sly smirk as his Gae Bolg started to batter his opponents axe. Helios started to sweat as he saw on his screen a warning that his weapon's durability was going dangerously low. With one final strike to the center of the axe, the crowd's eyes widened as cracks began to form on Helios's weapon. Within seconds the Executioner shattered into tiny fragments of blue polygons as they scattered into the air.

The whole crowd stood silent at this new development, the Salamander was now helpless before the skilled Sylph. After a few seconds the only sound that could be heard was the sound of laughter echoing across the entire arena. All eyes fell to one girl, one pink haired blacksmith who was clutching her sides in complete humor.

"Serves you right jackass!" Liz said as she laughed. "This is what you get for not keeping up with weapon maintenance!"

The Salamander only laughed himself in response, cutting off the girl's own mirth. "Oh that's cute! You think I've lost just cause my weapon broke. Well guess what? Your favorite Wyvern's Inferno member has a surprise just for you Lizbeth!" He gave a look to his opponent. "Just give me a sec Riku to show this girl up, then I'll kick your ass."

"By all means. And I'll be waiting to wipe that smug grin off your face." Riku said, casually leaning on his Gae Bolg as he waited for his opponent.

With a flick of his fingers, Helios brought up his equipment screen. After scrolling down a bit he found the weapon he was looking for and equipped it. This axe made the Executioner Helios had been using just a moment ago seem like a kitchen utensil in comparison. The handle for the weapon was quite long and would definitely need both hands to swing it. The blade, unlike Executioner, was not double edged but was far broader than any other axe blade the crowd had ever seen before. The color scheme of the broad axe was a combination of bloody red and black around the handle and at the bladed edge was pure red as if stained with blood. The rest of the metal blade of the axe was a shining silver color.

"Guess who recently got a legendary weapon and has been dying for the chance to try it out." Helios smirked. "Say hello to my Olympus Mons"

"Impressive. You've got a new toy to play with" Riku replied with a smirk of his own.

"But wait, it gets better." Helios added, looking over towards Liz. "Olympus Mons has a nifty bonus skill. It's durability NEVER DECREASES!"

"... SON OF A BITCH!"

Helios cupped his hand around his ear as he took in Liz's deafening scream. "Ah, music to my ears. Truly the most beautiful sound to ever come out of that girl's mouth."

"That's nice and all but how's this going to help you? I'm still faster than you y'know."

Helios scoffed as he flexed out his wings. "Trust me when I say this. It doesn't matter if you're faster than me. After all, you're already dead, you just don't know it yet."

Both fighters then charged at each other once more and clashed their legendary weapons. Sparks flew as the blades collided but something was off with Riku's end of the clash. The force of impact was much tougher than it was with Executioner, probably due to the weapon's inexhaustible durability and the swing had much more force behind its attack. RIku rolled out of the way of the slash and activated a Sword Skill. His lance glowed with a golden light as he stabbed Helios on his side multiple times. The Salamander took the hits in stride, ignoring his health bar going into the yellow zone as he spun around from the attack and crouched down as his axe glowed red. Seeing the activation of the skill in progress, RIku backed off of his onslaught of his opponent and stepped back in defense. Helios smirked as he charged forward and swung Olympus Mons at the Sylph's defensive position. Riku's eyes widened in shock as he felt his guard crumble away at the powerful strike from the axe making him drop his weapon as his defensive position was cracked open like an egg on a sidewalk.

"Take this!" Helios yelled with a victorious smile as he activated another Sword Skill. The blade of the axe glowed with a burning fire as he cleaved Riku in two, causing his opponent to shatter into fragments leaving only a death flame in its wake.

"And the winner of this round is Helios!" The announcer called as the audience roared with cheers of excitement and hype.

"That's right everyone!" Helios yelled, absorbing their cheers as fuel for his ego. "Shower me with your endless praise and love!"

The crowd was more than happy to oblige with the exception of his friends. Ren and Kirito both facepalmed at his egotistical display. Many of the girls just rolled their eyes at this while Leafa was patting Liz on the back soothing her as the pink haired girl cried tears of rage and sadness at the Salamander's victory.

Not long after the fight ended, a crowd was gathered around Dagger. The female Spriggan grinned as she collected Yld from the players that were on the losing end of the bets.

"That's right people. Pay up." Dagger grinned as she counted the large amounts of Yld she was getting. "This'll teach you to bet against my boyfriend."

"This is total bull!" one player complained as he handed over his money. "You must have rigged the fight."

"Oh please, like I need to rig anything for Helios to win his fights." Dagger said. "Anyway, I should get going. I've got another friend who's fighting soon. See ya!"

With that said, Dagger flew off into the distance to the Northern Terrace where Ren's match would soon begin. She found an open spot near where Alice was standing and flew down next to her.

"Hey Alice. How long till the match starts?"

"You're just in time." Alice told the Spriggan merchant. "The fight's just about to start."

Alice, Dagger, and the rest of their friends watched as Ren and Eugene stood across from each other as the timer slowly counted down. Both players held legendary weapons in their hands. In Ren's, it was the Sword of Oblivion, Ragnarok. In Eugene's hands was the infamous Demonic Sword, Gram.

"It's time for the match between two powerful Japanese players!" the announcer cried out. "First, we have the legendary tactician and leader of the Wyvern Inferno guild, Ren! His opponent is the wielder of the Demonic Sword, Gram and head general of the Salamanders for the Japanese server, Eugene!"

The tension skyrocketed into overdrive as the audience silenced. Ren and Eugene stared each other down as the time for their match to begin got closer and closer.

"I've always wondered what the legendary leader of Wyvern Inferno is like" Eugene said with an excited grin.

"Same to you. I've heard a lot of things about General Eugene of the Salamanders" Ren smirked.

It was finally time for the fight to begin. The last few seconds of the timer slowly whittled down.

5… 4… 3… 2… 1… START!

Dust clouds appeared as Ren and Eugene sped at each other at full speed. The way they were going towards each other, the two blades would clash head on. But Ren knew better than that.

'_I know all about the Demonic Sword, Gram and its bonus skill'_ Ren silently thought with a grin. He bent his body back as Eugene's two-handed sword passed over him. The tactician took Ragnarok and slashed the Salamander General as he passed by. The two players skidded to a halt after dashing past each other. Eugene was the only one damaged from the first clash, but the damage dealt was very little.

"Not bad" Eugene smirked. "Looks like this will be fun after all"

Ren cracked a smile at being able to face one of the best players ALO had to offer. The fight had just started and already his heart was racing from excitement. "Bring it on. Show me what you've got"

Once again, the two players charged at each other. Both of their blades lit up with the light of a sword skill as the distance between them closed. The swords collided with a loud ring echoing from the clashing metal. The crowd watched in excitement as Ren and Eugene pushed against each other, trying to break their opponent's stance. The only thing keeping Eugene's sword from phasing through Ragnarok was the fact that Eugene was using a sword skill. If not for that, Ren would have gotten a direct hit from the powerful blade. The clash finally ended as Eugene pushed Ren back, knocking the Imp off balance. Ren instinctively positioned his sword to block the incoming slash but it was futile as Eugene's blade passed through Ren's sword like a ghost. Ren got knocked back by the powerful hit and was sent flying back. The male Imp slid across the hard floor of the floating terrace, losing a large amount of health from the hit. He slowly got to his feet and saw Eugene grinning confidently at him.

'_Eugene was right. This will be fun'_ Ren thought.

"Go for it Ren! You can do it!" Alice cheered from the crowd.

"Come on Reny-kins! Kick his butt!" Asami added.

"Don't you dare lose this early! I wanna be the one to kick your ass!" Helios called out to his guild leader, soon earning a smash to the head from both Alice and Asami. The combined attack from the two girls made Helios grasp his head in pain.

Ren and Eugene stared each other down as the crowd's cheers were louder than ever. Ren grinned with excitement as he got back into his battle stance. "Looks like I might just have to start taking this seriously."

"By all means. Use every ounce of your power. Trust me, you'll need it." Eugene replied.

"You sure?" Ren questioned. Eugene's eyes widened as Ren suddenly appeared in front of him. The distance between them had been closed in the blink of an eye. Ren took his sword and hit Eugene with the one-hit sword skill Vertical. Eugene quickly jumped back, taking a moment to assess his HP which was now in the yellow zone. He didn't have much time though as Ren sped around the Salamander general. He ran continuously in a circle, going so fast that it seemed Eugene was surrounded by clones of the male Imp.

"So how do you like my full speed?" Ren asked.

"Not bad" Eugene said with a grin. The tables were quickly turned however as he reached out and grabbed the speeding Imp. "But still not good enough"

Ren's eyes widened in surprise. How did Eugene tell when and where to grab him? Clearly, the general had done quite a lot of special training, just like Ren and everyone else. Eugene lifted his opponent into the air and then slammed him into the ground with a powerful show of strength. The crowd gasped as a small crater was formed from the impact. Eugene prepared to finish the job as he swung his sword down, but his attack was soon stopped as Ren maneuvered his body and kicked him in the jaw. The Salamander stumbled back a bit as Ren got to his feet and immediately went on the offensive. Ren slashed Eugene repeatedly while the Salamander general desperately tried to block as many of the incoming attacks with his two-handed sword. Ren performed a downwards vertical slash that forced Eugene to shift his body to the side. Unfortunately for him, that was exactly what his opponent wanted.

"Game over" Ren grinned. The male Imp swung his sword with a horizontal slash as Ragnarok became veiled in an azure blue light. The sword made direct contact with Eugene as Ragnarok cut halfway across his body, which was then followed up by pushing the blade further into the general's body like a thrust from a rapier. Ren then turned his sword 90 degrees, turned his body around so that his back was facing his opponent, and finished up with a vertical arc that cut upwards through Eugene's avatar. The deadly three-hit sword skill Savage Fulcrum had cut down the remaining amount of Eugene's HP.

As he burned away into a remain light, the Salamander general cracked a smile. He may have lost, but it was a great fight. He had lost fair and square to his opponent and gave it his all. There were no regrets for him to have. The 'Winner' icon floated above Ren's head as the crowd roared in excitement. Alice, Helios, and the rest of his friends watching all flew over to him.

"That was totally awesome Ren!" Mai cheered. "What an awesome win!"

"Thanks" Ren said with a smile. He scanned is group of friends and noticed his sister was absent. "Where's Himiko?"

"Her match started around the same time yours did" Silica told him. "I think it's still going on. Let's go check it out."

The group all decided to fly over to the Western Terrace where Himiko's match was supposed to be. As they got closer, they heard the sound of a huge applause. When the group finally arrived, they found that the match had just ended.

"And there you have it players!" the announcer yelled out. "The winner is Leafa!"

Leafa waved to the excited crowd that was cheering for her victory. Once Himiko was revived, the blonde Sylph walked over to her and reached out her hand. "That was an awesome fight Himiko. I was really surprised by how much stronger you've gotten."

"Thanks" Himiko smiled as she shook her opponent's hand. "Make sure you kick butt in the next round too"

"You got it"

Ren and the others waited as the crowd dispersed and Leafa and Himiko flew over to them. Himiko had a disappointed frown on her face. "Sorry bro. I lost."

"Don't worry about it" Ren assured his sister. "You did the best you could. That's all that matters."

"Plus, even though you didn't win, you still made it to the top sixty-four" Mai reminded the young Imp. "This proves you're one of the best players in the world."

Himiko smiled at the compliments everyone was giving her. She had lost, but she was able to prove to the world that she was more than just Ren's little sister.

"Alright, I'm getting all fired up!" Alice said with excitement. "It's my turn to kick some ass!"

"I bet you're really excited for this fight, huh Alice?" Asuna said.

"Of course! Today's the day I finally get to beat that annoying Asami into the dirt!"

"Don't be so sure of that" Asami called out as she flew over to the group. "When this is over, I'll be the winner and Reny-kins will be all mine."

"For the last time, Ren is MINE!" Alice yelled. "Keep your hands off him!"

"Oh you mean like this?" Asami smirked as she wrapped herself around Ren's arm. Ren gave a nervous blush at the blonde Salamander gripping onto him, while Alice became more enraged than ever.

"That does it! You are so going down Asami! I'm gonna make you regret ever converting to ALO!"

"Bring it on"

The group could practically see the fire in the eyes of the two girls. Asami let go of Ren and began to fly over to the main stadium where their match was scheduled to be. "I'll see you soon Alice. And you too Reny-kins"

One thing was for sure, this was going to be a fight to remember.

**A/N: I hope everyone liked the fights this chapter. Please comment or PM me what you guys thought.**


	45. Catfight

**A/N: Hey guys, time for another chapter. I know you've all been awaiting this one with anticipation, so I used every free moment I had this week to write this out. I hope you all enjoy it. Please post any comments or reviews you have. It helps me write faster.**

**TichePotato: Thanks. Tried to do my best to make him as badass as he was in the anime.**

**Guest: No problem. Real world stuff happens, I get it. Always nice to hear your reviews.**

The main stadium of the tournament was roaring with excitement. The matches going on today had only started a few hours ago and already the excitement was pumped up to the max. There weren't many fights left for today. Alice's match was one of the last few for the top 64. Ren and the others sat in the stands as they waited for the next match to start. The next fight would be Alice vs Asami. The two girls had just been teleported into the arena and were currently staring each other down with murderous glares in their eyes.

"This is gonna be so exciting!" Silica squealed. "I can't wait to see Alice kick some butt!"

Helios nodded in agreement. "Yeah. I've been wanting to see a good catfight."

"How can you say that? Isn't Alice your friend?" Yuuki questioned. "You should be cheering her on!"

"Good luck with that" Liz said as she rolled her eyes.

"Oh? Is someone jealous that I won't be needing her services anymore thanks to my new weapon's bonus skill?"

"Shut up jackass!"

"Bite me blacksmith!"

"Both of you, put a sock in it!" Asuna scolded, immediately silencing the bickering duo. "The fight's about to start."

Everyone looked back at the battlefield as the timer slowly ticked down. Alice and Asami unsheathed their weapons and got ready to fight. Alice could tell just by looking at her equipment that Asami had done a lot of training for this tournament, just like her. But all the training in the world wouldn't matter. This was one fight she had to win.

"I hope you're ready to lose, Alice" Asami glared. "I'm going to take you down in front of Ren and show that I'm the better girl for him."

"What's the matter, Asami? Is someone jealous that I have a boyfriend and you don't?" Alice smirked.

Asami's eyes lit up with pure rage. "That does it! You are going down! I'm gonna to tear you limb from limb!"

"Bring it on"

The players in the crowd silenced as the last few moments of the timer whittled down. Alice and Asami got ready for the fight that had been awaiting the two of them for a long time.

5… 4… 3… 2… 1… START!

Alice and Asami sped at each other at full speed. As the distance between the two girls shortened, Alice lowered her body and slid across the ground with her scythe ready to slash her opponent's legs. Asami saw this coming however as she spread her wings and leaped over Alice and her curved weapon. The blonde Salamander quickly turned her body around as she landed and sped at the female Imp. Alice's eyes widened as Asami impaled her large two-handed sword into her chest and forced her back, not stopping into the skewered Imp crashed into the wall of the arena. A huge cloud of debris appeared from the heavy impact.

"How's that? Had enough?" Asami smirked. "If this is all it takes to beat you, than you don't deserve to be with Ren."

The smirk on Asami's face disappeared however as a faint violet light was seen from inside the cloud of debris and a swift punch to the face came for her. The hit sent Asami flying back, skidding across the ground as she did so. Asami picked herself up off the ground as she looked over to see Alice more enraged than ever. "Don't you DARE say that I shouldn't be with Ren you man stealer!"

The rage returned to Asami's eyes as well. The blonde Salamander charged towards Alice with a terrifying war cry. Alice sped at her opponent as well with a similar war cry. Both of their weapons lit up with the light of a sword skill. Asami swung her sword with all her strength while Alice spun herself around Asami, getting behind the blonde girl and hooking her scythe around her waist. Alice yanked her weapon towards her, creating a huge red gash in Asami's avatar. The blonde Salamander's HP fell deep into the yellow zone from the attack. While Alice was stunned from the use of her skill, Asami took the opportunity to go on the offensive. She swung her sword upwards, hitting Alice and knocking her into the air. As Alice fell, Asami stabbed her large weapon into the air, cutting into Alice's avatar and sending the Imp's health into the red. Asami swung her sword with a large amount of force, flinging the impaled girl off of her blade. Alice rolled on the ground and slowly got to her feet.

'_Damn it. What am I going to do?'_ Alice silently thought. _'Am I really going to lose to Asami of all people?!'_

"Come on Alice! You can do it!"

Alice looked over to see Ren cheering her on from the crowd. Everyone else in the crowd was isolated from her mind. There was only Ren and her friends. _"That's right. My friends are with me. I can do this. I won't lose to Asami!'_

The scarlet eyes of the female Imp regained their fire as she got her second wind. She sped at Asami faster than ever. The blonde Salamander's eyes widened in surprise. She blocked the incoming slash, but still had to use all her strength to hold her opponent off. Alice followed up with a sidesweep which knocked Asami a little off balance. While Asami tried to regain her footing, Alice went on the offensive. The female Imp's scythe, Twilight's Crescent, lit up with a violet light as she performed two full spin slashes, followed up by Alice hooking the scythe's curved blade around her opponent's waist. Alice leaped up and performed a kick with both her feet to Asami's cheek while yanking her scythe forward at the same time. The skill combo dealt massive damage to the blonde Salamander as her HP gauge fell into the red. Both female players were now staring each other down, exhausted from the fight so far. Both of their HP bars were in the red. One last clash would decide it.

"Go for it Alice! We believe in you!" Leafa shouted.

"Take her down!" Yuuki cheered.

"I've got all my bets on you! Now go and earn me some money!" Dagger yelled.

"Come on Alice, you're really gonna get your ass kicked by HER of all people?!" Helios questioned.

"We're behind you all the way Alice! Now go and win this thing!" Ren called out.

Alice could hear the cheers of her friends. It filled her with confidence. They were right. She could do this. She had to. She looked towards Asami with a determined glare. "Let's end this Asami. Once and for all"

"My thoughts exactly" Asami smirked in agreement.

The two girls kicked the ground and sped towards each other, creating dust clouds in their paths. Both of them cried out as the distance between them quickly closed.

"RAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

The audience gasped as neither of the two girls used their weapons. Instead, they both reeled back their fists and prepared to end it with one final punch. The two fists collided with each other with a huge amount of power behind both of them. The crowd could practically see the radiating aura to win from both girls. Finally, the stalemate was broken as Alice's fist began to push further. Asami desperately tried to push back, but it was too late. Alice broke through Asami's attack and the full force of her punch smashed into Asami's avatar. The attack sent the blonde Salamander flying back and made her crash into the side wall. As the debris cleared, everyone looked to see Asami's HP fall to zero.

"I can't believe… I lost… to you…" Asami grunted as she fell over and burned away into a remain light.

The crowd cheered in excitement as the 'Winner' icon floated above Alice. The female Imp sheathed her Twilight's Crescent onto her back and took an exhausted sigh of relief. "At least we found out who rightfully deserves to be with Ren."

After being teleported out of the arena, Alice walked over and met up with her friends. All of them congratulated the female Imp at her victory. The one Alice was especially happy to receive was Ren's as he gave her a peck on the cheek.

"Oh that's right! Mai's fight is still going on!" Silica remembered. "We should go check it out!"

Alice's eyes widened as she remembered as well. "That's right! We should hurry!"

The group quickly rushed out of the stadium and rushed over to the area where Mai's match was scheduled. Himiko had already gone there ahead of time so the young Sylph would have someone there to cheer her on. Alice worried about Mai as they flew. She was fighting Elza, a player that Alice knew the strength of all too well. As they got closer to the terrace where Mai was fighting, Ren noticed Himiko standing in the crowd. The group all descended next to her.

"How's Mai doing?" Alice asked.

Himiko had a grim expression on her face. "… Not good."

The group looked at the terrace, seeing Mai and Elza both standing. However, it was easy to see that the fight was completely one-sided. Mai was exhausted, trying to catch her breath while Elza seemed like she had barely broken a sweat.

"Hmph. You're even weaker than your sister." Elza told the young Sylph. "Both of you are so caught up on the idea of friendship. It's pathetic."

"Shut up!" Mai yelled. "Go ahead and say whatever you want about me, but don't you dare insult Alice!"

"You don't understand anything. You're just a naïve girl" Elza sighed. "What good will friends do for you? It's not like they can help you win this match."

"Don't listen to her Mai!" Alice yelled from the crowd. "You can do this! I know you can!"

Mai and Elza looked over at Alice yelling from the crowd. Elza gave an amused smirk at her arrival. "Well if it isn't the older of the two weakling sisters"

Mai turned back towards Elza and glared at her. "I told you to stop insulting my sister!" The blonde Sylph sped at her opponent with a loud scream as she thrusted her rapier forward. Elza evaded the attack with ease as she leaped over Mai and swung her Demonic Moonlight at the blonde Sylph. The top part of the handle and the blade extended from the swing and wrapped itself around Mai. The young girl struggled to break free from the binding chain wrapped around her.

'_This is bad'_ Alice thought. _'It's going to end up just like when I fought her'_

"You're finished." Elza smirked as she retracted her chain and spun Mai around dizzily. Before the blonde Sylph could regain her balance, Elza was already right next to her with the curved blade of her scythe hooked around Mai's waist. One yank was all it took to rip through Mai's avatar and finish off the rest of the girl's HP.

"Mai!" Alice screamed, watching her sister burn away into a remain light.

The 'Winner' icon floated above Elza as she calmly sheathed her scythe onto her back and spread her wings. Before flying off, she gave a hard look at Alice. "This is why friends are worthless. Maybe now you'll consider the advice I gave you last time."

Alice clenched her fists in anger as she watched the violet haired Imp fly off into the distance. She didn't continue to stand there for long however as she and her friends flew over to the defeated Mai, who had just automatically been revived by the system.

"Mai, are you ok?" Himiko asked.

A tear fell from Mai's eye as she formed a fist and slammed it into the ground. "Damn it! Why of all people, did I have to lose to her?! She… she just pisses me off so much!"

Mai's friends watched as the young Sylph cried. They had never seen her like this before. Mai wasn't the type to care too much about winning or losing a match. But the fight with Elza had become personal.

"Seriously, who does that girl think she is?!" Liz huffed. "If I ever run into her, I'm gonna give that bitch a piece of my mind!"

"She seemed like she knew Alice though" Dagger said, turning towards the female Imp. "Did something happen between you two?"

"Come to think of it, you said you had a score to settle with her" Ren remembered. "Who exactly is she?"

Alice shook her head. "I don't really know to be honest. She showed up and challenged me to a fight about a month ago. She wiped the floor with me, saying the same things she said to Mai. It's the main reason why I wanted to get stronger. I need to beat her and prove her wrong."

"… You might get that chance sooner than you think" Helios said, looking at his menu. "The next matches are already posted."

Everyone opened their menus and looked at the tournament bracket for the remaining 32 players in the tournament. Everyone quickly read the list of matchups and their eyes stopped as they read one in particular.

Alice vs Elza

Alice's face was now more determined than ever. This wasn't just about proving Elza wrong anymore. This was revenge for what she did and said to Mai. _'I will not lose to her. No matter what, I am going to win'_

"Looks like Alice's fight isn't going to be the only interesting one" Kirito said, pointing to another matchup. Everyone looked at the raven haired Spriggan's menu to see which fight he was talking about.

Ren vs Yaksha

"Ooooooohhh that IS going to be an interesting one!" Dagger nodded in agreement. "A fight between two rivals from SAO. I'm gonna make a FORTUNE with bets!"

"I know what fight I'm looking forward to" Yuuki grinned in excitement. She pointed to her own match for the next round, which would be against Helios.

"Ha, don't get too excited. I'm gonna wipe the floor with you Yuuki!" Helios grinned confidently.

"Oh is that so?" Yuuki grinned back. "Refresh my memoery. WHO lost in the last tournament when we fought?"

"That was months ago. I'm a whole new Helios now."

"Doesn't seem like much of a change to me" Mai said with a roll of her eyes. "You're still the same annoying pain in the ass you've always been."

"Hey! Watch it squirt!" Helios glared. Mai simply stuck her tongue out in response, earning a few laughs from her friends.

Finally, Silica let out a yawn. "Well I don't know about you guys, but I'm exhausted from today. I'm gonna log out."

"Yeah, I think I'll do the same." Leafa said in agreement. "See you tomorrow everyone"

Everyone murmured in agreement. The fights today had been exhausting enough just to watch. For those that were still in the tournament, it was even more tiring. The group all flew off in different directions, with the promise of even more exciting matches tomorrow.

**A/N: Phew, finally done. I hope everyone is excited for the matchups in the next round. Which fight (or fights) will be featured in the next chapter? You'll just have to find out next week. Feel free to post comments about any fights you're really looking forward to.**


	46. A Battle of Rivals

**A/N: Hey guys. Sorry this chapter is so late. I had my writing schedule for the week all planned out, but then it got my work hours got changed out of nowhere and my plans got thrown all out of wack. I hope you all enjoy this week's chapter. Please send a review if you like it.**

Ren opened his eyes and sat up from his bed in the player home he shared with Alice. After stretching his arms, he decided to see if Alice was online yet. The male Imp checked his 'Friends List' and saw Alice hadn't logged on yet. Ren went into the living room of the house and sat on the couch to wait for her and think about today's matches.

Yesterday had shown a lot of exciting matches and today's fights only promised to be even more thrilling. After all, today Ren would be fighting Yaksha, his rival back from SAO. At first it was just a one-sided idea that Yaksha had after their first duel for them to be rivals. As time went on though, Ren found that Yaksha really helped hone his skills. He even found himself enjoying the fights the two of them would have. The two of them had even continued having their matches in ALO, though they were a lot less frequent.

'_Who would have thought I'd end up making friends with such a weird guy'_ Ren thought as he sat on the side of his bed. _'Then again, all of us from SAO are pretty weird in our own ways'_

Back when the SAO Survivors School first started, Ren had run into Yaksha in the halls of the school. Surprisingly even outside of SAO, Yaksha still had that same odd way of speaking. Nobody really knew why. Maybe the habit just carried over from his two years in SAO.

As Ren was lost in thought, he felt a pair of arms gently wrap around him from behind. He knew it was Alice even before she spoke. "Hey Ren. You ready for today?"

"Yeah" Ren nodded. "Just psyching myself up for the fight."

"You'll do great. I know it." Alice assured him.

"Thanks" Ren said with a smile as he turned his head and gave Alice a peck on the cheek. "I know you'll win your match too."

Alice gave a silent nod in response. She knew that her fight with Elza was going to be anything but easy, but she had to win no matter what. She would prove that Elza was wrong.

"Alright. Let's get going" Ren suggested as he got up from the couch. The couple exited their house and flew off towards the teleport gate. After teleporting to the capital city of Alne, Ren and Alice met up with their guild. Many eyes of players in the city were focused on the guild, since three of the group were in the top 32 for the tournament. Ren and the others ignored it, except for Helios, who was soaking up the glory. He confidently stared at the audience while having his Olympus Mons resting on his shoulder.

"That's right people! You're looking at the soon to be world champion of ALO!" Helios said with a loud, booming voice.

Mai rolled her eyes as she watched the scene unfold in front of her. "Is he EVER going to shut up? His ego is getting out of control."

"Oh, let him be" Dagger said with a smile. "It'll make more people want to bet, which means more money for me"

"And more headaches for us" Alice sighed.

As Helios continued his egotistical ranting, Kirito and the others showed up. They all rolled their eyes in annoyance at the Salamander's gloating, but Liz was especially annoyed by it.

"That damn jackass. Who does he think he is?" Liz muttered darkly.

"Let's just leave him and go" Sinon said with a shrug. "Ren's match is up first so we should get going."

The group nodded in agreement and took off into the sky, leaving an oblivious Helios behind. All of the matches from today forward would be taking place in the main stadium. After giving Ren some final words of encouragement, Alice and the others went to the stands to get some good seats to watch the fight. A few minutes after they sat down, Helios came running over to them, gasping for air.

"What the hell guys?! Why did you leave without saying anything?" Helios complained.

"Because a certain _someone_ was too busy making an ass out of himself to notice us." Liz responded.

As the group did their best to restrain the bickering duo, Ren and Yaksha were teleported into the arena. Everyone in the group cheered the tactician on, with Alice cheering the loudest. Ren heard the cheers of his friends, but he was more focused on his opponent. He knew from his many duels with Yaksha that he was a tough opponent.

'_This isn't going to be easy'_ Ren silently thought to himself. _'But that's what makes this so exciting'_

It was hard to tell if Yaksha was actually looking at him with the hawk mask on the top half of his face, but the Spriggan seemed extremely focused. Both players unsheathed their blades and Ren took notice of Yaksha's weapon. It was a new katana. Even more surprising however, was that it was a legendary weapon, the Sprit Blade, Kanedzuchi.

"What?" Klein exclaimed. "No fair! I was planning on getting that weapon!"

"As they say, the early bird gets the worm" Yaksha calmly said as he held the legendary katana in his hands. "The Golden Hunters Amaterasu guild in SAO was known for obtaining rare items. Getting a legendary weapon is child's play to us."

Klein slowly sobbed as he held his head down in disappointment that he would never get the weapon of his dreams. The group gave a small laugh at the Salamander's expense before looking back down at the battlefield as the timer began ticking down.

Ren reminisced about all the duels he had fought against Yaksha both in SAO and ALO. The masked player's skills were nothing to joke about, and Ren knew that better than anyone. The two players got into their battle stances as the last few seconds on the clock whittled away.

5… 4… 3… 2… 1… START!

The crowd gasped in awe as Ren and Yaksha seemed to vanish, soon reappearing in the center of the field with their swords scraping across each other. Sparks flew as metal clashed against metal. The two players sped past each other after the first clash, but soon went speeding at each other once again, not slowing down for even a second. Pinpointing their exact location was next to impossible, with the two of them only visible for the brief moments their blades clashed.

"Incredible!" Silica gasped. "They're so fast! My eyes can't even follow them!"

"Ren's gotten even faster than before" Sinon said in agreement. "I've never seen anyone move that quickly."

"Ren's been training like crazy this past month" Alice told the group. "He's trained himself to able to go full speed without having to slow down for turning or anything."

"That's amazing!" Asuna exclaimed. "I don't think even I can match his movement speed."

Alice and the rest of Ren's guild didn't seem surprised by Ren's new speed. They had learned to expect this kind of stuff from their leader, not to mention they had seen it firsthand already as they trained with him this past month.

The crowd continued to watch as Ren and Yaksha continued their duel. Both finally decided to take things to the next level as they both activated a sword skill. Ragnarok became veiled in an orange light as Ren used the one handed sword skill, Vorpal Strike. Yaksha's katana gave off a green glow as he used his own skill, Tsujikaze. Both skills went off and cut through the two player's avatars simultaneously. Ren and Yaksha's health bars fell from the slashes, but they refused to stop. They continued to use sword skills while continuing their high speed movement. The players watching the fight could only follow the streams of light shining from the battlefield to keep track of the two of them. Neither one of the two fighters could land a decisive hit on the other, relying on the small amounts of damage they made every so often. Finally, the two stopped moving as their blades clashed and locked together. The force of the impact kicked up a dust cloud from the sudden halt and blew out towards the crowd, threatening to blow them away.

"Heh, you haven't been slacking off I see" Ren said with a grin.

"Neither have you, former tactician of the front lines." Yaksha responded, grinning as well. Ren looked at the masked Spriggan in surprise. Yaksha hardly ever showed any emotion on his face, usually keeping a calm look at all times. The fact that he was grinning just went to show how exciting this fight was for him as well.

"As much as I'm enjoying this, I think it's time I wrap things up." Ren used all the strength his legs could muster as he shoved Yaksha back, knocking the Spriggan off balance for a brief moment. The male Imp took the opportunity to go for an all-out assault as his sword became veiled in blazing flames and wnt in for the eight-hit sword skill, Howling Octave. The ignited blade of Ragnarok thrusted towards Yaksha five times, followed up with a downwards slash and then a vertical one with Ren jumping up in the process. Yaksha looked up as he saw Ren right above him, coming in for one final slash to end it.

"It's over!" Ren yelled as he swung his sword down. The Imp's eyes widened in surprise however as Yaskha back flipped out of the way, barely evading the sword being swung down at him. Ren's blade crashed into the ground, making a heavy impact. Things weren't looking good for the Imp as he was now caught in the post-motion stun delay. Yaksha now had the perfect opportunity to go in for a powerful attack, an opportunity the Spriggan took without hesitation.

Yaksha's blade lit up with a violet glow as he got into an odd stance. Some players in the crowd gasped as they knew what sword skill that stance was for.

"Th-There's… no way… he couldn't have…" Klein said, at a loss for words.

"What is it? What's he doing?" Mai asked.

"That stance is for the ultimate katana-type sword skill." Klein explained. "You need to completely max out your katana skill to be able to use it, plus it's insanely hard to learn."

"What do you mean?" Yuuki asked.

"The only way to learn it is to complete an insanely hard quest on your own while you have a katana equipped. The skill was shown on the ALO site for a short time, but I've never heard of anyone actually completing the quest."

"I've heard about it too" Kirito said with a grim expression on his face. "I don't know guys. Ren might actually lose this."

Alice looked over at the raven haired swordsman in surprise. "Are you serious?! But Ren's health is still in the high yellow zone! There's no way one skill could take out that much HP, is there?!"

"We're about to find out" Klein said as he looked on at the match. Everyone's heads turned back to the battlefield as well, worrying about their friend. Alice seemed the most worried of them all.

'_Ren… you won't lose… right?'_

"This is the end" Yaksha told Ren as he went in for his attack. "Here it is! Amatsu no Homura!"

Yaksha's katana finally moved as he delivered an upwards diagonal slash to his opponent, following up with two more quick slash attacks to Ren. He got back into another stance and roared as he continued the skill. Three blindingly fast 360 degree slashes were performed, sending Ren rocketing back. The Imp watched as his health quickly fell and neared its limit. If he crashed into the wall, it was all over.

'_Come on! I need to move!'_ Ren thought as he tried to move his body, but still found himself frozen from the stun delay.

"REN!" Alice cried out.

Ren finally felt the stun delay wear off as he spread his wings to slow himself down and quickly flipped his body midair. The Imp's boots press on the wall instead of his full body crashing into it. Ren kicked off the wall and landed onto the ground. He looked up at his HP bar and found it slowly going down. 925… 698… 411…

'_Please'_ Ren silently begged. _'Don't let it hit zero'_

304… 193… 78… 78…

Ren let out a sigh of relief as he looked at his HP bar that hadn't gone down any more. "Wow that was way too close. I thought I was done for there for a second"

The crowd was stunned into silence by the last minute save Ren had pulled off. That silence soon vanished as they all sprung into an excited cheer. Ren and Yaksha stared at each other with determination in their eyes.

"Let's end this. Once and for all."

"You read my mind."

The two players kicked off the ground and sped at each other. This last clash would decide it all. The players watching cheered with excitement as the two blades Ragnarok and Kanedzuchi slid across each other. Ren and Yaksha sped past each other, neither seeming fazed by the clash. Everyone was silent.

"So… who won?" Himiko asked.

The question was answered as Yaksha fell over and hit the ground. His avatar burned away into a remain light and the 'Winner' icon floated above Ren, who sheathed his sword onto his back and laid down on his back to catch his breath.

"He did it!" Alice cheered as she raised her fist into the air. She cupped her hands around her mouth and shouted out towards the victorious Imp. "Way to go, Ren!"

Ren was teleported back to the waiting room. He walked out and exited the stadium where all of his friends were waiting for him. The group all ran over and congratulated the Imp.

"That was awesome, Ren!" Mai exclaimed.

"You totally rocked in there!" Asuna cheered.

"I knew you could do it" Alice smiled.

Ren smiled as his friends congratulated him on his victory. "Thanks guys."

Helios cracked his knuckles in excitement. "Alright! Now it's my turn to kick some ass!"

"Don't get ahead of yourself" Yuuki replied with an excited smirk. "I don't plan on losing easily."

"Bring it on"

"… You two do realize your match isn't next, right?" Asuna asked her two friends. "There's still another two duels before yours."

"What?!" Helios whined. "Aww man, I'm all fired up to go out there!"

"Me too! I want my turn to come!" Yuuki complained.

Everyone laughed together at Helios and Yuuki's eagerness to fight. They went in and continued to watch the tournament. The two matches flew by fairly quickly, and it was finally time for Helios and Yuuki's turn. The two of them were teleported into the arena and gave a confident look at each other. Neither one of them were willing to back down.

"Hope you're ready to lose Yuuki" Helios smirked. "You don't stand a chance against me and my Olympus Mons."

"I don't see what's so threatening" Yuuki shrugged. "I mean, why should I be afraid of a muscle head and his oversized toy?"

Helios gave an amused grin as he removed his axe from the resting position on his shoulder and gripped it tightly. "Heh, let's see if your legs can run as fast as your mouth. Just be warned, I'm not afraid to hit a girl."

"Fine by me." Yuki grinned. "Cause neither am I"

Helios got a scowl on his face while Liz laughed at the last comment and cheered for Yuuki with all her might. "Don't you dare lose to him, Yuuki!"

Yuuki looked back over to the pink haired Leprechaun and waved happily. "Don't worry! I'll be sure to win!"

While Yuuki was distracted waving, the last seconds of the timer went by.

5… 4… 3… 2… 1… START!

Helios quickly took the opportunity while his opponent was distracted to charge forward and attack Yuuki. His axe glowed with the light of a sword skill as he performed a horizontal slash, but Yuuki quickly ducked under it without even turning and delivered an upwards kick to the Salamander's jaw. Helios grunted as he felt the force of the impact Yuuki's boot made. _'Tricky bitch.'_

"Oh I'm sorry, Helios. Were you not ready?" Yuuki innocently asked.

Helios grew enraged as he dashed forward and went in for another slash with his heavy axe. Yuuki nimbly dodged the attack and continued to keep dodging each slash that came her way. Every now and then she thrusted her blade forward, knocking Helios's HP down slowly. Every missed attack made Helios swing even harder. Finally he saw an opportunity as Yuuki dodged yet another slash and thrusted her blade forward. Helios moved out of the way just in time and gripped the blade with his hand. Both Yuuki and the crowd gasped as Helios held the blade with his bare hand, the sharp metal cutting into the skin of his avatar and lowering his HP even more. The Salamander paid no mind to this however as he used all his strength to swing his arm holding the sword over his shoulder, sending both it and Yuuki flying back behind him. The female Imp spread her wings just in time to keep herself from crashing into the wall, but her eyes widened in surprise as she found Helios right in front of her. He swung his axe with all the strength he could muster, finally landing a hit on his opponent as it cut into her and sent her rocketing back and crashing into the wall.

'_Damn. Wasn't expecting that'_ Yuuki thought as she pried herself out from the wall. _'Guess it's time for me to get serious'_

Yuuki sped at Helios even faster than before as she prepared to thrust her weapon forward. Helios met her challenge head on as she started charging towards her as well. He swung his Olympus Mons full force as he saw Yuuki prepare to attack, but found his attack miss as the Imp surprisingly use a feint and jump over him. As he turned his head around, he saw the thing that signaled his defeat. Yuuki's blade was veiled in a violet light, the color for her OSS.

'… _Crap'_

Yuuki cried out as she attacked Helios mercilessly with the Mother's Rosario skill. Each hit gradually drained away Helios's health as he helplessly took the brutal assault from his opponent's sword. Finally the last hit from the eleven-hit combo came and pierced his chest. Helios's HP hit zero and he burned away into a red remain light.

At first everything was silent. Then a loud an ecstatic cheer came from a certain pink haired Leprechaun in the crowd.

"Yeeessssss! Finally that Salamander jackass loses!" Liz shouted. She cupped her hands and shouted out to the red remain light. "Not so tough anymore, are you?!"

Trapped in stasis and waiting to be revived, Helios growled as Liz shouted insults at him. He wanted nothing more than to go right up there and snap her neck, but he couldn't move right now. Hell, he wasn't even able to yell back at her right now. Finally he was revived as he and Yuuki were both teleported out of the arena.

Liz gleefully leaned back in her seat with a smile on her face. Some of her friends laughed at her childish attitude. Others agreed with her and were happy Helios's gloating would be at an end for now.

"I guess you must be pretty disappointed, huh Dagger?" Asuna said as she looked at the Spriggan merchant. "How much money did you bet on Helios anyway?"

"Well… that's the thing. I kinda sorta… didn't bet on him."

"What?!" Silica exclaimed. "You didn't bet on him?! I thought you were his girlfriend!"

"I am his girlfriend, but let's face it. Were ANY of us expecting Helios to win that match?"

The rest of the group couldn't counter that logic and shrugged in defeat. Alice stood up and stretched her arms out. "Well, it's my turn soon."

"Go get 'em Alice" Asuna told the female Imp.

"Yeah, kick her butt" Mai said in agreement.

Ren got up as well and gave Alice a peck on the cheek. "I know you'll win. Now show everyone what you've got"

Alice nodded. "Thanks you guys. I'll be sure to win this." With a wave goodbye to her friends, the black haired girl walked away and made her way to the waiting room. A fiery determination was burning in her eyes.

'_I'm going to win. It's payback time, Elza'_

**A/N: I hope everyone enjoyed the two fights this week. Just want you to know, there won't be much left of the tournament. It should be wrapped up withing the next couple of chapters. Please send any comments or reviews you guys have or send a PM my way if you have any questions.**


	47. The Will to Win

**A/N: Hey everybody. I hope you have been looking forward to this fight. It's time to see who the best scythe user in ALO truly is. Please review. Hearing what you guys have to say really helps me write.**

**Also, for an interesting piece of news, Kuroyukihime (aka Black Lotus from Accel World) will be in the new update of Sword Art Online: Lost Song! I need this to come to retail in America already! I'm dying of anticipation!**

**Guest: If Reki Kawahara were to make an anime adaptation of this fanfic, I could die right now with no regrets. Also I don't know if all these guest reviews are just you or multiple people but please make an account so we can chat and stuff. I love reading your (or all of your if these are from multiple people) reviews.**

Alice sat in the waiting room of the stadium with nothing but silence around her. She gripped the handle of her scythe firmly as she held it in her hands. All month, she had trained for this moment. This match with Elza would allow Alice to prove to herself and everyone else just how much she had grown since then.

'_Take my advice. Become stronger on your own'_

Those words Elza had spoken to her still floated around in the black haired girl's head. At one time, they were enough to make Alice doubt herself and made her wonder if she was wrong for relying on her friends so much. But now she knew better. If she had learned anything this past month, it was that her friends were what made her strong.

-A few weeks ago-

"Take this!"

With a powerful cry, Alice charged forward and threw a punch at Shenlong, but the old man easily dodged it and grabbed Alice, throwing her over his shoulder. The black haired girl tumbled across the floor painfully.

"You've come a long way since you first came here a week ago" Shenlong told the girl. "But you're still not good enough yet."

"… Again"

Shenlong raised an eyebrow as he watched Alice get back to her feet. She was clearly exhausted from the training she had been doing. While players couldn't feel physical fatigue in ALO since they didn't move their real bodies, mental fatigue still played a part in creating exhaustion from players overworking themselves. Even still however, the black haired girl before him stood on her own two feet and didn't falter.

'_She truly has an amazing willpower'_ Shenlong thought. _'She never gives up, even when she's pushed to the limit'_

"Shenlong, please fight me again" Alice said.

The old Gnome player shook his head. "We will continue later. First, let us take a break."

Alice wanted to say that she didn't need it, that she could keep going, but she knew that wasn't true. Her legs were barely able to support her right now. She sat down as Shenlong brought over a cup of tea for each of them.

"It's been days and I'm still only able to get you down to half health" Alice sighed. "I know martial arts isn't my main skill, but I still didn't think it would be this tough."

"You're still doing well though" Shenlong pointed out. "When we first started, you were only able to get a few hits in."

Alice took a sip of her tea as she considered the old man's words. It was true that she was much stronger now compared to when she first started. But it still wasn't enough. She knew that she had to get even stronger in order to beat Elza.

"Hey Shenlong, I have a question" Alice said.

"What is it?"

"Why is an old man like you playing ALO? I mean, it's rare to see people your age playing VRMMOs."

Shenlong chuckled a little as he heard this. "When I was much younger, I owned a dojo. I had many students of all ages come and learn from me. Over the past few years however, I had less and less students coming to me. They all started playing the VRMMOs I had heard about. I was surprised how popular they had gotten considering the Sword Art Online incident. God knows how much those poor kids suffered in that death game."

Alice thought back to when she first entered SAO. It was true that there were many times she had faced suffering and despair. But there were also a lot of times where she was filled with pure joy and happiness.

"I eventually decided to try out the VRMMOs I had heard so much about. At first, I wasn't expecting it to be anything special. Just some simple waste of time."

"What changed your mind?" Alice asked.

"In here, I can do so much more than I could in the real world. My physical abilities are enhanced, I can fly. I was experiencing things I never expected were possible. I'm not saying it's still right to play these VR games 24/7, but I can see why people love them so much. They allow people to break past human limits and reach new heights."

"So what happened to your dojo?"

"Oh, I still have it. It's part of my house after all. I just don't have many students nowadays."

"I bet the ones that still come learn a lot, even if you're an old geezer."

Shenlong laughed at Alice's comment. "Watch it kid. This old geezer can still toss you like a ragdoll."

"As I've noticed" Alice said with a laugh of her own. With her stamina recovered, Alice quickly got to her feet. "Alright, I'm all ready to keep training!"

"Raring to go so soon are you? Very well then." Shenlong said as he stood up as well. "Before we continue though, I'd like to show you something."

"What is it?"

"Just watch" Shenlong said. He got into a stance as his hands and feet both became veiled in a bright light. Alice watched as Shenlong performed a martial arts skill she had never seen before. Her eyes opened wide as she witnessed the powerful skill. Even though he wasn't attacking anything but the air around him, there was a serious amount of power in each strike from the old man. When he finished, he took a deep breath. "That was the Original Sword Skill for the Martial Arts skill category. I created it using technique from the real world and the possibilities given to us in this world."

"That… That was so awesome!" Alice exclaimed with awe in her eyes.

"How would you like the chance to use it?"

"Can I really?!"

Before the black haired girl could get too excited, Shenlong raised his arm forward to stop her. "Under one condition. You can only have this skill when you're able to beat me."

Alice grinned with excitement. He may be an old geezer, but she knew he was a great teacher. Shenlong definitely knew how to motivate his students to their max potential. "Alright old man! Get ready, cause here I come!"

-Present day-

Alice smiled as she thought back on her memories of training. She had trained like crazy, both with Shenlong and just with her scythe in general. All of it was for today.

"Next match, Alice vs Elza. Both players will now be teleported to the arena."

A bright light enveloped Alice as she found herself transported to a dark empty space. This was the one minute granted to players to prepare for the match and psych themselves up. Alice already had on all the equipment she needed. She quickly opened her skills menu and shuffled a few things around before closing it as the timer neared the end. Once it hit zero, she was teleported once again. This time she found herself back in the arena she had left not long ago. Cheers of excitement enveloped the crowd, but Alice wasn't focused on them. The only thing that mattered to her was the player standing across from her.

"So it's finally time. I was wondering if I'd end up facing you in this tournament" Elza said as she removed her scythe from her back. "Have you come to realize the truth behind what I told you?"

Alice sternly looked at the violet haired Imp. "I admit that at first I wondered if what you said was right. It haunted me for a long time. But I've made my choice. I will fight for my friends!"

Elza sighed at Alice. "You're still a naïve fool. You don't understand anything about real strength."

"I know more than you ever will"

The violet haired Imp suddenly grew enraged listening to Alice. "What good are friends going to bring you?! They can't help you win this fight! They can't help you get stronger! All friends do is bring suffering!"

Alice flinched back a bit. She had never expected that kind of reaction from Elza. Was her resolve really that strong? She shook the doubt out of her mind. _'It doesn't matter if her resolve is strong. Mine is even stronger. I'm going to prove that here and now'_

The crowd watched in anticipation as the last few seconds of the timer whittled away. Alice and Elza each got into their battle stance.

5… 4… 3… 2… 1… START!

Alice started the match off as she sped towards Elza with all the strength her legs could muster. She swung her scythe at Elza who twirled her own scythe around to deflect the incoming attack. Alice's Twilight Crescent bounced off from the parry, but she didn't give up. Alice skillfully twirled her own scythe as she went for a swift assault of multiple strikes, trying to break through Elza's defense. Through her own training with her scythe, Alice had learned the main reason she had lost to Elza. She always put everything into one strike with her attacks. She never went in for barrage attacks. That made it easy to block her attacks and counter. This time was different however. Alice had retaught herself how to use a scythe from scratch. Now she could do her strong single attacks in addition to a variety of barrage strikes. Twirling their scythes like they were moons, Alice and Elza continued their game of offense vs defense. While she wasn't getting any hits in, Alice could feel that she was definitely putting the pressure on her opponent.

"I see you've gotten better" Elza said as she deflected yet another strike from Alice's scythe. "But you're still not good enough to beat me."

"We'll see about that!" Alice yelled as she went in for another attack. This one was aimed not at Elza, but the ground near her feet. Alice's scythe stopped the circular barrier that Demonic Moonlight was creating as the two blades became caught between each other. Elza's eyes widened as Alice's right foot lit up and delivered an upwards kick to the violet haired Imp's jaw.

As Elza flew through the air, she recovered her balance with her wings and unlocked the handle for Demonic Moonlight, allowing its chain feature to be used. One powerful swing from Elza sent the curved blade flying at Alice. The black haired Imp spread her wings and took off into the air to avoid the attack, but it didn't work as Elza skillfully controlled her scythe's chain and swung it again, this time succeeding in getting the curved blade behind Alice. Elza retracted her scythe's chain to bring it towards her and rip her opponent in half. Alice quickly blocked the incoming blade, but it forced her towards Elza. Before Alice could even react, a powerful blow to the head came from Elza's fist. The Alice fell to the ground, springing back up from the hit right into another punch from Elza. The process continued over and over as Elza stood there, beating her opponent into the dirt. Each hit shaved off more and more of Alice's HP.

"You damned brat! You don't know anything about what the real world's like!" Elza said as she hit Alice with another punch. "All you are is a naïve little girl! That's why you're so weak!"

As Elza readied another punch, a hit to her stomach came from Alice's leg. The merciless assault from Elza stopped and Alice forcefully grabbed Elza's arm. She shot a glare at the violet haired Imp.

"I've had enough of your damn preaching!" Alice screamed as she threw a devastating punch to Elza's face, sending her opponent flying back. "Who the hell gave you the right to say that friends don't matter?! I'm sick of it!"

Alice and Elza sped at each other, both with the resolve to take their opponent down. The curved blades of their scythes clashed furiously as the two girls glared at each other. The fight quickly turned into a close range fight as the two girls twirled their scythes around and tried to get a fatal strike in.

"Why are so against having friends?!" Alice yelled as the two of them clashed. "Just cause you don't have any friends doesn't mean nobody should!"

"SHUT UP!" Elza screamed. "YOU DON'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT ME SO MIND YOUR OWN DAMN BUSSINESS!"

Alice's eyes widened as Elza delivered a powerful kick to her chest, knocking the black haired girl back. As Alice got back up, she saw Elza's eyes lit up with rage. The violet haired Imp swung her chain scythe at Alice, preparing to finish it by entangling Alice with the chain. Alice quickly jumped up to avoid the incoming chain and instead stabbed her scythe's blade into the ground. The chain instead wrapped around Alice's scythe.

"What?!" Elza gasped.

Alice stood on the handle of her scythe and sped towards Elza. Alice's feet ran across the chain connecting the two parts of her opponent's scythe, while Elza tried to retract the blade of her scythe. The crowd watched in shock at the crazy movement, a player abandoning their weapon in the middle of a fight.

'_It's time for my training with Shenlong to pay off'_ Alice silently thought. _'The move he taught me will end this here and now'_

"This is the end!" Alice yelled. Her legs and feet became veiled in a violet light. She quickly delivered two punches to Elza's face, followed up with a powerful uppercut that sent her opponent flying high into the air. As Elza reached the top of her flight upwards, Alice flew over her opponent with her leg raised up. One swift strike down sent Elza crashing into the ground with a powerful thud. As Alice fell down towards Elza, her fist reeled back for one final punch.

"Take this! Inferno Dragon's Barrage!"

The force from Alice's fist created a small crater and blasted away what was left of Elza's HP. The violet haired girl burned away into a remain light as Alice stood over her. The 'Winner' icon floated over her head and the crowd roared with applause. Alice walked over and pulled her Twilight Crescent out from the ground with an exhausted sigh. Her HP was in a deep shade of red, very close to zero.

'_That was close'_ Alice thought. _'I nearly lost that fight'_

"Way to go Alice!" Mai cheered.

"You rocked it girl!" Asuna yelled out.

Alice smiled as she looked at her friends cheering. It made her all the more sure that she was right. She looked at the remain light in front of her. _'Maybe someday you'll realize the value of friends too Elza'_

The matches continued on and on throughout the day, exciting the crowd with every fight. Kirito, Leafa, and Asuna won their matches as well, all making it to the top 16. The next day provided some interesting fights as well. Ren, Kirito, and Yuuki continued on in the tournament. Alice and Asuna however were forced to battle it out between the two of them, a fight that eventually ended with Asuna's victory. Alice was depressed that she had lost, but she had no regrets. She gave it all she had and the better fighter won. Leafa had also lost her match against Yuuki. Finally, only eight players remained. The crowd looked at the monitor to see the match-ups for tomorrow. Ren and his friends widened their eyes in surprise as they saw one of the pairings.

Yuuki vs Ren

The two Imps looked at each other and grinned. Ren was looking forward to a rematch against the player he had lost to in the last tournament. Yuuki was excited to be facing off against someone as skilled as Ren. Everyone knew tomorrow would bring a lot of excitement.

-The next day-

There were only two days left for the ALO World Tournament. It was hard to believe that in the matter of a few days, the competition had gone from over five thousand players to just eight. Everyone watched as yet another match was about to begin.

"Alright players, are you ready?!" the announcer called out to the crowd, who responded with a massive cheer. "Let's continue the top eight with our next match! Give it up for Yuuki and Ren!"

The two Imp players were teleported into the arena and gave a confident grin towards each other. They both unsheathed their weapons as the timer counted down.

"This is so exciting!" Liz exclaimed. "Either one of them could win this!"

"Ren, you better kick her ass for me! Don't you dare let that girl win!" Helios yelled out to his guild leader.

"So, you think Ren can do this Alice?" Asuna asked, looking over to the black haired girl.

Alice nodded her head. "Yep. Yuuki doesn't know it, but Ren still has a trump card he's been saving just for her"

"A trump card?" Silica questioned. "What is it?"

"It's something that took most of the month for him to complete." Alice explained. "Trust me, you'll know when it comes."

"Oooooooooohhhhh I can't wait anymore! They need to start this match or I'm gonna die of anticipation!" Mai squealed.

Ren and Yuuki adopted their battle stances as the crowd silenced. In a few seconds, they would decide which of them was stronger. The lightning fast tactician from SAO, or the Absolute Sword that had been in a constant battle to live all her life and had a reaction time even faster than Kirito.

"Hope you're ready Ren" Yuuki grinned. "Cause I'm not gonna hold back!"

"Neither am I" Ren grinned back. "Give me everything you've got!"

5… 4… 3… 2… 1… START!

**A/N: Ooooooooohhhh! Interesting fight next chapter. Also, the next chapter will be the last chapter for the tournament arc. That's right, the last fights of the tournament will be in the next chapter. Who will win the duel between Ren and Yuuki? Who will win the tournament? What is Ren's trump card that he's been saving? You'll just have to wait to find out. Please review if you liked this chapter.**


	48. The Best in ALO

**A/N: Hey readers! Time for the last chapter of the tournament. Who will be the winner? What surprises are in store? You'll just have to read to find out. Please review if you like it.**

"_So, you think Ren can do this Alice?" Asuna asked, looking over to the black haired girl._

_Alice nodded her head. "Yep. Yuuki doesn't know it, but Ren still has a trump card he's been saving just for her"_

"_A trump card?" Silica questioned. "What is it?"_

"_It's something that took most of the month for him to complete." Alice explained. "Trust me, you'll know when it comes."_

"_Oooooooooohhhhh I can't wait anymore! They need to start this match or I'm gonna die of anticipation!" Mai squealed._

_Ren and Yuuki adopted their battle stances as the crowd silenced. In a few seconds, they would decide which of them was stronger. The lightning fast tactician from SAO, or the Absolute Sword that had been in a constant battle to live all her life and had a reaction time even faster than Kirito._

"_Hope you're ready Ren" Yuuki grinned. "Cause I'm not gonna hold back!"_

"_Neither am I" Ren grinned back. "Give me everything you've got!"_

_5… 4… 3… 2… 1… START!_

Ren started the match off as he sped towards Yuuki at full speed. He quickly went on the offensive, attacking with slash after slash. Yuuki nimbly dodged each attack, but found it increasingly difficult to keep on evading. It took everything she had just to keep herself from getting slashed by Ren's blade. There were no openings to strike back. Finally for a brief moment, Yuuki saw her opportunity as Ren spun his body around for another slash. Yuuki quickly back-flipped away, putting some distance between her and Ren. As Ren felt his slash only connect with the wind, Yuuki sped back towards him, going in for a series of thrust attacks with her slim sword. The tactician's health took a small hit as he countered with his own slash. Yuuki did the same and their two blades became deadlocked.

"Go Ren! You can do it!" Alice cheered.

"Go get 'em Yuuki! You've got this!" Shiune yelled out to her guild leader.

Cheers for both players were heard all around the audience. Metal grinded against metal as Ren and Yuuki's deadlock continued. Finally they both pushed each other back and jumped away. Yuuki didn't want to give her opponent any openings as she ran at him. What she wasn't expecting was Ren's blade veiled in a dark violet light. He used the three-hit sword skill Savage Fulcrum as he went in for a horizontal slash. Yuuki barely reacted in time to evade the second hit, an upwards diagonal slash. Unfortunately she was unable to dodge the third slash as it came down and slashed through her avatar.

'_Not bad Ren'_ Yuuki silently thought. _'But now you're completely defensless'_

The female Imp raised her sword to attack, but her eyes widened as she saw something completely unexpected. Ren wasn't stuck in the post-motion delay. Instead, his legs were enveloped in the light of a martial arts skill.

"Wh-What the hell?! How did he activate a martial arts skill right when he finished his sword skill?!" Liz exclaimed. All heads turned towards Alice who had a grin on her face, as if she had known about this.

"It's a new version of the Skill Connect technique Kirito invented" Alice explained. "He didn't use two swords, but he found a way to go from a one-handed sword skill to a martial arts skill. I helped him train his martial arts skill for a week before he started trying to master this."

"So this is the trump card you were talking about?" Asuna asked.

Alice nodded her head. "Yep. This is his counter to defeat Yuuki."

The group watched as Ren used his version of the Skill Connect to deliver an upwards kick to Yuuki, connecting with her jaw. A second kick came down from above as it knocked her head back down. The last hit came as Ren sent a kick to Yuuki's stomach, sending her flying back a bit. Yuuki skidded across the ground as she watched her health go yellow. But now it was her turn. Ren didn't have any other skills coming and he was trapped in a post-motion delay for real this time. Yuuki quickly went in for an all-out assault as she activated her skill Mother's Rosario. The skill made full contact as Ren helplessly took the attack full force. The last hit of the skill sent him flying back as his health fell into the red zone.

'_Well so much for the Skill Connect technique'_ Ren thought. _'There's no way she'll fall for that a second time'_

It was now going to be a battle of pure skill, and both Ren and Yuuki knew that. The second either one of them activated a sword skill, it would have to finish the opponent or they'd be finished. Ren decided to use his speed to his full advantage as he sped towards his opponent. Yuuki kept the blade from slashing her as she used her own sword to keep it away from her body. Ragnarok skidded across Yuuki's blade as Ren ran past her. Yuuki turned around just in time to see Ren already speeding back at her. She defended the attack just as she had with the last one. Ren continued to charge at Yuuki from nearly every direction while Yuuki desperately tried to deflect the seemingly never ending assault. A few small scratches still made it through, decreasing Yuuki's HP by a small amount each time. The female Imp knew she couldn't let this keep going. She'd lose at this rate.

Yuuki began to get a feel of where Ren would attack from next each time. She turned to him faster this time and prepared to counter attack. She slashed Ren's avatar, but it disappeared instantly with him appearing right behind where she saw him a second ago. The tactician attacked viciously with a powerful thrust at Yuuki, sending her flying back. As she flew back, she realized what had just happened. It was a special skill that could be used when someone maxed out their speed skill. The secret technique was known as Phantom Dash, where it seemed the player was at one point, when in reality they were actually invisible right behind it. The skill had a long cool down effect, so it was usually a one-time only skill when used in duels. Even still, its usefulness was not to be underestimated.

'_Ren's really strong'_ Yuuki thought. _'His speed is even higher than Asuna's.'_

Ren watched as Yuuki got to her feet. Both of their health bars were in the red now. It wouldn't be long till this duel was over. Both players charged at each other will a loud battle cry.

"Raaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh!"

Both Ren and Yuuki's blades became enveloped with the light of a sword skill. Ren used his eight-hit skill, Howling Octave, while Yuuki used her signature skill, Mother's Rosario. The first five thrusts of Howling Octave connected perfectly with Mother's Rosario, cancelling each other out. Ren's skill continued as he performed a downwards and upwards slash at Yuuki, but he was also hit from the next two hits from Yuuki's skill. Both players watched their HP near their limit. Ren swung his blade down as Yuuki went in for another thrust with Mother's Rosario. Whichever one connected first would be the winner. A huge explosion occurred, obstructing the view of all the players watching as they braced themselves from the shockwave that followed. As the dust cleared, only one player was left standing. The other was a remain light.

"Way to go Yuuki!" the Sleeping Knights guild cheered together in unison. Cheers and applause filled the audience as Yuuki waved her hands around triumphantly. Alice and the rest of her guild were disappointed that their leader lost, but they all had to admit that it was a great match.

After being teleported out of the arena, Ren found himself back in the waiting room. He got up and left to go meet up with his friends. As he walked through the halls of the stadium, he ran into the girl that he had just lost to.

"That was an awesome match Ren!" Yuuki said with a gleeful smile. "You totally rocked out there"

"Thanks. You too Yuuki" Ren told the female Imp. "Good luck in the rest of the tournament"

The two Imps walked back over to the stands and sat together with their friends. They watched as the rest of the matches continued on. Both Kirito and Asuna made it to the semifinals along with Yuuki. Both the semifinals and the finals were scheduled for tomorrow, a day many players were waiting for with much anticipation. However, at the same time there was the sadness that after the tournament was over the servers of ALO would no longer be merged.

After saying goodbye to their friends, Ren and Alice flew back to their player home. As they landed in front of their house, Ren let out an exhausted sigh. "Looks like all that training wasn't enough, huh?"

"Don't feel so bad" Alice told him, wrapping her arms around him from behind. "You're still number one in my book."

"Thanks" Ren replied with a smile as he kissed Alice on the lips. "Well anyway, tomorrow should be really exciting"

"You said it" Alice nodded. "Bet you anything it's going to be Kirito and Yuuki in the finals."

Ren chuckled at his girlfriend's comment. "Dagger's gonna have a field day with bets for tomorrow's matches"

Alice laughed as well as the two of them entered their home to go and log out.

XXXXXXXXXX

-New York City-

The monitor showing the MMO Stream live broadcast of the ALO World Tournament revealed tomorrow's matchups for the semifinals. The man watching it didn't care though. The tournament no longer had any use for the tournament. Ten of his test subjects had been entered in the tournament. Six of them had made it to the main rounds and all of them were now eliminated. While none of them had made it to the semifinals, the data obtained from the little 'test run' the tournament had provided was more than enough.

A knock was heard on his door and a man entered the room. "Excuse me, Mr. Gabriel. We have the viral spell data ready to be implanted into the subjects selected based on the tournament results."

"Excellent" the man named Gabriel said. "Implant them right away."

"As you wish" the man said with a bow. As he began to leave, Gabriel stopped him.

"I hope you're enjoying the accommodations we've set up for you… Sugou"

Sugou grinned in delight. "Yes, they have been more than enough for me. Although faking my death was a bit extreme, don't you think?"

"It was necessary. We have people in Japan that have been keeping an eye on us. Faking your death was the best way to get you in the United States without them noticing."

"Fair enough" Sugou admitted. "I really don't care either way, as long as you keep your end of the deal."

"You have nothing to worry about. Once this is all over, you can have your revenge on Kazuto Kirigaya and Asuna Yuuki will be yours."

"That's all I could ever ask for" Sugou snickered.

Gabriel watched as Sugou left the room and closed the door behind him. He honestly couldn't care less about what that man wanted. If things went as planned, the whole world would be at his mercy. Helping a fool like Sugou with his revenge was a small price to pay for the last touches of data he had for the brainwashing technology. Everything else would be taken care of long before his plan was put into motion.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Take this!" Kirito yelled as he swung his sword down at Yuuki, who deflected the incoming attack with her own sword. The female Imp then went on the offensive as she used her Mother's Rosario skill. The eleven-hit combo took out the rest of the Black Swordsman's HP as he burned away into a remain light.

"And there you have it players! The winner of the ALO World Tournament is Yuuki!"

A deafening roar of applause filled the stadium as players cheered for the female Imp that had just been crowned Alfheim Online's top player. The thrilling final match seemed to last forever as Kirito and Yuuki clashed their swords with each other. It was a close call, but Yuuki had won in the end.

As Yuuki and her friends exited the stadium, they became swarmed by players wanting to get an autograph from the new world champion. A quick smokescreen from Dagger and Kirito allowed the group to escape from the capital city. Deciding to find a more private location, they went to Krito and Asuna's home on floor 22 of New Aincrad.

People chatted together as a celebration party began. There wasn't much time beforehand to prepare, but Asuna was able to get the essentials out for everyone. Once everyone had drinks in their hands, Asuna raised her glass. "To the winner of the ALO World Tournament! Congratulations Yuuki!"

""To Yuuki!" everyone cheered in agreement.

The small party continued on as the group had fun together. Dagger was busy counting the money she had made from bets throughout the tournament while Helios was busy gloating as usual. Yui chatted with Mai, Himiko, and Silica as they giggled like the young girls they were. Ren, Yuuki, and Kirito were talking together about the tournament.

"You did great Yuuki" Kirito congratulated. "How does it feel to be the best in the world?"

"Come on, you make it sound like I was the only impressive one there" Yuuki said modestly. "You both fought well too"

"Well Ren's version of my Skill Connect was a shocker" Kirito agreed. "I definitely wasn't expecting that."

"I was hoping it would be enough to win, but I guess I was wrong" Ren shrugged. As they talked, the tactician noticed something off with the tournament champion. "Yuuki? Is something wrong?"

"Huh? N-No, of course not" Yuuki said, stuttering a little.

Asuna looked over at Yuuki and saw the female Imp smiling brightly. Unfortunately, she knew that the smile she was putting on wasn't entirely genuine. She had heard all about it, both from Yuuki and Dr. Kurahashi. Her condition was slowly getting worse and the prognosis didn't look good. As things looked, the female Imp wouldn't live through summer. It took everything Asuna had to not start crying right now. It just wasn't fair. She didn't deserve to die like this.

'_Even still she's able to put on a smile'_ Asuna thought. _'You really are strong, Yuuki'_

Suddenly, an idea popped into the new ALO champion's head. "Hey guys, we should have another party later to celebrate everyone's success in the tournament."

The group began to murmur in agreement with Alice being the first to speak up. "That's a great idea!"

"What about you though, Yuuki?" Leafa pointed out. "You can't leave the hospital and it would be rude to just leave you out."

"I can take care of that" Kirito said. "I just need to readjust the device we used for her to interact with everyone at school.

"We can have it at the café, Agil's treat" Dagger suggested, not even bothering to ask Agil for his permission. The muscular Gnome had little choice however, as the group all cheered in agreement.

"Ok, so let's meet up there tomorrow night" Yuuki said. "Is that ok with everyone?" Nobody spoke up so the Undine took that as a yes. "Alright, tomorrow it is! Now back to the party!"

"Yeah!" everyone yelled in agreement as the festivities continued into the night.

**A/N: Ok, a few things I want to say to all of you readers...**

**1) PLEASE DON'T KILL ME FOR KILLING OFF YUUKI! I know how you all feel, I was crying all throughout Yuuki's death scene in the anime. It's just part of the story.**

**2) Mwahahaha Sugou's back! What kind of things does everyone's least favorite SAO character have in store for everyone?**

**3) I'm really, really, REALLY sorry if the Ren vs Yuuki fight wasn't all you thought it would be. I had sat down in front of my laptop and thought 'This has to be the most epic fight ever!'. Sadly, I wasn't able to fully deliver on that. Also the new version of the Skill Connect that Ren used was not an original idea from me. I got the idea from another fanfic called Black Swordsman vs Absolute Sword.**

**4) Next chapter will bring back another character from the early chapters of Blazing Revolution. Who will it be? Hero? Villain? You'll just have to wait to find out. Feel free to post any guesses you have with a review. Whoever guesses correctly first will get a special shout out in the next chapter.**


	49. Darkness Returns

**A/N: Hey guys! Time for this week's chapter. I got the idea to bring back this character from a fan of mine and we colaborated on the best way to bring him/her back. This is what we came up with. I hope you all enjoy it. Please review.**

**Lirake: Well it was the last chapter she'd fight in so I thought "Why not have her abuse Mother's Rosario as much as possible?". Glad to see you liked the fight.**

The Dicey Café was bustling with excitement. Music was booming loudly and everyone was having a good time. Asuna and the girls were talking together at a table. Klein was having yet another drink, saying it was just his third when it was probably his tenth. Kazuto was busy setting up the virtual interface so Yuuki could interact with everyone. Hyde was having an arm wrestling match with Agil, and losing terribly.

All of this went on while Dan waited by the door to the building, waiting for Alicia and Emi to show up. The party had already been going on for half an hour and the two Tsuki girls had yet to show up. Dan looked at his phone again. He had sent multiple texts to his girlfriend, asking her where she was and why she was running so late, but he still hadn't gotten a response yet.

'_Seriously, where are they?'_ Dan wondered. _'Is something wrong?'_

The brown haired teen continued tapping his foot, waiting for them to arrive. Eventually, Asuna walked over to him. "Alicia still hasn't shown up yet?"

"Nope. Both she and Emi aren't here and she hasn't responded to any of my texts."

"It's probably nothing serious" Hyde shrugged, walking over as well. "They're probably just taking forever to get ready. You know how girls are"

"But Alicia's almost never late. And she always texts me whenever she will be." Dan pointed out. "I'm gonna go see what's taking them so long"

"Come on. Don't you think you're overreacting a bit?" Hyde asked.

"Maybe, but I can't shake the feeling that something's wrong. I'm probably worried over nothing, but if I don't call back in an hour or so, call for help."

"Alright man. Be careful" Hyde said. His tone seemed casual, but even he was starting to worry a little. Dan walked out the door and hurried to Alicia's house.

Dan ran through the streets as he tried to come up with excuses why Alicia was late. Perhaps she forgot. Maybe she overslept while taking a nap. He had to be overthinking this, right? There was no way Alicia was in any trouble. Then what was this feeling he had? This sense of foreboding.

Dan walked up to the Tsuki residence and noticed all the lights were off, as if everyone was asleep or not home. The brown haired teen hoped it was the latter of the two as he walked to the front door. He tested the knob and found it unlocked. Something was definitely off.

"Alicia? Emi? Anybody home?" Dan asked as he entered the house. All the lights were off, but there was enough moonlight shining inside to allow him to see a little. He walked into the kitchen and felt around for the light switch. When he turned it on he saw something that confirmed his suspicions. Something was very, very wrong.

The kitchen was completely trashed. Things were thrown all over the place. Chairs and tables were knocked over. Worst of all, there were traces of blood lying around.

Dan was now shouting in worry. "Alicia?! Emi?! Where are you?!" The brown haired teen frantically looked all over the first floor for his girlfriend and her sister. It wasn't until he finally entered the living room, that he heard a voice call out to him.

"So you finally showed up. I was wondering if you'd come."

Dan looked over to see a person sitting casually on the couch. He was a man, probably in his thirties. He had light brown hair along with some traces of facial hair along his chin. Dan didn't recognize the man but he couldn't shake the feeling that the two of them had met somewhere before. "Who are you? What have you done with Alicia?"

The man showed a sarcastic look of hurt on his face. "Oh my, have you already forgotten me? It's only been what, one year? Maybe two?"

"Answer the question" Dan glared, his patience drying thin very fast.

"I had no idea you were such a forgetful kid. Would it help if I had wings, a large sword, and an army of guardians at my side?"

Dan stared at the man in confusion before his eyes widened, remembering where he and the man had met before. "No way… Yamato…?"

"So you DO remember." Yamato said with a malicious grin. "It's good to see you're not entirely brain dead."

The brown haired teen clenched his fists in anger as he remembered the man, no… man wasn't the right word. He was a piece of scum, a parasite and nothing more. He had been an associate of Sugou Nobuyuki, the person that had trapped Asuna and countless other SAO survivors inside Alfheim. Worst of all, he had tried to treat Alice like she was some doll for him to play with. That was something Dan could never forgive Yamato for. "What are you doing here? You should be in prison."

"Yes, I suppose I should." Yamato chuckled. "Oh how good it feels to have friends in high places."

"Where is Alicia? What have you done with her?"

"Alicia? Oh, the black haired girl. It took her a bit to remember me too. She and I had a little reminiscing to do and-"

"WHERE IS SHE?!"

Yamato smirked in delight to see the teen before him so angry and flustered. "Now, now. Throwing a tantrum won't help you save your princess. She has such a nice body I must say. I had a nice time with her, but she insisted on struggling"

Dan's eyes went to a look of hatred that he hadn't shown since the first time he had fought Yamato back in ALO. He wished he had his sword with him right now. He wanted to unsheathe it from his back and pierce it into Yamato's heart. "If you touched her, so help me I'm gonna-"

"Oh shut up" Yamato interrupted. "Self-righteous brats like you make me sick. Always acting like a bunch of heroes. Thinking you actually have some sort of power. You need to learn to face reality. Good things only come to those who take them. That's how life works."

"Then I'll make my own reality" Dan told the parasite sitting before him. "A reality with you dead at my feet"

"I was hoping you'd say that" Yamato grinned as he got up and pulled a knife from his pocket. "But you'll be the one who's dead when this is all over!"

Dan quickly dodged the incoming blade Yamato thrusted at him. He kept dodging as Yamato continued thrust after thrust with the knife. He tilted his head as it came for him, the blade slightly grazing his cheek. Blood dripped down from the cut, but he didn't feel the pain. His mind was completely focused on one objective. Killing this piece of scum before him and saving the Tsuki family.

"Come on you can do better than this, can't you? Or is the virtual world the only place you can fight?" Yamato remarked snidely as he kept slashing at the teen. "If this is all you've got, then this will be even easier than I thought. Once I'm finished with you, I'll go and continue my fun with that little princess of yours. At least until that wound I gave her kills her."

Dan glared in anger from Yamato. He didn't care about his taunting. What enraged him was the fact that he had laid his hands on Alicia and hurt her. As Dan dodged the constant assault from the knife, he was slowly being backed into a corner. He couldn't let things stay like this. It was too late to do anything though as he found his back to a wooden cabinet. Yamato grinned in delight as he went in for the killing blow. "Die!"

Dan barely reacted in time to dodge the incoming blade. The knife went past him and became lodged into the wooden cabinet. As Yamato struggled to tear his weapon out, Dan took the opportunity to knock him forward. Yamato fell over with the knife out of his hands. Dan tackled him to the ground and began assaulting him with his fists. Each punch held all of the teen's anger and hatred for the parasite.

"You!"

Punch

"Disgusting!"

Punch

"Son of a!"

Punch

"Bitch!"

As Dan reeled his fist back for another punch, Yamato reached into his pocket and pulled out a handgun. Dan moved his body away just in time to avoid getting hit by a fatal shot, but couldn't escape the bullet entirely as it pierced the lower left side of his body. He tumbled over as blood dripped from his body. Yamato was now on top of him, with the barrel of the handgun pressing down on the teen's forehead.

"I've wanted to see you like this ever since what you did to me back in ALO you brat" Yamato grinned. "Now beg for mercy!"

"Never" Dan spat back. If he was going to die like this, he was at least going to keep his dignity. He only had one regret. _'I'm sorry Alicia. I wasn't strong enough to save you'_

As Yamato prepared to pull the trigger, a sudden figure rushed into the house and shoved his knee into Yamato's chest, knocking him over. As Yamato tumbled back, the gun fell out of his hand. Dan looked over to see the stranger that had just saved his life.

"H-Hyde? What are you doing here?"

"Heh, you didn't really expect me to wait a whole hour to see what kind of trouble you got yourself into." Hyde smirked.

"Dan!" another voice yelled. The brown haired teen looked to see Kazuto, Asuna, Lilina, Klein, Agil, and the rest of his friends from the party rush into the house.

"Damn brats" Yamato grunted as he struggled to get to his feet.

"I suggest you shut your-" Hyde stopped mid-sentence as he recognized the voice of the person that had just tried to kill his friend. "… You…"

"What? Am I supposed to know you, kid?" Yamato questioned.

Hyde showed a grin of delight he rarely had outside of the virtual world as he cracked his knuckles. "So you don't remember me? Perhaps this will help…" Hyde said as he took his foot and drove it into Yamato's unmentionables. "Remember me now you asshole?!"

Yamato's eyes flashed in recognition. One thought went through his mind. _'Oh crap. Not this kid'_

Dan slowly got to his feet, with blood dripping down from his injuries. He grabbed the handgun Yamato had dropped and pointed it towards him.

"Go on then. Shoot me." Yamato taunted. "But you can't, can you?"

The murderous glare Dan showed towards Yamato was more intense than ever. His breathing and heartbeat increased rapidly. His hand holding the gun trembled. It was one simple action. Pull the trigger, and Yamato would be dead. He deserved it for everything he had done. But still, Dan's hand couldn't pull it. It was like his hand was frozen in place.

"That's right. You can't shoot me." Yamato chuckled. "You're too weak."

"It's not a matter of weakness Yamato. I'm not low enough to fall to your level. Besides, I'd rather see you rot away in a jail cell for the rest of your life. It's far more fitting for a disgusting rat like you" the brown haired teen told him. He then moved his arm, pointed it towards Yamato's left leg, and fired. "But I am more than pissed off enough to do that"

Yamato cried out in pain as he kneeled down. He wasn't going to be going anywhere anytime soon with that injury. But even still, he chuckled. "You think this matters? The ones who helped me escape did so specifically to give me this chance to kill you. You think they'll give up now, just because I failed?"

"Who helped you?" Dan glared, still pointing the gun at the bleeding parasite before him.

"Like I'd tell you" Yamayo snickered.

Dan fired a shot at Yamato's other leg, making him cry out yet again in pain. Dan glared at Yamato with a murderous intent. "I can shoot your arms next if you'd like"

"Hehehe… HAHAHAHA!" Yamato was practically laughing hysterically now. "Go ahead! Keep torturing me! Every second you spend doing this to me is another second that princess of yours is bleeding! I can't wait to hear your screams of agony when she finally dies!"

It took all of Dan's self-control to not shoot Yamato dead right now. He handed the gun over to Hyde. "Keep an eye on him. I'm going to go check upstairs for Alicia and her family"

Hyde nodded and the group rushed upstairs and started looking into each of the rooms. "Alicia?! Emi?! Mr. and Mrs. Tsuki?!"

A loud muffled voice was heard down the hall, from what seemed to be the bathroom. Kazuto tried to open the door, but it wouldn't budge.

"Stand back!" Kazuto shouted. "We're gonna try to bust the door down!" The raven haired teen and Dan slammed their shoulders into the door repeatedly, finally breaking it down." Inside the room, Mr. and Mrs. Tsuki were on the floor with their hands tied behind their backs and gags in their mouths. Emi's hands were tied up as well, in addition to several bruises on her face. She was unconscious.

"Where's Alicia?" Dan questioned as he pulled the gag from their mouths.

"Bedroom" Mr. Tsuki told the teen. Dan didn't need to be told twice as he raced towards Alicia's room and found it was locked as well. He took a few steps back before ramming the door full strength as he had done with the last door. Alicia was lying in a pool of her own blood next to her bed, desperately trying to put as much pressure on her wound as possible to keep herself alive.

"Alicia!" Dan exclaimed as he rushed to her. "Don't worry. You're safe now."

"Y-Yamato…"

"He's taken care of" Dan told her.

"I knew you'd… save me… Dan…" Alicia said weakly. "You're… my hero…"

The black haired teen didn't say anymore as she passed out and fell into her boyfriend's arms.

"Alicia? Alicia?!"

XXXXXXXXXX

Dan opened his eyes and looked up to the ceiling of the hospital room. He lied in bed, bandaged up from the injuries he got in his fight with Yamato. Clair sat in the room with him. The rest of their friends were currently waiting outside of the rooms, some with Alicia and some with Dan.

After calling the ambulance, Alicia, Emi, their parents, and Dan were all taken to the hospital. Kazuto had called the government official Kikouka and told him about Yamato's escape. The local police had been contacted and took Yamato into custody. Mr. and Mrs. Tsuki hadn't received any severe injuries. Emi had gotten beaten to a pulp and had bruises all over her, but there was no danger to her life. Dan had gotten stitched up from the injuries he had gotten in his fight with Yamato, and his parents had been called.

"Big brother!" Clair exclaimed as she noticed Dan wake up. She rushed to her brother's side. "How are you feeling?"

"Don't worry Clair. I'm fine" Dan assured her. He finally asked the main question that was on his mind. "… How's Alicia?"

"She's still in surgery" Clair explained with a grim expression. The whole truth was that the doctors weren't completely sure Alicia would survive. She had lost a lot of blood. But Clair couldn't tell her brother that. He cared about Alicia too much.

"Dan?!" another voice screamed as someone else barged into the room. The new arrival was their mother Mrs. Hiryo.

"H-Hey mom" the brown haired teen replied, knowing the scolding that was coming his way.

"Hey mom?! I get a call that my son's been shot and is in the hospital and all I get is hey mom?!"

"Well-"

"What were you thinking?!" she yelled at her son. "Do you have any idea how dangerous what you did was?! Why didn't you call the police?!"

"There wasn't time. I noticed the lights were off and the door was unlocked so I panicked. I wasn't planning on getting shot"

Mrs. Hiryo sighed as she shook her head and placed her hand on her forehead. "You really are a reckless idiot, you know that?"

"Well, I can't argue with you there" Dan admitted.

Luckily Dan's injuries weren't anything life threatening now that he had gotten bandaged up. After a few hours of waiting in the hospital, Lilina entered the room. "Hey Dan. How're you doing?"

"Well besides the fact that I'm lying in a hospital bed, just peachy" the brown haired teen joked. "Any news on Alicia or Emi?"

"Emi's been treated. She'll have to keep some ice on her face for a couple days, but she'll be fine" the red haired girl replied.

"… And Alicia?"

"She just got out of surgery. The doctors are hopeful that she'll live but-"

"They're hopeful that she'll LIVE?! You mean there's still a chance she'll die?!"

Lilina cringed a little, realizing she may have just revealed something she shouldn't have. She looked over at Clair. "You didn't tell him?"

"How am I supposed to tell my brother something like that?" Clair argued.

"Damn it. It's all my fault" Dan said, clenching his fists in frustration.

"Don't say that Dan." Lilina told her friend "It's not your fault this happened. It's Yamato's"

"But if I could have gotten there sooner, she wouldn't be-"

The brown haired teen was interrupted as Lilina stormed up to him and slapped him across the face. "You listen to me right now! This is not your fault, got that?! It's because of you that Alicia has a chance to live at all! So stop blaming yourself and crying like a little kid!"

Dan, Clair, and their mother all looked at the red haired girl in surprise at what she did. The slap had hurt like hell, but it had knocked some sense into the person who received it. "Thanks Lilina. I needed that."

"Don't worry about Alicia. She's survived worse than this. We just have to stay positive"

"Yeah" Dan nodded in agreement. "By the way, can you not hit so hard next time? That seriously hurt"

"Oh don't be such a wimp" Lilina laughed. Clair giggled a little as well at her brother's expense.

-A few hours later-

After fully recovering from his more minor injuries and the slap to the face he had gotten from Lilina, Dan was allowed to leave his room. He still had yet to be discharged from the hospital though. He was still too weak to walk so his mother wheeled him over to Alicia's room. The rest of his friends were all waiting over there as well. Their faces brightened a little when they saw Dan.

"Hey Dan" Asuna greeted. "You feeling any better?"

"A little. Have you guys been out here all night? It's one o'clock in the morning"

"Don't worry. Compared to you and Alicia, a little lack of sleep is nothing" Kazuto told his friend. "Although Klein's already passed out a few times."

"Hey, that's not *hic* fair Kazuto old buddy" Klein replied, still recovering from the one too many drinks he had at the party earlier.

"Honestly, we might have to sign you up for an AA meeting at this rate" Rika sighed.

"That's for quitters. I ain't no darn *hic* quitter"

"Ignoring the drunken idiot here…" Asuna said "Alicia's allowed to have visitors now. Wanna see her?"

Dan nodded his head with an obvious yes. His mother wheeled him inside the room while everyone else stayed right outside.

Looking at Alicia in this state was almost too much to bear for Dan. The black haired girl was heavily bandaged, and had an I.V in her. A monitor was showing her heart beat which was steady for now. An oxygen mask was strapped to her face to help her breath in her weakened state. Her sister Emi was sitting at her side. The young brunette was holding an ice pack to her own face, but other than that, she seemed to be fine.

"Hey Dan. You finally able to move around?" Emi greeted with a weak smile.

"Yeah" Dan replied back in a similar weak state. Neither of them were in the mood to feel happy. Seeing Alicia like this had a hard toll on both of them.

"Don't worry about Alicia. The doctors are saying she should be fine, and just needs some rest" Emi said.

Dan took a sigh of relief that he had been holding onto for quite a while. "Thank god"

"Thanks for saving us. We really owe you" the young girl told her friend. "I'll let you two have some alone time." She then walked out of the room, followed by Mrs. Hiryo.

Dan wheeled himself over to the black haired teen and stared down at her. Alicia slowly opened her eyes. She gave a weak but genuine smile at the sight of her boyfriend. "Dan…"

"Don't talk right now" Dan told her. "You need to save your strength."

"I'll be fine." Alicia assured him. "I'm just happy you're ok"

"I was so worried about you"

"I already told you I'm fine. Just a little tired."

"You should get some rest. I'll let you sleep for now"

"No, don't leave. Stay here with me"

"You need to rest"

"At least stay here with me while I sleep then. I want to be with you right now"

"… Alright" Dan said, giving in. "I'll stay here. Just sleep for now."

Alicia shivered a little. "I was so scared. When I recognized it was Yamato… I…I"

"Don't worry. It's all right now" Dan assured her. "He can't hurt you anymore, I promise"

"But how did he escape in the first place?"

"According to Yamato, he had help. Someone helped him escape to give him the chance to kill all of us."

"Great. So now there's another thing we have to worry about"

"Don't let it bother you for now. Just get some sleep"

"But-"

"I'll be right here with you. I promise"

"Ok…" Alicia said. She closed her eyes and began to fall back asleep. "I love you Dan"

Dan smiled back at her. "I love you Alicia"

**A/N: Bet you guys weren't expecting Yamato to be the returning character... except for all you guys that guessed it in the reviews and PMs (there goes my chance at being clever and unpredictable) lol xd. Again I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter. Please review if you liked it.**

**desmonjyanlee: Congrats man. You were the first to get it right. Hope you continue to enjoy this story.**


	50. Nightmares

**A/N: Hello readers! Guess what?! It's chapter 50! YEAH! Milestone reached! But I cannot take full credit for this achievement, for it is thanks to all of your support that I have had the inspiration to continue this story. I would like to thank you all for the awesome reviews you guys have sent. To make this milestone special, I will be doing two things. First, I will be posting the next chapter to this story in half a week (expect it around Monday or Tuesday). **

**Next, I have went and reread this story all the way back from I Will Not Bow. As I reread the first story, I couldn't help but feel a little dissapointed in the poor quality of it. I know it was my very first fanfic, but I still wish I could have done better. That is why I am announcing my next fanfic project I will be working on the side. I will be doing a rewrite of I Will Not Bow. I can't promise any update schedule, but the first chapter should be posted within a week. I hope you enjoy it and this chapter.**

Alicia found herself in a dark space. It wasn't any solid room with floors or walls. This was just an empty space with nothing in it except for darkness. She looked and saw Dan fighting against Yamato, with Dan on the losing side. He kept getting stab after stab from Yamato. Alicia tried to move in to help, but she found herself blocked off by an invisible wall. All she could do was watch. Watch as Yamato slowly killed the person she loved while she banged on the wall separating them. Shoulder, leg, arm, everywhere except for a fatal spot was stabbed by Yamato. Every stab made Dan cry out in agony. It wasn't until the blade Yamato held pierced through his heart that his voice silenced.

"Dan! Dan, no! Don't die, please!"

There was nothing she could do though. Yamato pulled out the blade and her boyfriend fell over as a lifeless corpse. Tears rolled down her eyes. Then the invisible wall Alicia was pressing against disappeared. Yamato turned and set his sights on her.

"Now it's just you and me"

"No! Stop! Get away from me!" Alicia screamed. She fell to her knees crying, trying to block out everything around her. Wishing that it would all go away. Yamato slowly approached her and reached out towards her.

"You're all mine."

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Alicia awoke with that same scream. She was back in her bedroom. Tears were rolling down her eyes and she was covered in sweat. She gripped the covers of her bed tightly as she trembled. Her mother was sitting at the side of her bed, something she had gotten used to seeing ever since the third or fourth time this had happened.

"You ok dear?" her mother asked.

Alicia silently nodded.

"The same nightmare again?"

Once again, she nodded. Alicia went into her mother's comforting arms while sobbing. Here she was, an eighteen year old girl, sobbing in her mother's arms like a baby. She felt pathetic. Mrs. Tsuki stroked her daughter's hair to try and comfort her. After a few minutes the black haired teen fell back into her bed and did what she always did. Try to fall back asleep and pray the nightmares didn't return. A prayer that was always unanswered.

It had been two weeks since Dan and her friends had saved her and her family from Yamato. She had been hospitalized for a week before being able to go home. Her wound had healed for the most part, but she still wasn't supposed to do anything extraneous. While she enjoyed being out of the hospital, being back home still had one negative effect on her. She had been haunted with a repeating nightmare every night since she had been back home.

Yamato had been heavily interrogated by Kikouka and the Department of Internal Affairs. He hadn't revealed who helped him escape or how they did it, but Kikouka had assured Dan and the Alicia that he would almost definitely be sent to prison for the rest of his life with no chance for parole. The fact that he wasn't dead still scared her a little, but she agreed it was better this way. She wanted nothing more than to see that worthless parasite rot away in jail for the remainder of his miserable life.

Dan had come over to see her just about every chance he got. Having him around comforted her. She hadn't told him or any of her friends about the nightmares she had been having. The only ones that knew were her parents and Emi, and that was only due to the fact that she had to tell them why she had been waking up screaming constantly. Emi wanted to tell the others, but she had been sworn into secrecy by her sister. Alicia decided this was something she had to overcome on her own.

The next morning, Alicia was completely quiet and drowsy from the lack of sleep she had gotten. She sat down at the kitchen table eating her breakfast with her family. Even outside of sleep, the nightmare haunted her. All she could do was think about them. Reliving what Yamato had done to her every night.

"Alicia? Hello? Earth to Alicia?"

The waving hand in front of her snapped the black haired teen out of her thoughts. "Huh? Sorry Emi, what was that?"

"We were talking about what to do for the rest of summer. There's only a few weeks left after all."

Now that she thought about it, Emi was right. There wasn't much time until summer break would be over. So much had happened this summer. Training for the tournament, getting a house in ALO with Ren, competing in the tournament with her friends… the incident with Yamato.

'_I have to get over these nightmares before summer ends'_ Alicia told herself. _'Everyone's gonna notice if I show up to school like this every day'_

"If you two are looking for something interesting to do, then you might be in luck" Mr. Tsuki told the two girls.

"Really? You have something in mind dad?" Emi questioned.

"Your uncle recently told me that there's some new VR games he's working on that they want to be tested. He asked if the two of you would be interested."

"You mean Uncle Kaito?!" Emi exclaimed. "I haven't seen him in forever!"

Kaito Tsuki, Alicia's uncle, worked for a company that was focused on developing VR games. It was a common type of company in the modern era. The thing that made this one special though was that the games they made weren't VRMMOs. They games they made focused on classic games from decades ago and remaking them into VR versions. You couldn't interact with thousands of players online, but you could play with multiple people if you were in the same house together.

"He said they're looking for people to test their games out for them in the full dive environment and provide feedback." Mr. Tsuki explained. "He's willing to pay for you to stay at a hotel near there while you test some of their games out for a couple of days. He even said you could bring your friends along if you wanted."

"Really?! That's awesome!" Emi exclaimed. "We should totally do it, right Alicia?!"

"Y-Yeah. Sure" Alicia nodded. To be completely honest, she wasn't all that excited. She was too busy dealing with her nightmares. But Emi was so excited, and she was sure Dan and the others would love to go as well.

"Alright then. I'll call your uncle up and tell him you guys want to come."

"This is gonna be great!" Emi cheered in excitement. "I can't wait to make Hyde beg me to let him come along."

"Come on, Hyde isn't the kind of guy who would beg. Right?"

XXXXXXXXXXX

"PLEASE SQUIRT! LET ME TAG ALONG! I'M BEGGING YOU!" Hyde whined.

Alicia and Emi had contacted their friends from their guild and told them to get together at their place. They were all more than happy to come along since it would be a cool experience, especially Hyde who was a fan of classic games. The Unrelenting Psychopath of course had some persuading to do to get Emi to let him come along.

"Hmmm… I'm not sure I should let you come" Emi said with a devilish grin from having Hyde at her mercy. She had planned to bring him along anyway, but the young brunette wanted to see just how much she could make Hyde suffer.

"Come on! You're letting Lilina go!"

"But she doesn't torment me on a daily basis."

"I'm sorry! Please, I'll do anything!"

Alicia, Dan, Lilina, and Clair watched the scene unfold in front of them. None of them had ever seen Hyde like this.

"Well…"

"PLEASE!"

"… Fine" Emi agreed with a small giggle. "Under one condition."

"What is it?"

"You will not torment or bully me during this trip at all."

"Deal"

"Good boy. That wasn't so hard now was it?" Emi said with a teasing smile as she patted Hyde on the head like a dog. The action angered Hyde to no end, but it was worth it if it meant being able to test out VR remakes of some of his favorite classic games.

"Wow" Lilina said in shock. "I've never seen Hyde look so… defeated"

"I know. It's almost sad" Dan agreed. "Don't you think so Alicia?"

"…"

"Alicia?"

"Huh? Oh sorry Dan, were you saying something?" Alicia asked.

"Are you feeling alright?" Dan asked. "You've been spacing out a lot lately."

"I-I'm fine. Honest" Alicia assured him.

The brown haired teen didn't seem convinced, but decided to let it go. If Alicia wanted to talk, she would tell him. It wouldn't be right to force it out of her.

"So where is the place your uncle works at?" Lilina asked.

"I think it's at Tatsumi Port Island" Alicia told the red haired merchant.

"Tatsumi Port Island?! Yes! This just got a whole lot better!" Hyde cheered in excitement.

"What's gotten into you Hyde?" Lilina asked. "It's nothing to get excited over. I mean sure there's a few tourist attractions but-"

"Forget tourist attractions! Tatsumi Port Island was the setting for one of my favorite games ever! Persona 3!"

"Persona?" Emi questioned. "What's that? Another one of your classic games?"

"Persona is one of the greatest game series of all time! It was a branch offed version from the regular Shin Megami Tensei games where…"

As Hyde went on and on about the history and greatness of the Persona series, the others slowly tuned him out. Dan and the others were all excited for the trip. It would be a nice vacation from all the stuff that had happened to the over the summer.

XXXXXXXXXX

A few days later, the group all traveled to Tatsumi Port Island where the research company Alicia and Emi's uncle worked at was located. It was a beautiful area with lots of tourist attractions to go to. After arriving via train, the group stepped out of the train station. A man was waiting for them next to a large car. He was in his late forties from the looks of it and had muddy brown hair. He was dressed in a black suit with a blue tie as well as black pants. He wore glasses over his hazel eyes. Emi noticed the man right away and ran towards him.

"Uncle Kaito!" Emi exclaimed, running into the man's arms.

"Hey Emi. I haven't seen you since you were little" Kaito greeted with a smile. "And Alicia, it's been a long time since I've seen you too. You've grown into such a beautiful woman."

"U-Uncle. Did you have to say it like that?" Alicia said with a small blush.

Kaito chuckled a little and then looked towards Dan, Clair, Hyde, and Lilina. "And you must be Alicia and Emi's friends. I've heard a lot about you"

"Nice to meet you sir" Dan greeted.

"Ah, you must be Dan Hiryo. Alicia's REALLY told me a lot about you"

"Uncle Kaito!"

"I'm just joking Alicia. Don't worry" Kaito laughed. "Well then, shall we be off? The company I work for is a short drive from here. You can throw your bags in the trunk."

After putting their luggage in the back of the car, everyone piled in and they drove off. Alicia, Dan and Clair sat together in one row, Lilina and Hyde sat in the row behind them, and Emi was upfront with her uncle. Looking out the car window, the group looked all around at the city's beauty. Hyde was busy pointing out landmarks that were part of the Persona 3 game that he loved so much.

"There's the Iwatodai Strip Mall! And that's Gekkoukan High School!"

"Let me guess. Persona fan?" Kaito questioned as he drove.

"You have NO idea" Emi sighed as she listened to the black haired game fan ramble on.

**A/N: Hope you all enjoyed chapter 50. Please review. I hope to get the next chapter, as well as the first chapter of the new I Will Not Bow up as soon as possible.**


	51. Classic Games

**A/N: Hey readers! Thanks for all the support you guys gave for me with chapter 50. As promised, this chapter is coming to you guys early. The next one should still be on schedule to be posted in a few days. Also, the first chapter of the rewritten I Will Not Bow is up. I hope you all enjoy it.**

**TichePotato: I actually already planned out the classic games I will be using. Sorry to disappoint you. Please forgive me.**

The car ride down to the building Kaito Tsuki worked at didn't take very long. As the car pulled to a stop in front of the building, the group stared in awe. From the outside, it looked like it was at least twenty stories high. Just by looking at the outside of the building, it was easy to see important research went on inside.

As the group exited the car, Emi stretched her arms out. "Finally. Now we don't have to listen to Hyde's stupid lectures about Persona."

"Tell me about it. I thought my head was gonna explode." Clair said in agreement.

"Well since you seem so interested, allow me to continue" Hyde told the girls. "You see-"

"Shut up!" Emi and Clair yelled together.

Alicia and Emi's uncle gave an amused chuckle at the bickering teens. "You sure have an interesting group of friends, Alicia."

"You can say that again" Alicia sighed.

The group walked inside the large building. As they walked through the front door, a female electronic voice spoke to them. "Welcome to Generation Revival Industries, the only company to bring games from past decades to the modern age." Kaito led the group of teens as they walked up to the receptionist.

"Ah, Mr. Tsuki. Welcome back" the receptionist greeted. "And I presume these are the children you spoke of?"

"Yes they are" Kaito said. "Are their guest passes ready yet?"

"They were just finished a moment ago" she told him, handing him a series of I.D cards to the group. "We hope you have a fun time here"

"Thank you" Kaito told the receptionist. "Well kids, follow me."

The group of teens followed Kaito as he led them over to the elevator. When they entered, he pressed his I.D card against a scanner. Once the system recognized him, Kaito hit a button and the elevator moved down.

"Our marketing and production teams do all their work on the upper floors" Kaito explained as they continued to descend. "However, our research and development departments take place underground. We make countless VR games from classic game series such as Mario, Sonic, and even Donkey Kong. It's still a very new form of VR games. We only started putting some of our games on the retail market recently."

"So what kind of games are we going to be testing?" Lilina asked.

"Well today we'll just be having you test one of our games that recently went on the market, so you get the feel of it. I've heard you're all ALO players, correct?"

Dan and the others nodded in response. The elevator arrived at its designated floor and the group walked out. They now found themselves in a large room filled with monitors and all kinds of high level technology.

"Wow. This is incredible" Clair said in awe.

"The room you'll be using is over this way." Kaito told the group. The man led them through a door at the other end of the room. When they entered, they found a basically empty room. It was a wide open space filled only with beds that had Amu Spheres on them. "The game you'll be playing is already installed on them. Just log on and it'll automatically set to multiplayer mode. We'll be watching you play from the room next door." With that said, Kaito left the room and closed the door.

"I wonder what they have in store for us" Hyde said.

"Who knows?" Dan shrugged. "I guess we'll find out once we dive in."

The group of six teens laid down on the beds and fit the Amu Sphere's around their heads. They all uttered the same words together.

"Link Start!"

Everyone's vision went white as they dived into the virtual world. Ren looked as a title screen appeared in front of him, reading Megaman GR.

'_So a VR Megaman game'_ Ren thought. _'This should be interesting'_

Light enshrouded Ren and he now found himself wearing a full body set of futuristic armor that covered everything except for his head and neck. The coloring was a crimson red color. An energy cannon was attached to his right arm. Other than the outfit, he seemed to look almost entirely like his real world self. After a few seconds his vision went white yet again. When he regained his vision, Ren found himself in an apocalyptic industrial scenery. As he looked around, Ren saw the rest of his friends appearing as well. Each of them had the same type of armor Ren had on, though they were all different colors. Alice's was violet, Helios's was a fiery orange, Mai's was green, Dagger's was a light blue, and Himiko's was pink.

"What's with this weird armor?" Mai questioned as she examined herself. "And all we get to fight with are these cannons? No swords or anything else?"

"Have you even heard of Megaman?" Helios asked, rolling his eyes at the young girl's lack of knowledge about video games.

"Of course I have. I just thought we'd get some cooler weapons is all"

"Think of it as a new experience" Ren suggested. "We're so used to fighting with swords. A long range gun fight could be fun."

"If I was interested in gun fights, I would have played GGO." Mai said with a pout.

"No point in complaining, we might as well play the game out" Dagger suggested.

Suddenly, a large screen appeared before the group. On it was an old man. "Greetings fools! My name is Dr. Wiley, the greatest scientist in the entire universe!"

"Well someone's full of himself" Mai commented as she listened to the man go on.

"You may think you have what it takes to stop me, but my robot army will be sure to prove you wrong. Let's see if you have what it takes to reach me. Mwahahahahahahaha!" With his monologue done, the screen disappeared. Seconds later, a small buzzing noise was heard by the group.

"Heads up guys! We've got company!" Ren warned, pointing towards a swarm of robotic bees. "Helios, Himiko, and Dagger, keep their agro on you. Mai, Alice, and I will circle around and get them from behind."

"Got it!" the group said with a collective nod. Helios's group began blasting the swarm of robotic insects. Ren and Mai ran towards some shelter to cover them from view while they got behind the enemy. Ren noticed Alice still had yet to move, trapped in a daze.

"Alice, hurry! We have to move!" Ren called out.

Hearing Ren call out to her snapped Alice out of her thoughts. She looked over to Ren and Mai. "R-Right! I'm coming!"

'_What's with her lately'_ Ren thought as Alice ran over to him and Mai. _'She's been spacing out way too much these past few days'_

After Alice caught up with her group, the three of them slowly sneaked around and got behind the bees attacking Helios's group. Ren aimed the cannon on his right arm at the robots, as did Mai and Alice.

"Now!"

The three players began firing from the enemy's blind spot. At the same time, Helios's group began to increase their offensive assault. The robotic enemy quickly became confused from the sudden surprise, giving the group more than enough time to wipe them all out. Once the area was cleared of enemies, Mai gave an excited cheer. "Yeah! Take that you futuristic trash buckets! Nobody messes with us!"

With their opponents defeated, Ren and the others continued onwards towards their goal. Multiple robotic enemies occasionally appeared and attacked, but they were no match for the skilled group of VR veterans. Ren took considerable notice however that Alice's reaction speed was considerably lower than usual. He had caught her daydreaming multiple times as they progressed. She wasn't acting like she normally did.

After a couple hours of fighting through multiple levels and several types of robotic enemies, the group finally reached a wide open platform. There was nowhere to go on, and no enemies were present from what Ren and the others could tell.

"So what do we do now?" Dagger questioned.

"Don't let your guard down. Its times like this that a boss battle comes." Helios warned.

As if to prove Helios's point, the monitor in front of them turned on. On the screen was the same old man from the beginning of the game. "Congratulations on making it this far! Unfortunately for you, this is where you're journey ends!"

Suddenly, the ground Ren and the others were standing on began to shake. Part of the ground opened up and a figure emerged from underground. It was a giant humanoid yellow blob-like creature with one red eye on its head.

"What the heck is that thing?" Mai asked. "That stupid looking thing is supposed to be the final boss? Really?"

"You idiot! Do you have any idea what that is?!" Helios barked at the young girl.

"No, should I? It doesn't look all that powerful."

"That thing is the Yellow Devil. One of the strongest bosses in the Megaman game series" Helios explained.

"Whatever" Mai shrugged. "It's just like any other enemy. We just have to blast it and-"

The young girl was interrupted however as one of the arms from the Yellow Devil detached from the main body and rocketed towards Mai. The punch hit her full force and sent her flying back into a wall. The impact took out over half of Mai's health.

"Mai!" Himiko exclaimed. "Are you ok?!"

"Note to self. Don't underestimate yellow cyclops blobs" Mai grunted as she got to her feet.

"Alright Helios, you're the expert on these old games. How do we fight this thing?" Dagger asked.

"The Yellow Devil fights by separating its body into multiple pieces." Helios explained. "The only weak spot it has is its eye. We need to aim for that."

"Geez, I wish we had Sinon with us for this fight" Mai sighed.

"Mwahahahaha! You stand no chance against my Yellow Devil!" Dr. Wily laughed. "Enjoy meeting your deaths right here!" With that, the monitor turned off and the group was left alone with the giant boss.

Ren and his friends quickly began firing at the Yellow Devil. Hitting its eye was the only way to deal any damage, but the hard part was getting the boss to stay still. It swung its fist again at the group. As Ren and the others jumped back to dodge, the Yellow Devil fired its other fist towards Helios. The powerful hit dealt massive damage to the teen as he crashed into the wall and lost a good portion of his health.

"Helios!" Dagger called out. As she looked back towards her boyfriend, she didn't notice the Yellow Devil split into multiple blobs and spin around like a cyclone. The spinning blobs hit the red haired girl and slowly started dealing damage to her. There was no way to escape the attack. Ren quickly reacted and started blasting as many of the blobs as he could, finally getting them to back away from his teammate.

'_This is insane'_ Ren thought. _'Forget hitting the damn thing, we can barely dodge it'_

"Helios! Dagger! Get that thing's attention!" Ren ordered.

"Got it!" Helios and Dagger said with a nod.

Ren continued giving out orders to the rest of his team. "Mai and Himiko, cover Helios and Dagger as much as you can! Alice and I will focus on damaging it!"

Mai and Himiko both nodded and got behind Helios and Dagger, aiming their cannons at any attacks that would come towards them. Meanwhile, Ren led Alice behind some cover so they could prepare for a powerful assault on the boss's weak spot. "Ready Alice?"

"Y-Yeah" Alice nodded.

Ren wasn't exactly sure about how "ready" the black haired girl was, but decided to ignore it. The couple aimed their weapons at the boss and began charging for a power shot. After a few seconds, the charge was done and their weapons were ready to fire.

"We're ready guys! Keep it still!" Ren called out.

Obeying their leader, Helios and the others began firing shots around the boss, keeping it from moving. Ren aimed his sights at the glowing red eye of the Yellow Devil. "Now!"

Ren and Alice fired their weapons simultaneously. Ren's attack was able to hit the target dead center and deal a large amount of damage to the powerful boss. Alice's blast however, was way off course and flew past the target, missing the boss entirely. The black haired girl cursed under her breath as the two ducked back under the cover of the mechanical rubble to avoid the boss's detection. Ren knew for sure that something was wrong now. Alice wasn't a long range specialist, but her aim had never been this bad.

"Alright Alice, what's up with you?" Ren asked. "This isn't like you. You're not acting normally."

"I-It's nothing Ren. I… I'm just having an off day" Alice told her boyfriend. It hurt her deep down to lie to Ren, but she couldn't tell him the truth without spilling everything about the nightmares she had been having. _'I have to get it together. I'm making Ren suspicious'_

Ren could tell Alice was lying, but he couldn't do anything about it. Forcing out of her wasn't the right thing to do, and now wasn't the time for it anyway. They had a giant boss to deal with.

"Ren, Alice, look out!" Helios warned. "The boss is aiming at you guys!"

Helios's call brought Ren's head back into the fight just in time to see the boss's detached fist hit some rubble above them, sending the mechanical parts crashing down on top of them like an avalanche.

"Alice, look out!" Ren yelled as he shoved the black haired girl out of the way before the two of them were flattened by the attack.

"Ren!" Alice gasped, herself finally snapping out of her thoughts. "Are you ok?!"

"Yeah" Ren grunted. "I'll live"

Looking at the brown haired teen's HP, Alice saw that it had taken a hit from some of the mechanical parts that had fallen. _'What's wrong with me'_ she thought _'Everyone's getting hurt because of me'_

Ren peaked out from the cover they had to get a look at the battle. Helios and the others were still struggling with the Yellow Devil, who seemed to believe the two of them had been taken out by the attack. He looked back at Alice. "Stay down. I'm gonna try another charge shot."

Alice watched as Ren moved away and went towards a place to get a good shot. The black haired girl clenched her fists in anger. She wasn't able to help her friends at all like this. She had to do something to help them, but what? Suddenly she watched as the boss fired its fist again at Helios's group. Her eyes lit up with an idea. She jumped out from behind the rubble and started running towards the boss.

"Alice, what are you doing?!" Ren called out.

Alice ignored Ren's call for her to come back. _'I will not be a burden to everyone. I'm going to help everyone, even if it's just a little'_

The Yellow Devil noticed the black haired girl running towards her as she started firing at its eye. It blasted its other arm at her in response. Alice quickly jumped above the giant fist and fired another shot at the boss, dealing even more damage to it. As she fell back to the ground, the fist retracted at the same time. Alice rode the arm like a skateboard, charging up her cannon for a power shot. Alice jumped off the arm once it got close enough and aimed her cannon at the boss's eye at point blank range. The blast dealt massive damage to the Yellow Devil as it stumbled back and swatted Alice away like a fly.

"Now Ren!" Alice yelled as she flew back into the wall. "Finish it!"

Taking the opportunity Alice had given him, Ren fired one last charged blast at the boss. The attack hit the boss's eye and took out the rest of its HP. The Yellow Devil shattered into pieces and a sign reading 'Congratulations' hovered above the group.

"Alice!" Ren yelled, running over to the black haired girl who was lying on the ground from the hit she had taken. "Are you ok?"

"Yeah." Alice smiled. "Sorry I took so long to be useful"

"Geez. And people say I'm reckless" Ren said with a small chuckle.

With the final boss defeated, the group was logged out of the game and woke up on the beds they had logged in from. Not long after they removed the Amu Sphere's from their heads and sat up, Alicia and Emi's uncle entered the room.

"Th-That was fantastic" Kaito told the teens. "You kids were amazing in there"

"Oh come on. We weren't that great" Emi said with a giggle.

"No way. We had it set to one of the highest difficulty levels since there were so many of you playing at once, but you still cleared the final boss. I've never seen anyone do that."

Ren and the others walked out of the room and earned a huge applause from the other scientists in the room. In truth, the reason they dealt with the game without so much trouble was all the experience they had fighting in virtual reality from SAO and ALO. Most average gamers probably would have had a much harder time.

With their work done for the day, Kaito drove the group over to the hotel they were staying at. They had ordered three rooms, each with two beds, to share between the six of them. Hyde and Lilina took one room, Emi and Clair were paired together in another, and Dan and Alicia took the last one.

After retiring to their room for the night, Dan and Alicia got changed and fell onto the bed, exhausted from the virtual world battles they were in today. Alicia had more than just exhaustion on her mind however. Now she would have to go back to sleep. Once again, she would have to return to that nightmare.

'_Please'_ Alicia silently begged as she closed her eyes and went to sleep _'Don't let those nightmares come tonight'_

-A few hours later-

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Alicia awoke with a jolt. Once again she was shivering. Once again she was sweating. Once again she had woken up from the same nightmare.

"Ow. Damn that hurt."

Alicia looked next to her to see Dan picking himself up off the floor. "Dan? What are you doing on the floor?"

"I saw you quivering around in your sleep" Dan explained. "You looked like you were having a really bad dream so I tried to wake you up. Next thing I know, you shoved me and I fell off the bed."

"Oh…" Alicia said with an apologetic look on her face. "Sorry"

"Instead of an apology, how about an explanation." Dan suggested.

"Wh-What do you mean?"

"Alicia, I'm not blind. You've been acting strange these past few days. You're spacing out, your heart isn't in it when you fight, and now this. Tell me what's going on"

Alicia held her head down. All this time, she had tried to hide it and Dan had noticed anyway. In truth, she should have expected this. Nobody saw through her as well as him, just like she could see through him when he was hiding something.

"It's just…"

"It's ok Alicia. Whatever it is, you can tell me"

"… Alright" the black haired teen sighed. She knew she couldn't hide this from him anymore. "The truth is I've been having nightmares recently. Ever since I left the hospital to be exact. Every night I've had them. In them I see Yamato killing you. I just stand there and watch him kill you, unable to do anything. Once he does, he always sets his sights on me next and does… the same things he did to me that night two weeks ago."

Dan watched as Alicia told her story to him. Tears fell from her eyes as she relived those horrible memories. She fell into his arms, crying as she rested her head on his chest. "I-I'm just so scared. Every night I see you die. Every night I relive that memory. I don't know what to do."

Suddenly Alicia felt a touch on her face. She opened her eyes and saw Dan wipe the tears from her face and then embrace her tightly. These were the arms that comforted her. Not the cold touch from Yamato's hands on her, but the warm arms from the brown haired teen that she loved.

"I'm so sorry Alicia" Dan said. "All this time, you were hurting and I did nothing. I'm such a fool."

Alicia shook her head. "No. It's not your fault Dan. I never told you."

Dan let go of Alicia and stared at her eye to eye. "I know I can't take away what Yamato did to you. But I promise I'll never let him or anyone hurt you like that ever again. I swear I'll protect you."

"But that's part of what I'm afraid of! What if you die protecting me?! I don't want to lose you!"

"You act like it's gonna be that easy." Dan said with a smirk. "I'm not gonna die anytime soon. I promise"

"Dan..." Alicia said with a tear rolling down her face as she wrapped herself around him. "Thank you. You're always there for me. You have no idea how happy you make me."

"Not half as happy as you make me"

"I love you, so promise me something. Promise me that you won't die."

Dan nodded as he gave her a reassuring peck on the cheek. "I promise"

For the rest of that night, Alicia slept in the arms of the one she loved and had the most restful sleep she had gotten in two weeks.

**A/N: Hope you all enjoyed the chapter. Please review. I LOVE hearing all the positive feedback from you guys. Next chapter will have another classic game series for the team to dive into. Look forward to it.**


	52. Super Mario

**A/N: Hello readers! This chapter will feature another VR version of a classic video game that I'm sure all you gamers have played, if not at least heard about. I decided to take some liberties and change the gameplay up a bit, but I'm sure you'll all still love it. Please review. LET'S A GO!**

"Hiyah!" Alice yelled as she sent an ice blast towards her enemy. The blast completely froze its target, which was then finished off as Ren attacked with a blast of fire. The couple high fived each other as their opponent shattered into fragments.

"That was too easy, Ren" Alice said with a grin.

"Well when was the last time you heard of a Goomba being powerful?" Ren questioned with a grin of his own.

It was the last day Ren and the others in Tatsumi Port Island. Throughout the past couple of days, they had been playing various types of games for the company Alicia and Emi's uncle worked at. The group was currently testing the last game for the company, Mario Bros GR. Ren and the others found it fun to be playing a new version of a game series that went back to the beginning of video games.

"Stupid Goomba! Stay still!"

… Although some were becoming increasingly annoyed, namely Helios. The ashy haired teen kept jumping into the air and aiming for a Goomba's head, but found it harder than he originally thought.

"Are you done yet, Helios?" Mai asked. "We've already finished off the rest of them"

"Damn it, Mario makes this look easy" Helios grunted as he finally succeeded in stomping the Goomba he was targeting.

Ren and his friends continued walking through the level they were currently in. When they began the game, each of them were allowed to choose a power up for them to use on themselves. Ren had chosen the Fire Flower while Alice went with the Ice Flower, allowing them to use devastating combo attacks. Mai selected the Super Acorn, giving her a raccoon-like power up that allowed her to glide in the air. Himiko also picked an animal transformation power up, the Super Bell, which gave her a cat suit and allowed her to cling to walls. Dagger being true to her money loving personality chose the Gold Flower, a power up that gave her the ability to turn enemies and blocks into coins. The battle lover Helios decided to pick a Rock Mushroom, which increased his defensive powers and allowed him to roll over enemies. He rarely used the rolling feature however, as he preferred to jump on enemies or just punch them.

As they completed yet another level, the group found the scenery change and turn into the inside of a castle with pools of lava scattered all around. Several types of Koopa enemies, mostly Dry Bones, were walking around as the team of six looked at their surroundings.

"Looks like it's the final level" Helios grinned as he cracked his knuckles. "This'll be entertaining"

"Don't go getting cocky, Helios" Ren warned. "We need to keep our guard up for any surprises."

"Oh please, as if anything that shows up here is going to be a match for us" Helios confidently shrugged as he ran on ahead.

Ren and the others sighed as they ran after Helios. Ren had noticed that Alice had been a lot more cheerful compared to the first day they had arrived. He was glad the black haired girl was back to her old self. She hadn't had any nightmares since that first night either.

"Enemies up ahead!" Alice warned, pointing ahead of them. Just as she said, several Dry Bones were seen coming towards them.

The group ran at the zombified Koopas with all the speed they could muster. As they ran however, the enemies fell apart as boomerangs smashed through them.

"Everyone jump!" Ren quickly ordered. The spinning projectiles flew under their feet as they barely reacted in time to leap over them. They also dodged the boomerangs when they returned back to the enemies holding them, a group of five Boomerang Bros.

'_Clever trick'_ Ren thought to himself. _'They lure us in with the close combat Dry Bones then take us by surprise with the Boomerang Bros.'_

"Alright, let's get 'em!" Mai yelled. She and Himiko charged at the boomerang wielding enemies, running right over the Dry Bones corpses.

'_Oh crap!'_ Ren realized. "Mai! Himiko! Get out of there!"

It was too late however, as the hands of two of the Dry Bones grabbed the two girls as they ran over them. The undead Koopas regenerated to their original form, this time with the two girls binded.

"You idiots!" Helios yelled out to them. "This is what happens when you do stupid stuff like that!"

"Criticize us later jerk! First get us out of here!" Mai retorted. As she said this, the Boomerang Bros launched their weapons at the two girls, shaving off a fair amount of their health as they hit.

Ren and the others finally arrived as Ren and Alice jumped on top of the Dry Bones, causing them to disassemble once again, and then launching a midair attack of fire and ice at two of the Boomerang Bros. The last three of them were taken care of as Dagger blasted two of them with her attack, turning them into coins, followed up with Helios swatting away the incoming boomerang of the last one and using the abilities of his power up to flatten the Koopa.

"Alright, let's hurry before those Dry Bones come back to life" Ren suggested. With their first obstacle out of the way, the team of six continued running through the level. After a few minutes, they came across a wide pool of lava with patches of ground scattered across it.

"Something's fishy" Helios said aloud. "Crossing this is relatively easy, and there's no enemies here whatsoever."

"You're right" Ren agreed. "Well, we won't know what it is until we do it."

"Then we're winging it like usual, are we?" Mai shrugged with a somewhat excited grin.

"Winging things is our specialty" Alice said. "Let's do it!"

The group jumped on the first ground patch in the lava pool. The second they did so however, their chances of crossing the pool of lava seemed much slimmer. The ground began to sink into the lava and balls of fire leaped out of the burning liquid around each of the remaining patches, which were beginning to sink as well.

"Crap! Everyone split up! Make it across as fast as you can!" Ren ordered. At his command, they all took different routes, jumping from patch to patch as quickly as they could while avoiding the balls of fire leaping out at them. Ren did his best to avoid the fire attacks coming at him, since his own fire attacks would have no effect in this situation. Alice and Dagger were able to use their attacks to take out the fireballs, either cooling them down with ice or turning them into coins. Mai and Himiko used the high balance and acrobatic skills of their power ups to avoid most of the obstacles. Helios was the only one using reckless abandon and charging his way through, not caring about the miniscule damage the fireballs did to him.

Finally the group made it across the pit of lava. They turned around to see the last patch sink into the lava. There was no going back from here. Only one path was laid out before them. The trap hadn't killed any of the six players, but they had lost a decent amount of their HP. After turning a corner in the area, they found a large door, about the size of one for a floor boss room in new Aincrad.

"Looks like it's time for the final boss" Ren grinned. He walked up to it and pressed his hand against it, turning his head back to his friends. "You ready guys?"

Ren's friends all nodded their heads with excited grins on their faces. "Yeah!"

With everyone all prepared for the final fight, Ren pushed the door open. Laid out before them was a long metal bridge that hung over a large pool of lava. Standing on the other side was the infamous boss of the Mario Bros game series, Bowser the Koopa King.

"Congratulations on making it this far" Bowser roared. "But playtime's over now, kiddies."

Ren's group watched as the Koopa King jumped off of his throne and stood before them on the other side of the bride. He held his hand out, taunting the group. "Do your worst"

"Let's go guys!" Ren called out.

"Right!" everyone replied in unison. The team of six sped across the bridge and closer towards he final boss. Bowser got ready to fight as he inhaled for a breath attack. Ren wasted no time giving out orders.

"Alice, Dagger, Helios, and I will distract him! Mai and Himiko, get past him and hit the button on the other side! Do that and we win!"

Everyone nodded and put the plan into motion. Mai and Himiko jumped onto the side railings of the bridge and began running across them at full speed. Dagger, Alice, and Ren sent their blast attacks towards Bowser to get his agro on them. It worked as Bowser blasted a barrage of fireballs at them. They didn't connect however, as Helios got in front and took the brunt of the attack. His health fell down into the red from taking the hits for his team.

"Don't overdo it Helios" Ren warned. "You can't take another hit"

"Just focus on doing your part of the plan!" Helios yelled back. As they continued to run, Ren and the others noticed Bowser launch a huge fireball at them. The blast covered the entire width of the bridge. There was no way to avoid it.

"Get back!" Helios told them, as he ran even faster and went ahead of the group. "Ren, get on my back! Hurry!"

Ren knew what his friend had in mind. He ran faster as well as Helios stopped moving. Ren pressed his foot on Helios's back and jumped up over the fire ball. Behind the gigantic blast was the final boss, completely exposed. Ren launched a series of fire attacks at him, knocking the Koopa King off balance by a small amount. While Ren was airborne, Helios charged at the fireball head on. The ashy haired teen swung his fist at it, almost challenging it. The blast exploded on impact. As the smoke cleared, Helios was nowhere to be found.

"Helios!" Dagger screamed. She clenched her fists in anger as she shed a tear. Even though they wouldn't die from their HP hitting zero in a regular game, it still hurt to see one of them die virtually. Perhaps it was just a reaction from the many deaths they saw in their two years in Sword Art Online.

Mai and Himiko stood on the bridge with the others as they looked at Bowser, laughing maniacally. The red haired merchant glared murderously at him. "Mai, Himiko, get moving"

"Dagger…"

"Just go!" Dagger yelled. "We're not losing now! Not after Helios sacrificed himself for us to go on!"

Mai put a hand on her friend's shoulder. "Of course we won't. No way am I going back and having that jerk bite my head off, saying I messed up after he saved us" Ren and Alice smiled and nodded in agreement as well.

Ren, Dagger, and Alice charged at Bowser, while Mai and Himiko went back to running on the side railings. Dagger took the lead for the charge with Alice and Ren closely behind her.

"Hey you oversized turtle! This is for Helios!" Dagger yelled as she blasted golden colored blasts at the boss. She eventually stopped running and just stood at one point, fire blasts even faster than before. Ren and Alice ran across the bridge as Bowser launched another series of fireballs at them. Ren and Alice nimbly dodged them, running to the side of them or jumping over them. They watched as the fireballs flew towards Dagger. The red haired girl held determination in her eyes as she sent a last couple of blasts at Bowser before the fireballs collided with her, bringing her health down to zero as well. The remaining four players in the group didn't stop. They continued to run to their goal, knowing it was what their two fallen friends would have wanted. The attacks from the boss were getting less and less accurate, due to all the damage it had taken from the attacks Ren, Dagger, and Alice had sent its way.

Finally done with fireballs, Bowser stomped on the ground, sending a sudden shockwave across the bridge. Ren and the others stumbled a bit, losing their balance a little. Then, a stream of fire came from Bowser's mouth. Ren's eyes widened as the attack came for him.

"Ren!" Alice yelled as she pushed him out of the way. The black haired girl wasn't spared however as she took the stream of fire full force, blasting her back and taking out her HP.

"Alice!" Ren screamed. He glared back at the boss. There were only three of them left now. He wasn't losing now. Not after they had come this far and sacrificed this much. Mai and Himiko felt the same way. It was easy to see with the fire burning in their eyes.

"Himiko, jump off of me!" Ren ordered. His sister gave a nod as she jumped from the railing and onto her brother. She kicked off from his back and soared towards Bowser with the flight capabilities of her power-up. Mai didn't even need to be told her part of the plan. She jumped off of the railing and then off of Himiko's back. The height she had given her allowed her to leap over the boss and onto the other side of him. Himiko hit the ground and slid past Bowser, going under his legs. A giant red button was sticking out next to the two young girls.

"Now!" Ren yelled. "Hit it!"

Mai and Himiko nodded and smashed the button with their fists. As they did so, the bridge began to collapse. Bowser fell down towards the lava pit, almost thirty meters below them. Ren wasn't safe either as he fell down as the bridge collapsed too.

"Ren!" Mai yelled.

The tactician had no plans of going down like this. He kicked off of one piece of the bridge and onto another one. He continued jumping off from piece to piece, finally within reach of the other side. His hand gripped the ledge and he hung on with nothing but death to greet him if he fell. Mai and Himiko grabbed their leader's arm and helped pull him up. The three of them caught their breath as a sign reading 'Congratulations' hovered in front of them.

"We *huff* did it" Mai said with an exhausted smile.

"Yeah" Himiko nodded. "Man that was tough"

Ren, Mai, and Himiko felt their vision turn white and they were logged out. They woke up on the beds they logged in from, along with Alicia, Hyde, and Lilina.

"Way to go guys!" Alicia smiled.

"Next time I'm not being cannon fodder though, got that!" Hyde said to them.

"Why? A meathead like you is perfect for the job" Emi teased.

"What was that squirt?!"

Suddenly the door opened and Alicia and Emi's uncle entered the room. "You kids really are something, you know that? Is there ANYTHING you can't beat?"

The teens grinned from being praised for their skills. It had been a long, but fun few days they had spent here. With this last game done however, it was time to go home. Kaito drove them over to the train station and purchased their tickets for going back to Tokyo. As the train began to leave the station, Dan and the others waved goodbye to the man through the window.

Once the station was out of eyesight, they took their seats and relaxed. Hyde and Lilina sat together and read some books they had brought along, though Hyde's book was just a manga. Emi and Clair talked together about the fun things they had done on the trip. Alicia simply rested her head on Dan's shoulder and drifted off to sleep. Dan smiled as he watched the black haired girl sleep peacefully. She must have been trying to catch up on all the sleep she had lost from her nightmares. Suddenly, a click was heard and he saw Lilina take a picture of them with her phone. Dan glared a little at the girl, who simply let out a quiet laugh and whispered "Sorry, but it was too perfect to not take a picture of. Wait till everyone else back home sees this"

"Don't you dare" Dan whispered back.

"Come on. Just think of how adorable everyone will think you two look."

Dan wanted to take the red haired merchant's phone from her, but couldn't move without waking Alicia. He merely grumbled and watched as Lilina chuckled to herself, looking at the picture.

XXXXXXXXX

Night darkened the sky and shrouded the city. The streets were illuminated by the electrical light of street lamps, but the darkness of the night still inhibited the alleyway. A teenage girl entered the dark alleyway. She had long black hair and violet eyes that shined in the night. She entered the dark back streets from the alleyway where multiple other shadowy figures were waiting for her.

"I don't recognize you" one of the figures, a guy with a scar on the right side of his face, said as the black haired girl walked up to them. "You're not a SAO survivor, are you?"

"No I'm not, but I have just as much reason to be here as you do" she replied with a hint of malice in her voice to show she meant business.

"Wait a second... you're that Succubus girl that MMO Stream talked about a few months ago, aren't you?" another one of the figures, this one wearing a hood realized. "You caused a huge uproar in ALO by seducing a bunch of guys. What was your name again? Morrigan?"

"I see you're familiar with my work" the girl smirked. "And I know you too. You're that Death Gun idiot that committed those murders in Gun Gale Online."

"What did you call me?" the hooded male said as he walked over to the girl and grabbed her by the throat.

"Awww, is the wannabe serial killer angry that he lost to that Kirito guy?"

"Is the girl who can't get a guy without seducing him with magic asking for a death wish?"

In response to this, the girl swung her right leg and kicked the hooded male in his manhood. He let her go and kneeled over in pain. "Shady bitch"

"Hahahahahahaha, that's what you get for letting down your guard!" another one of the guys said as he rolled across the floor laughing.

"Shut up Black" he grunted as he picked himself up off the ground.

"Ah, ah, ah, that's Johnny Black remember?" the laughing male told his fellow Laughing Coffin member.

"So this is the remains of Laughing Coffin?" a new voice questioned, walking into the back streets. He was wearing a black suit that showed he was an important figure.

"I take it you're the one who called us all here?" the guy with the scar on his face asked.

"Correct. I'm responsible for helping your Death Gun friend get out of the juvenile detention center, as well as calling out that girl over there. We are in need of a bit of help here in Japan."

"And what's in it for us?" Morrigan asked.

"How about revenge on a certain group of SAO survivors, for starters."

"... Interesting. I'm up for it" the scarred face man smirked. "I've wanted to stab a knife into that Kirito for quite a while."

"It's rare to see you so bloodthirsty boss" Johnny said with an entertained grin. "Usually you just go and kill whoever you want nonchalantly, but you seem to have a bit of an attachment to killing the black swordsman of SAO."

"All I want are those girls dead at my feet." Morrigan growled. "If you guys can give me that chance, I'm up for whatever you want me to do."

"I don't care what I have to do. As long as I get payback on Ren, it doesn't make a difference" one of the others, this one a blonde male teen, told the man.

"Give it a rest Shino. You lost. Get over it. Hell, you weren't even a main member of Laughing Coffin. Just a lowly spy" Shouichi smirked.

"Shut up you piece of-"

"Enough!" the scarred face man said in a commanding voice that even made Morrigan fall silent. He turned back to the man that had called them all here. "Please continue"

"Very well. Now that you're all done acting like a bunch of brats, let's get down to business" the suit wearing man said. "Your job is to be... mercenaries, for lack of a better word."

"Mercenaries?"

"A large scale change is coming" the man explained. "Those that are against us plan on using skilled VR players to stop us. We need VR players that can match them in skill and aren't afraid to kill to counter them. That's where you come in. Are you up for it... PoH?"

The scar faced man, aka PoH, grinned at the offer. He took out a knife from his pocket and twirled it around in his hand. He turned to his friends around him. "Laughing Coffin, we have our next assignment."

**A/N: (Evil music playing in the background) Mwahahaha, what will happen next? The three higher ups of Laughing Coffin, the traitor of the tacticians Shino, and everyone's favorite Succubus Morrigan. Look forward to next week's chapter. Please review.**


	53. Gunfight

**A/N: Hey guys! Remember that Laughing Coffin scene at the end of last chapter that made you think "Oh my god, I can't wait to see what they do next chapter!". Well guess what? That's NEXT WEEK'S chapter!**

**Now before you guys go all PKer on me and try to remove my Nerve Gear, I want to say I have a good reason for this. As I'm sure you guys have noticed, these last few chapters have had a lot of tension and action in them. Next week will also start a long series of chapters that will have the same thing. So I wanted to take this as an opportunity to post a chapter that doesn't have to do with the main story. Just a one chapter idea for everyone. I hope you all enjoy it. Please review.**

**Guest: The story is set in Japan. I know that chapter wasn't really geographically correct, but I just wanted to do a little something for the holiday.**

Excitement buzzed throughout the Dicey Cafe as Kazuto and his friends watch with anticipation as the annual BoB was about to begin. The players entered Governor General's office in swarms as they entered their names for the BoB.

"Alright everyone it's time for the MMO Stream to begin!" a spunky voice called out as a girl with cat ears jumped into the camera's view. "The newest BoB is about to begin and boy do we have a star studded line up of players!"

"That's right my fine feline friend!" a male announcer said with a smile. "This BoB is going to be featuring last years champ Sinon along with Yamikaze along with a new upincommer that's been tearing through the online rankings!"

"Hey guys! Sorry I'm late!"

Dan and the others turned around to see Lilina running through the entrance of the Dicey Cafe. Alicia raised an eyebrow to see the redhead without her second crazy half. "Where's Hyde."

"He got into another argument with his mom so he's not allowed to leave the house." she let out a sigh. "Sucks but what can I do?"

"Guys, there's Sinon!" Rika pointed at the screen as the announcers were talking about the top players.

"As we all know last year there was two champs of the BoB but it seems that only Sinon is here. Kirito is no where to be seen. A shame, he was a fan favorite last year."

Kazuto inwardly cringed at the memories of how he had to pretend to be a girl for a while. When the others heard about it, endless teasing ensued, mostly from Hyde himself.

"But now in addition with her and Yamikaze we have this new player that has shocked people in how fast he's moved up."

"And who is that?" the catgirl inquired.

The male announcer brought up a picture of a male player wearing rather intimidating looking armor. If one had to describe it, it would be a ram horned helmet with three spots for each of the eye sockets that glowed yellow. He wore a tattered scarf with ballistic leather armor and armored gauntlets and boots. In his hands was a large cannon and on his side was a large blaster looking weapon. "This is the new player named Skolas. His brutal offensive tactics and cornering pressure had moved him through the ranks rather quickly and has become a high bet target."

The catgirl gave a glance at Skolas's weapons. "And what weapons does he use? Those look rather strange for a game like this."

"Well if you can make mecha's then these weapons don't seem too far fetched. The weapons he uses are called the Devil Scorcher and the Shrapnel Blaster. The Devil Scorcher is a new type of gun added to the most recent update of GGO called scorch cannons. They have a huge blast radius but players must be wary of its recharge rate and blasting it too close to them. The Shrapnel Blaster is like a longer range shotgun but the farther the shot lasts, the less accurate it becomes."

"So you're saying he has to be in a proximity depending on his kill?"

"Precisely. But he doesn't seem to have any problem with doing that as he is rather quick on his feet. The most interesting item in his arsenal is his helmet. Although it provides great defense, it makes it so he can't really talk. All his words come in some strange garble that normal players can't understand." the announcer smiled as he looked at the screen. "Luckily for you all however, we at the announcers station can understand and translate what he's saying to the audience."

Sugu frowned at the picture of this Skolas person. "This guy looks tough… Does Sinon stand a chance?"

Asuna gave her a reassuring smile. "Relax Sugu, she's just as good as Kazuto in this game. It doesn't matter how good this guy is, one shot from her sniper and that title is as good as hers."

Kazuto laughed as he walked up to his girlfriend. "Yeah, she has this in the bag."

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Sinon looked around the waiting room as many players conversed with each other, mostly trash talking each other's equipment while stating the others didn't have a chance at winning. It was a shame Kirito didn't want to enter as she wanted to see who really was the better of the two but she was glad he was giving her a chance to win on her own right.

"Hey Sinon? Where's your boyfriend Kirito?" a grating voice asked from her right.

And her good mode was instantly ruined.

She turned around to see a large behemoth of a man looking down on her with a smug smirk on his face. Not needing anymore coercion on the matter, she decided to turn that smug smile upside down. Instantly the look was replaced by a stare of horror as she pulled out her sidearm handgun and placed it under his chin.

"I'm sorry what was that? I could've sworn you just said something that pissed me off."

"I-I-I m-meant g-g-good luck in the t-tournament!" he said, studdering with fear.

Sinon smiled at him as she tapped her gun under his chin once. "Now be a good boy and run with your tail between your legs like the coward you are."

He did just that.

'_It feels good to be the queen.'_

As Sinon made her way to an empty seat, she soon found herself blocked off by another player. He was only around half a head taller than her but what really caught her off guard was the strange armor that he wore. She felt his stare at her as it pierced through those yellow eyes of his.

"Sherak sho ta ke na." he said in a heavily distorted voice.

"I'm sorry, what?"

The player brought up his message screen and typed up a quick one to send. Within a moment Sinon saw a new message in her inbox. Its sender, Skolas. Sinon opened the message and it said something simple and to the point.

"_Today. You will fall at my hands."_

Sinon glared at the player in front of her. "Oh really!? Well get ready to eat those words 'Skolas' when I shoot a bullet through your skull!"

"Hahahahahaha! Cana keto kola eatka."

Sinon stared blankly at the player until he sighed and typed up another message to her.

"_Hahahahahaha! I hope you don't burn easy!"_

"Talk is cheap you know. Let's see if you can back your big mouth up in the BoB 'Skolas'." Turning around, Sinon stormed off away from the player. As she turned she quickly caught a glimpse of Skolas flipping her off.

'_Oh he is so going to die!'_

A message soon appeared to all players stating that the BoB was about to begin. Sinon smiled as she put her game face on as the top 30 were teleported into the arena.

"Alright players! It's the for the 4th BoB to begin!"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Sinon quickly hid behind a small pile of debris as she caught her breath. It seemed that occupying the abandoned building to the far west of the map was the smart move as the middle ground area was like hell on earth. Out of the whole mess only ten players had made it out, one being her. The only other two she saw that she recognized were Yamikaze and Skolas. She had expected many things from this BoB but having Skolas go ahead and draw first blood by blowing off another player's face with his cannon was just overkill.

That was when the floodgates from hell opened up and a sea of bullets and grenades blasted all around her.

"Okay so let's see here… ten players left only two of which I know by name and one I've killed before." she pulled out her signature sniper rifle Hecate and looked through it's scope. She gave an incredulous look as she saw Yamikaze out in the open.

"Alright Skolas!" he yelled at the top of his lungs. "I'm calling you out! One on one, mano y mano! Let's see who's the real man in this game!"

'_That freaking idiot!' _Sinon thought fiercely.

Answering his call, Skolas appeared in his sight with his weapon, the Devil Scorcher, pointed right at him.

Yamikaze pointed his auto rifle at his opponent. "Alright you freak! Bring it on!"

"Ye ka nokai!"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Looks like we have a one on one skirmish between two of GGO's top players! Yamikaze vs Skolas!" the catgirl said with excitement. "This oughta be a fight to remember!"

"For those of you wondering what he just said, Skolas taunted with 'Try not to die!' He seems like a real trash talker." the male announcer said as he looked back to the duel.

"Wow this Skolas guy is really giving the competition a run for their money." Dan said as he took a bite of his meal.

Kazuto nodded his head. "That might be true but I wouldn't count out Yamikaze yet. He's one of GGO's best for a reason. I think he might be as fast as you Dan."

Dan rolled his eyes. "Yeah right, I'd like to see that in ALO. I'd wipe the floor with him"

"Wow, someone's modest." Klein said from the other barstool.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Yamikaze dodged left and right from the buckshot of Skolas's blaster as he retaliated with a grenade near his feet. Jumping back, the masked player avoided the blast radius of the grenade and retreated to behind a car. He grunted as he threw his own grenade back at him.

The speedy player rolled away from the explosive ball of fire and rushed forward as he drew a knife. He jumped over the car and stuck at Skolas's head. The player ducked under the blade and kicked Yamikaze's shin out from under him. The player grunted as he fell to the ground but managed to roll out of the way as Skolas tried to stomp his head.

'_This guy is pretty skilled.'_ Yamikaze thought as he sent some retaliating fire with his rifle._ 'He obviously has some pretty good reaction time to know how to dodge a grenade with such a short fuse.'_

Skolas threw a piece of debris out to the open to gather the attention from his opponent. Normally people would ignore such a noob tactic to draw people out, but one player decided to ignore that rule. A player in a cowboy like outfit quickly came out from left field and started shooting his pistol out in the open. He soon stopped when he saw both Yamikaze and Skolas point their guns at him simultaneously.

"Umm… Hi?"

The player was soon blown to bits by a combination of a scorch cannon blast and a headshot from Yamikaze.

The two players stared each other in the eye for a moment before the faster player opened his mouth.

"Good shot."

"Lieka croa!" (Likewise)

And then it was back to firing at each other.

Sinon slapped her head as she watched this happen. Either Skolas was a tactical genius and was whittling away the small fries or he just got lucky and blasted some poor soul into oblivion. She was betting on the latter.

'_Alright time to end this!'_ Yamikaze thought as he chucked another grenade. Gathering Skolas's attention, the masked player rolled out of the way but grit his teeth in pain as a bullet hit him through his shoulder. He tried to shrug off the pain but failed when a bullet struck his helmet rather hard, making him stumble back a bit. Yamikaze then jumped from his position and tackled the other player to the ground and pointed the barrel of his gun at Skolas's head.

"Any last words Skolas?" he asked as he pressed the nozzle to his head.

Unknown to Yamikaze however, he failed to notice the masked player slowly moving his right hand to reach for his sidearm.

He lifted his helmet so he could understand what his last words would be.

"Only three."

WIth a quick motion, the butt of the blaster was knocked into Yamikaze's temple and sent the fast player sprawling to the ground grasping his head in pain. Looking upwards he saw the barrel of Skolas's scorch cannon pointed right in his face.

"Good game bitch!"

Yamikaze's eyes widened in shock before he blew off his head with a fiery burst.

"Yeshena go kino a takala Sinon!" Skolas yelled as he fired a blast from his cannon in the air.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Ooh! What a disappointment! Yamikaze has been eliminated from the BoB by Skolas!" the catgirl said with a snap of her fingers. "A shame, I was betting on him. That's 1000 yen down the drain."

"Well as far as notable contestants go, the only two remaining are Skolas and Sinon. There are now only 8 players remaining after the death of Yamikaze and that poor soul who fell for the trap." The male announcer said. "And for those wondering what Skolas just said, he was calling out Sinon. He called her a... well... lets just say it was an insult."

"Oh well lets make that seven players now. Look at the screen." the catgirl called out.

Everyone in the Dicey Cafe looked to see Skolas surrounded by six other players.

"Well he's dead." Rika said as she nibbled on her snack

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

Sinon watched from the window as she saw Skolas surrounded by six players. Usually teaming up didn't happen in BoB, but they must have seen what a threat he was. Sinon took this opportunity to move back and check her equipment.

'_Ok, I've still got three bullets left in Hecate, plus another pack of ammo'_ Sinon thought to herself. _'I should be able to take out whoever's left after that skirmish.'_

With her equipment all in order, Sinon took a peek out her window again to see how the fight was going. She gasped at what she saw.

'_Wh-What the hell?!'_

Six players lied dead on the ground. Bullets and scorch marks covered the area. Skolas, who Sinon had all but considered dead, was nowhere to be seen.

'_Where?'_ Sinon thought as she scanned the area with her scope. _'Where the hell is he?'_

A tap on the shoulder came out of nowhere that made a cold sweat go down Sinon's back. She slowly turned her head to see Skolas with the barrel of his Devil's Scorcher pointed right at her face.

"Yucre hetcsha! Hahahahaha!" Skolas laughed as he pressed the barrel closer to her head.

Sinon growled at the situation she was in. If she tried to reach for her gun or her sidearm, she'd get blasted in the face. But that didn't stop her from voicing her opinion on his irritating garble.

"Can you take off that damn helmet!? I can't understand you! Speak Japanese damnit!" she yelled at him.

"I said..." he started slowly as he removed his helmet to show his face to Sinon. Her eyes widened in shock as they registered the familiar, smug, jackass face of one of her least favorite members of her friend group. "Gotcha bitch!"

"HELIOS!?"

"The one and only."

Sinon pinched herself to make sure she wasn't dreaming, the dull pain that came from it insured her that this was really happening. "Alright I have so many questions! Why are you playing GGO? Why is your name Skolas? Why did you compete in the BoB? But the biggest one of all is, how the hell did you manage to kill six players at once when you were surrounded!?"

Helios shrugged smugly as his face lifted in a smile. "Well let's answer them shall we. The six player thing is easy. They all opened fire at the same time so I ducked under the bullets and they all shot each other. I only killed the ones who survived. Why my name is Skolas is that I made a new Seed account under the table and have been playing this game in my spare time. As for the GGO and BoB questions? Well I just wanted to do this to humiliate you in your own game."

Sinon grit her teeth in anger, this was his plan the whole time? "How did you become one of the top players in such a short time!?"

"Oh please, other than a few handful of people, most of them are a bunch of lemmings. But then again if you of all people can be a top GGO player, it can't take too much skill and I was right!"

"I am going to-" She was cut off as the hot barrel of the Devil Scorcher touched her cheek.

"You're go in to do what? Try to move and have me blast your head off? Oh what a fantastic and smart plan! It's so clever that it loops straight back to being retarded." He taunted with a condescending smile. "So! Any last words before I blow your head off?"

"I freaking hate you."

"Well said. Good game!"

In a moments notice, Sinon found herself being blown to bits by the revealed Skolas by his cannon at point blank range.

XXXXXXXXXXX

"What a devastating victory!" The catgirl cheered with delight. "The winner of the 4th annual BoB is Skolas!"

No one in the bar was cheering, mostly because they were still in shock at what just happened at that moment.

Dan was the first to break the silence. "Oh. My. God"

"What the hell just happened? Did I see that correctly?" Rika asked.

"No, we all saw that" Kazuto said. "That was definitely Hyde."

All heads turned to Lilina for an explanation. The red haired girl seemed just as shocked as the others.

"Don't look at me. I had no idea about this" she told them. "Although this does explain why he's been busy lately."

"Why did he go to all that trouble though?" Alicia wondered.

"Simple. Because he's a jackass" Rika muttered.

"I feel bad for Sinon though" Emi sighed. "She was really looking forward to winning this year."

"One thing's for sure" Kazuto said. "Sinon is not going to be in a good mood for awhile"

-The next day-

Dan and everyone chatted together in the Dicey Cafe about their remaining plans for summer. The topic soon changed back to everyone's shock at what happened yesterday. Hyde was sitting proudly in his chair as he ate the food he had ordered.

The sound of the front door to the cafe opening was heard and everyone turned to see Shino walking in. She seemed depressed and that feeling only worsened when she saw that Hyde was there. She could just turn around and leave, but she was not going to give that jackass the satisfaction of that. Instead she walked over to the bar counter, took a seat, and planted her face on the counter while sulking.

"Shino… are you ok?" Alicia asked.

"I don't want to talk about it..." Shino told them.

"Oh but I do!" Hyde said with an excited grin. "Let's talk about how the best sniper in GGO lost to a complete beginner in the biggest tournament in the game."

"Why the hell are you doing this?!" Shino glared. "Haven't I suffered enough?!"

"Not even close!" Hyde responded. "So cover your ears cause it's story time! Now our story begins with-"

"Before you do that Hyde, I have a question for you" Lilina said.

"Yes?"

"Why were you playing a new game without telling me?"

"Well-"

"And why did you find it right to lie to me about why you couldn't hang out with me yesterday?"

"Umm… I…"

"And why were you so obsessed with another girl, instead of your girlfriend?"

"N-Now Lilina, I can explain" Hyde said with a cold sweat going down his back.

"Oh I'm sure you can" Lilina said with a seemingly innocent smile. "Let's go somewhere private to talk about this"

Dan and the others watched as the red haired girl grabbed her boyfriend by the back of his shirt and dragged him out of the cafe. Before they left, Hyde mouthed 'Help me' to his friends. Unfortunately for him, none of them were willing to get in the way of the psycho merchant. He tried to hold on to the frame of the door to delay his punishment, but his girlfriend's yanks were too powerful as he was pried from the doorway.

"... Wouldn't want to be Hyde right now" Emi said as she took a sip of her drink.

XXXXXXXXXX

After receiving his punishment from his girlfriend, Hyde slowly made his way back home. After he entered his house he walked up to his room and laid down on his bed.

'_Note to self. Don't lie to Lilina. EVER! Ugh my shoulders hurt… It's gonna bruise later...'_

Hyde looked over to see his Amu Sphere lying on the table in his room. Deciding to play ALO for a little, the ashy haired teen fit the device around his head and laid his head on the pillow of his bed in order to forget his girlfriend's punishment.

"Link Start!"

Hyde's vision went white as he logged into the world of ALO. His appearance changed into his avatar Helios and he found himself in Yggdrasil City. His friends were still probably IRL so he decided to do some solo training. He walked over to the teleport stone and stood on the altar, deciding to go to the Salamander capital.

"Teleport! Gattan!"

Helios soon found himself in the desert surrounded city of Gattan. Monsters in the area consisted mostly of lizard type enemies and sand monsters. None of them were any match for the high leveled Helios though.

After about an hour or so, Helios was beginning to grow bored of the weak enemies in the area. He let out a yawn as the last monster in the mob he was fighting shattered into blue polygons.

"Geez, can't I get anything interesting to fight?" Helios said aloud.

His prayer was soon answered as he heard the sound of a player descending right behind him. The Salamander turned around to see a cloaked player. looking at him. Their face and equipment were hidden from the cloak, making it impossible to tell who it was.

"You want something pal?" Helios asked.

In response, the cloaked player opened their menu and sent a duel request to the Salamander. It was a 1v1 duel with the HP to zero rule and no time limit. Helios grinned as he looked at this.

"I don't know what's going on in that head of yours, but if you want to fight me I'll be happy to beat you into the dirt." Helios hit the 'Accept' tab and a timer began counting down as his HP was brought back to full. The Salamander got into his battle stance while his opponent simply stood there.

"Umm hello? Aren't you gonna bring out your weapon?" Helios asked. He got no response from his opponent as the timer whittled down. Was this person mocking him?

"Alright then if you won't attack, I will!" Helios said as the timer finally hit zero. He charged at his opponent and swung his axe full force. The cloaked player easily dodged it though. Helios kept swinging his axe repeatedly while his opponent dodged every strike. Finally the cloaked player back flipped away and ran towards some rocks in the distance.

"Oh no you don't! You're not getting away coward!" Helios roared as he ran after his opponent. He watched as the player turned a corner into the cover of the nearby rocks. Helios turned the corner as well, but when he did he saw someone he wasn't expecting.

"Sinon?!"

The Cait Sith archer turned out to be the cloaked player as the hood was now uncovered. The more troubling matter at hand however was the fact that she had her bow out with an arrow pointed at Helios from point blank range. The slightest movement from Helios would guarantee a head shot.

"Any last words Mr. Big Shot?" Sinon smirked.

"... Damn you to hell"

"Well said. Good game!" Sinon said as she let her arrow fly, piercing through the Salamander's head and taking out his HP instantly. As she looked at the remain light left behind she kneeled down and looked at it with a satisfied grin. "Revenge is a bitch, isn't it Helios?"

-The next day-

Hyde groaned as his face laid on the countertop of the Dicey Cafe. The trauma of last night was still too painful and fresh in his mind.

"Hyde are you okay?" Dan asked as he pointed his shoulder. "You've been depressed all day, it's really freaking us out."

"I don't want to talk about it…" he moaned.

"Oh but I do!" Everyone turned around to see Shino walking up to her friends with the biggest shit eating grin on her face as she made her way towards Hyde. "Let's talk about how the big, bad Hyde lost to a certain Cait Sith archer in ALO, a game that has close combat users at an advantage!"

"You shut your mouth!" Hyde yelled back at her.

Alicia began to smirk at the raging teen. "Hyde you lost to her in ALO? Wow must be karma from two days ago huh?"

Rika laughed and pointed a finger at her worst enemy. "Ha! Serves you right jackass!"

Shino smiled and held her head up high. "That's right, shows what happens when you mess with me!"

"Oh big deal!" Hyde said as he got up in Shino's face. "You only won cause you ran away like a little bitch! And tell me, who's the guy who got the title of GGO's best AND the prize money of 100,000 yen? Oh that's right, ME!"

"You only won cause you used a weapon that took no skill to use!" Shino bit back.

Hyde smirked in response. "Oh what's wrong!? Did I hit a nerve!? Oh of course! The great and mighty Shino taken down by a newbie! WIll your reputation ever recover?"

"Oh will yours when I tell the whole ALO network you lost to me?"

"Yeah well gonna be kinda hard to prove that with no video of it! Meanwhile my victory over you was broadcast worldwide!"

Shino smiled back at him. "Oh, did I forget to mention the recording crystal I activated before the duel started?"

"Damn you stupid girl!"

"Arrogant bastard!"

"Crazy bitch!"

"Flea Brained mook!"

"Gun crazy whore!"

"Oh my god will you two just kiss already!?" Emi shouted, effectively silencing the duo of screaming teens.

"WHAT!?"

"HELL NO!"

"Emi why would you even say that?" Asuna asked. "Look at those two, it's like a stray cat and dog fight."

Emi gestured to the both of them with a knowing look on her face. "Oh come on! All they do is argue and attack each other like an old married couple! The sexual tension between them is so thick you could make houses from it." She then looked back to the two, now pale faced teens. "So seriously, when's the wedding?"

"... I ship it." Suguha said from the side.

"Can you not!?" Lilina yelled back rather violently, making the younger girl flinch back in fear.

"Ugh… forget this. I'm out of here…" Hyde said lowly as he walked past his friends. But not before giving Emi one last look. "You made this weird…" With Lilina in tow, the couple walked away as she whispered words of comfort and solace to help him get through the shock of the rather incredible statement from Emi.

Shino turned around as well, now looking pale as she picked up her bag. "I'm just gonna go back to my house, lie on my bed and rethink my entire life up to this point. Emi… you went too far with that line. I'm gonna carry that mental scar for the rest of my life. All the therapy in the world can't help me with that mental scar." she then walked through the door, leaving the entire place quite as a graveyard.

"Nice going Emi!" Rika said. "I was looking forward to seeing Shino bust Hyde's balls, but you just had to go and ruin it!"

"What!? How am I the bad guy here!?"

Asuna nodded in agreement with her friend. "She's right Emi, you just gave them a scar I don't think they can recover from."

"Asuna!"

Alicia threw in her two cents as well. "I know that Hyde deserved a punishment, but I think that was too cruel Emi."

The younger girl gave an incredulous look to her sister. "You too sis?"

Dan groaned as he sat down in a chair and ordered a beverage from Agil. "Days just keep on getting weirder around here…"

"Story of my life." Kazuto said as he took a bite from his ordered meal. "It's like Hyde and the girls are just a recipe for disaster."

Dan nodded with his friend. It was either Hyde or the girls that started stuff here in their friend group. Sometimes it felt like he and Kazuto were the only sane ones in the group. It was true though. Days just kept getting weirder in their lives.

**A/N: I hope you guys all liked the chapter. Please review. I love hearing the great stuff you guys have to say. As promised, next week will be the start of an arc with lots of action and tension. Everything has been leading up to this. Look forward to it guys.**

**Also, a fan of mine asked me to try and find songs that would work as themes for the members of Wyvern Inferno. After a few weeks of searching and careful selection, I have found them. Here is the list for the themes of all the Wyvern Inferno members, including the artists if you want to look them up.**

**Ren- Just a Little Faster (There For Tomorrow)**

**Alice- Unbreakable (FireFlight)**

**Mai- This Little Girl (Cady Groves)**

**Helios- Boom (P.O.D.)**

**Dagger- One For the Money (Escape The Fate)**

**Riku- Me Against The World (Simple Plan)**

**Himiko- Red Like Roses II (Casey Lee Williams &amp; Sandy Casey)**

**I will have this list on my profile if you guys ever want to quickly look it up. Feel free to check the songs out and tell me what you think, either via review or PM.**


	54. Return of a Traitor

**A/N: Hey guys! I was really happy to hear all the great reviews you guys had for last chapter. I hope you enjoy this chapter just as much. Please review.**

**Guest: I think that's an interesting idea. I'm happy that someone wants to base their first fic off of my story. When you make you're account, PM me and we can discuss details.**

Sword Art Online had prepared Dan for many things. He had learned how to fight with a sword. He had fallen in love with the most amazing girl he could ever ask for. He felt like he had even become a better person as a result of the death game. But there was one thing Sword Art Online hadn't prepared him for.

Shopping

It had been hours since Alicia, Emi, and Clair had dragged him along on what was supposed to be "a quick shopping trip". He sat alone as the girls tried on various outfits, looking at themselves in the mirror.

"What do you think of this one?" Alicia asked, coming over in a green shirt she had picked out.

Dan simply shrugged his shoulders. "It looks fine"

"Honestly, you are so hopeless when it comes to fashion!" Alicia scolded with her cheeks puffed.

"I already told you that before when you dragged me over here!" Dan argued. "And by the way this 'short shopping trip' has already been going on for three hours!"

"You really don't understand anything about girls, do you?" Emi questioned as she came out wearing an outfit she had picked out. "Fashion is a very delicate and precise thing"

Dan had pretty much given up at this point. He hated shopping like this. Alicia and the others would always ask for his opinion on the seemingly endless supply of clothes they would pick out, and he never had much to say on the subject. He didn't understand why girls were always so obsessed with stuff like this. Hyde and Kazuto both agreed with him. Thank god Asuna and Lilina hadn't tagged along or this would take all day.

Finally after another hour, the three girls purchased the clothes they had picked out and returned to Dan to find him snoozing on the chair. Alicia went to shake him awake, but Clair stopped her. She put a finger to her mouth, telling Alicia to be quiet. The young brunette then walked over to her brother and cupped her hand around his ear.

"Wake up big brother!"

The sudden shout from Clair startled Dan and woke him up instantly. When he regained his bearings, he found his sister laughing at him, along with Alicia and Emi. The teen scowled at the three girls. "The hell was that for?"

"For falling asleep while we were shopping, dummy" Clair giggled.

"It's not my fault you guys take forever with this stuff" Dan argued. "So are you almost done yet?"

"Maybe in another hour" Alicia told him.

"What?!"

"Just kidding. We finished about a minute ago."

"Finally" the brown haired teen said, stretching his arms and getting up. As he looked at the girls, he noticed they only had a few bags. "That's all you bought? We were here for hours"

"How many times do we have to tell you? Fashion is a very delicate thing for girls" Emi reminded him.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

The teen leaned on the side of a building, yawning with boredom. It had seemed like forever since those four had gone inside the clothing store. He looked back at his cellphone just to make sure they were still there. Sure enough, the signal from the tracker he had placed on Dan was still coming from that building.

'_Man, I'm so BORED! When am I gonna get a chance to have some fun?'_ he wondered as he let out a yawn. Finally, he saw them walk out of the store with a few bags in hand. He rolled his eyes and followed behind them, keeping a large amount of space between him and those four. It would suck if they noticed him and recognized his face.

Three of them he recognized. They were all from Wyvern Inferno back in SAO. The fourth one wasn't someone he knew, but he figured it didn't matter too much. She was just a runt, nobody that could put up a fight.

All his focus was on the one male in the group. He wanted nothing more than to take the knife in his pocket and skewer him. Killing the three girls was nothing more than a bonus to him. But he couldn't do it right now. There were far too many witnesses. He had to be patient. Just wait for the right moment, and then make that damn tactician bleed.

'_Enjoy the last day of your life Ren. Cause once I get my hands on you, I'll make you scream in agony'_

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Dan, Alicia, Clair, and Emi walked through the city streets with it being close to noon. The group of four looked around for a place to eat. Alicia recommended a place not far away and they decided to head there right away. As they walked, Dan turned his head to see a person wearing a hat seeming to put in a bit too much effort not to make eye contact with them.

"You see him too?" Alicia whispered quietly to her boyfriend, not wanting to let Emi or Clair hear them.

Dan nodded his head. "Yeah. He's been walking behind us like that ever since we left the clothing shop. It's like he's stalking us"

"Let's give it a test" Alicia suggested. She found an alley that would get them to their destination quicker. It wasn't a very popular path to take, making it perfect. If he followed them, it would almost certainly mean he was following them.

"This way. We can take a shortcut if we cut through here" Alicia said, leading the others through an alley. As they walked through the shortcut the black haired girl mentioned, both Dan and Alicia noticed the mystery guy peak his head out discreetly and look their way. Now the couple definitely knew something fishy was going on.

As they turned a corner in the alley and walked into a parking lot area with no people around, Dan felt the tension rise. He was hoping that there would be at least somebody nearby, but they were all alone right now. If this guy was planning to ambush them, this would be the perfect spot. His suspicions were proven true as he heard the sound of footsteps running towards them. Dan turned his head just in time to see the knife get thrown at them.

"GET DOWN!" the brown haired teen yelled as he tackled Clair to the ground. Alicia did the same with Emi. The couple watched as the blade zoomed over their heads. The next thing they heard was the sound of clapping.

"Well done, Ren. Well done. It looks like you haven't lost your touch" the hat wearing stranger chuckled as he walked a bit closer towards them. Dan and Alicia stood up and looked at the person standing before them. They watched as he took his hat and chucked it to the wind. It was a blonde haired teen around the same age as Dan and Alicia with a somewhat slim body. It had been years since they had last met, but Dan instantly recognized who he was once he looked at his face.

"Shino?!"

The traitor from the front line's tacticians smirked as he looked at Dan with murderous eyes. "It's nice to know you haven't forgot about me. I was afraid you forgot about your old friend."

Dan, Alicia, and Emi glared at the blonde teen standing before them. Dan was the only one that knew him personally, but the two Tsuki sisters still knew all too well about Shino's betrayal to the front lines back in SAO, selling them out to Laughing Coffin when the time came for the raid on the red guild's base. Many players had died as a result of that betrayal.

"What are you doing here, Shino?" Dan asked, though he had a pretty good idea what the answer was going to be.

Proving Dan's guess to be true, Shino reached into his pocket and pulled out a long dagger. This wasn't some knife for cutting fruit. This was a real weapon, sharpened to do one thing. Kill.

"I'm after a little thing called revenge" Shino said with a smirk. "Is that so wrong?"

"When you're a traitorous backstabber, than yes"

Shino simply shrugged. "I guess we'll just have to agree to disagree. Either way, you're going to die here"

Dan took a step forward and glanced towards his girlfriend. "Alicia, take Emi and Clair and run. I'll deal with him."

"No way, I'm not leaving you to-"

"This isn't the time to argue! Go!"

Alicia hesitated, but she knew he was right. What mattered most right now was getting their sisters to safety. "Alright, be careful"

"I will" Dan nodded. Alicia took the other two girls and ran to the main streets of the city to find help. Dan got into his fighting stance while Shino gripped his blade tightly and grinned.

"Time for you to die, Ren"

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

Alicia led Emi and Clair through another alleyway towards the main part of the city. There had to be a police station or something nearby. Somebody. ANYBODY.

'_Please Dan, just hold on. Don't die. I'm begging you.'_ Alicia prayed as she ran. As they turned a corner towards the last part of the alleyway before they would reach the main streets of the city, a man was walking towards them.

"There's somebody!" Emi exclaimed. She waved over to the man. "Sir, please help! Our friend's in trouble!"

Alicia breathed a sigh of relief that they had found somebody. She watched as they ran up to the man. He made no response. He just kept walking as they got closer to him.

And that was when he pulled out the knife from his pocket.

Alicia's eyes opened wide. She rushed forward and pushed Emi and Clair back. "Look out!"

Emi and Clair fell back from Alicia's shove and the black haired girl quickly dodged the knife that came for her head. _'Damn it! Shino wasn't working alone!'_

"Alicia!" Emi exclaimed. She watched as the man grabbed hold of Alicia and throw her against the side of the alleyway. His arm pressed on her throat, making it hard to breathe. Alicia wasn't willing to go down like this however. She shoved her knee into the man's gut, making him drop her and hold his stomach in pain for a brief moment.

"Emi! Clair! Run!" Alicia yelled as she struggled with the man. The two girls couldn't move however. They were paralyzed with fear. Finally, the man broke free and shoved Alicia aside. He growled as he stood up.

"I thought this would be easy, since I was just supposed to kill a couple of kids. You made a bad call making me angry girl."

He brandished his knife and lunged towards Alicia. Before he could do so however, he felt Emi leap on him from behind. "The hell?! Get off me you brat!"

"I won't let you hurt my sister!" Emi yelled. She wasn't able to stall him for long though, as he easily overpowered the young girl and threw her back, knocking her into the wall. There was a clear image of anger in his eyes.

"That does it! I'm through playing around! Time for you to die!"

"EMI NO!" Alicia screamed. She watched as he prepared to stab the young girl and take her life. Before he could do so however, a sudden boom was heard. The man stood still for a few seconds before falling over with a bullet hole in his head.

Alicia took a moment to collect her bearings and try to make sure she hadn't just imagined what had happened. There was no mistake though. The pool of blood coming from the man that had just tried to kill them was all the proof she needed. After getting her breathing to slow back down to normal, she looked over to see who had just saved them. It was a blonde woman, probably in her mid-twenties. She lowered the handgun she was holding in her hands and wiped the sweat from her forehead. "Looks like I made it just in time."

"Wh-Who are you?" Alicia asked.

"I'll explain later. Where's the other one that was supposed to be with you?"

It took Alicia a moment to realize that by 'other one' she meant Dan. But that just only added to her questions. How did she know Dan was with them? How did she know they'd be in danger? Most importantly of all, who the hell was she?

"We don't have time for you to sit around kid. Where is he?"

Suddenly Alicia realized something. She had heard that voice before. It was faint, but she could remember it from somewhere. But where? Suddenly, it hit her.

"Elza?!"

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

Dan dodged the many slashes and thrusts from the dagger Shino was holding. He wasn't a dagger user in SAO, but his fighting skills hadn't diminished since the death game ended. There were no openings to strike back.

'_I can dodge this guy all day, but if I lose my focus for even a second, I'm as good as dead'_ Dan thought. _'Come on! I need to think of something fast!'_

"What's the matter?" Shino sneered. "Is this all you've got? What a disappointment"

Finally, Dan saw the split second opening he was looking for. He dodged another thrust from Shino's blade and grabbed his arm before the blonde teen could retract it. Dan then sent a swift punch to Shino's face, making him stumble back a bit. The weapon still hadn't left his hand though. Shino grew enraged and charged at Dan. The brown haired teen could feel Shino's attacks becoming even more quick and ferocious. Finally Shino got a hit in as his blade slashed the side of Dan's body. Dan stumbled back as he held his hand against his wound. The blade hadn't pierced an artery, but blood was dripping out. He wouldn't last much longer like this.

"You're mine!" Shino grinned in delight as he tackled Dan to the ground of the parking lot. He pressed down on his arms. Dan was completely helpless right now. The blonde teen showed a murderous grin as he stared down at Dan's eyes.

"I've waited for this moment for so long" Shino said. "Don't worry, I won't kill you right away. Maybe I'll wait till that Alice girl you love so much dies. I can show you her mangled bloody body once she's dead."

"Like hell you will!" Dan yelled as he finally threw Shino off of him. Shino's head hit the pavement as he tumbled over. As he got back up, Dan could see blood flowing down from Shino's forehead.

"So you still have some fight left in you?" Shino said. "Good. This would be too boring if you didn't put up a fight"

"I won't let you hurt Alicia or anyone else" Dan glared. "Your score is with me. Leave her and the others out of it"

"Sorry, but I can't do that" Shino shrugged. "We were hired to kill all of you after all"

"We?"

"Laughing Coffin" Shino explained. "These guys came up to us and gave us all the info we needed to find and kill you and your friends. Kirito, Asuna, Helios, all of them. It worked out for me since I've wanted you dead for a long time now."

Suddenly, Dan recalled back to what Yamato had said before he died. The people that had helped him escape prison did so to give him the chance to kill them. Could those people and the ones that hired Laughing Coffin be the same? As he thought this, he felt his body start to weaken. Dan no longer had the strength to stand and fell to one knee.

"Wh-What the hell?"

"I see the poison is working" Shino grinned, showing off the dagger he had slashed Dan with earlier. "The blade is coated with a special chemical. It won't kill you, but you'll be unable to move much for a few minutes. And that's more than enough time to finish you off"

Dan glared at Shino as the blonde teen sent a kick to his jaw, making him fall over. He barely had the strength to move his arms and legs.

"Time to end this" Shino said as he slowly walked towards Dan to deal the killing blow. As he did so however, a car sped into the parking lot. Shino turned his head to the car as a woman pointed a gun out her window and fired. The bullet pierced Shino's chest and he dropped the weapon he was holding. He struggled to find the strength to stand.

"Damn it… I was… so close…" Shino grunted as he fell over and left the world of the living.

Dan looked towards the black car and saw Alica, Emi, and Clair run out of it and rush over towards him. Alicia kneeled down next to him with tears in her eyes. "Dan, are you ok?! Please, tell me you're ok!"

"I'm alright. It's just a scratch" Dan grunted, flinching in pain a bit as he tried to sit up. The poison made it extremely hard to move. Standing up was out of the question.

The woman that had shot Shino and saved Dan's life called out to the teens. "Hurry up! We don't have all day!"

Alicia helped support Dan and brought him over to the car. First Shino had tried to kill him, and now some mystery woman had saved his life. Not to mention the fact that there was some group out there that wanted him all of them dead for some reason.

'_What the hell is going on?'_

"Get him in the car already" the blonde woman said. Alicia opened the back door to the car and helped her boyfriend in. She glared at Elza, who seemed really impatient.

"I see you're just as annoying in real life as you are in ALO"

"Instead of snapping at me, how about thanking me for saving your life" Elza bit back. After Alicia got Dan in the car, she got in along with Emi and Clair. Elza sped out of the alleyway and rushed through the streets.

"There's a hospital nearby" Alicia said.

"We're not going to the hospital"

"What?! Are you blind or something?! Dan's bleeding like crazy!"

"There's going to be doctors where I'm taking you. Just put some pressure on the wound to keep your little boyfriend there alive"

"There's nothing here to use!"

"Then improvise damnit!"

Alicia muttered something under her breath as she took off her shirt to use. She pressed it against her boyfriend's wound and it started soaking up some of the blood.

Dan finally found the strength to speak again. "Kazuto and the others are in danger. Shino said Laughing Coffin is targeting all of us"

"Don't worry about them" Elza said as she turned a corner without even slowing down. "We made sure to pick all of you up. They're all safe and heading to the same place we are."

"What do you mean by we? Are you part of some group or something?" Clair asked.

"Everything will be explained when we arrive. All you have to focus on right now is making sure you all get there in one piece"

The three girls could tell she was referring to keeping Dan alive. He was the only one severely injured after all. Alicia and Emi had some bruises but nothing serious. Alicia tried to use her shirt and wrap it around the wound to keep as much pressure on it as possible. _'Just hang on Dan. I'm not gonna let you die'_

**A/N: Lots of surprises and questions going around. Bet you guys weren't expecting Elza to come back like this. Next chapter will mostly be a lot of information so I will try and get it out early (maybe within a few days or so).**

**Also, I wanted to add another theme, one for Wyvern Inferno as a whole. It came down to two different songs and for the life of me I couldn't choose between them. So I came up with the solution of using them both, one for SAO Wyvern Inferno and one for ALO Wyvern Inferno. Here they are.**

**SAO Wyvern Inferno- I Will Not Bow (Breaking Benjamin)**

**ALO Wyvern Inferno- For the Love of the Game (Pillar)**

**Check them out if you want. You should easily be able to find amvs for them on youtube.**


	55. Plans in Motion

**A/N: Hey guys. Here's the chapter I promised you all. Don't expect too much action from this chapter though. It's mostly going to be a lot of explanation and info. Also, college starts back up in a few days so I don't know how long it will take me to get settled. Once I do however, I can promise to give you guys two updates a week for a little bit, since I've planned out what's going to happen for the rest of this arc. I hope you enjoy the chapter.**

Kazuto, Asuna, and Suguha sat together in the lobby of the building they had been brought to. Most of their friends had also arrived by now. Shino was currently drinking some tea that had been brought out for them. Rika sat with Keiko, trying to comfort the young girl that was currently scared and nervous. It only made sense, considering that they had all been brought here out of the blue. The door to the building opened once again, this time with Hyde and Lilina entering.

"Hyde! Lilina!" Asuna called out as she ran over to her friends. "You guys ok?"

Hyde nodded his head. "Yeah. We were about to be attacked by some guy, when these people showed up and saved us. We didn't have much choice when it came to coming with them."

"Do you guys know what's going on?" Lilina asked.

Kazuto shook his head as he walked over to them. "No. All I know is that Kikouka showed up out of nowhere, telling us to get in his car and come with him. He hasn't explained a thing to us about what's going on other than the fact that we were all in danger."

"I see" Hyde said. He looked around the room. "Hey, aren't Dan and Alicia here?"

"Emi and Clair are missing too" Lilina added as she noticed the two young girls were absent.

As they said this, the doors opened once again with several doctors rushing someone in on a stretcher. Alicia, Emi, and Clair ran in afterwards, followed by a blonde woman.

"Alicia!" Asuna exclaimed running over and giving her friend a hug. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah" Alicia nodded with tears in her eyes. "But Dan got injured"

"What happened?" Kazuto asked.

Alicia sat down with her friends and explained what occurred earlier, about how they were attacked out of nowhere and saved by Elza. Kazuto had a grim expression on his face as he listened to this.

"Something's definitely up" Kazuto said.

"I know, but what?" Alicia questioned. "Why are we all being attacked all of a sudden?"

"I believe I can answer that" Kikouka said as he walked over to the group. "Now that everyone's here, we can explain"

"Um Mr. Kikouka sir, what about Dan?" Alicia asked.

"Don't worry. The doctors say his injuries aren't anything life threatening. He'll be stitched up and then he'll join us out here"

Alicia nodded her head in understanding. He was safe. He was going to live. Right now that was all she could ask for.

"So… about that explanation?" Kazuto asked.

"Right, right, of course" the government official nodded. "I'd like to wait till your friend is back on his feet before going into detail, but I can give you the basic explanation."

"We're all ears"

Kikouka gathered everyone there, sat down across from them, and began to talk. "Right now Japan, and the entire world for that matter, is facing a large scale crisis. There's a company in America, run by a man named Gabriel Miller, called Glowgen Defense Systems Inc. At first look, it's a company that provides research and equipment to Full Dive technology for training soldiers."

Asuna tilted her head in curiosity at this. "Training soldiers in Full Dive environment?"

"That's right. Recently many countries have resorted to Full Dive technology to better train their soldiers for battle in times of war. One example of this is Gun Gale Online. Sometimes they have people play it to be better trained for battles in real life."

"So what does this company have to do with us?" Kazuto asked.

"As I said, the company seems legit on the surface as a group that only conducts research for this. However, they're actually more focused on something else. World domination."

"Wh-What? World domination?" Asuna gasped. "That's insane!"

"It may be insane, but it's becoming very possible from the looks of it." Kikouka said. "They obtained the research data that Sugou Noboyuki had on controlling the human mind and have actually tested it, using it on actual people."

"Are you serious?! How could they possibly get away with something like that?"

"It's extremely secretive and they've covered their tracks well. We only learned about this a few months ago." Kikouka explained. "Their goal is to first gain control of the country of America and place it under martial law with Gabriel Miller in control. From there, they'll spread their influence across the world by taking control of the internet itself."

"Is something like that even possible?" Alicia questioned.

"I'm afraid it is. The World Seed created by Akihiko Kayaba is directly connected to the internet. If they can use it correctly, they can hack into some of the most secure things in the world. Government secrets, financial accounts, you name it. All of it is connected to the internet in some way or form. They plan to take over the United States in the same way."

"I get this is really bad and all" Alicia said. "But what does it have to do with us?"

"I believe you all remember the surprise of the ALO World Tournament about a month ago" Kikouka told them. "It was transformed into a worldwide tournament. In truth however, that was set up by the Department of Internal Affairs. We needed it to be worldwide for two reasons. The first was to lure Gabriel out into using his test subjects in the tournament. A huge online fighting tournament would be the perfect place to see the results of his research and its potential, giving us the chance to see how far he's come with it. The second reason we did it was to recruit players"

"Recruit players?" Kazuto asked, starting to see where this was going.

"We needed to find capable VRMMO players to help fight, since the only way to reach the heart of the World Seed is in the game it first created, Alfheim Online"

The group let the information sink in. It was true that at first the World Seed was used to bring back Alfheim Online after it was shut down due to Sugou's experiments. If there really was a link between the Seed and the heart of the internet, it would be in ALO.

Kikouka continued his explanation. "When the time comes for Gabriel to put his plan into motion, he'll have his own army set in ALO to use. The only way to stop them is to catch them when they do this and expose their true intentions. To prevent them from succeeding though, we needed capable VRMMO players to help us."

"So you decided to make us your personal soldiers without telling us. Then this Gabriel guy caught wind of your plan and set out to remove us from the picture" Kazuto realized, glaring at the government official for his usual underhanded tactics.

"W-Well… um…"

Alicia clenched her fists in anger. "So… the reason we were attacked was because of you?!" She leaned across the table and grabbed Kikouka by the collar of his shirt. "You're the reason we almost died today! Who gave you the right to bring us into this fight without even asking us?!"

"We didn't have much of a choice. I think we can both believe that Gabriel Miller taking over the world isn't something any of us want"

"Screw Gabriel and his plans! Dan nearly died because of what you did and-…" the rest of the sentence died on Alicia's tongue as she looked and saw Dan re-enter the room. He was bandaged up a little but he was able to walk finally. Alicia let go of Kikouka and ran over to him. She wrapped her arms around her with tears rolling down her eyes. "Dan! Thank god… I'm so happy you're ok!"

"Don't worry Alicia, I'm fine" Dan assured her as he stroked her long black hair. "Are you alright"

"Y-Yeah" Alicia said with a nod. "Don't ever scare me like that again"

The couple walked back over to Kazuto and the others. Clair hugged her brother tightly, happy to see that he was alright. The tactician looked over towards Kikouka. "I already heard the main explanation about Gabriel Miller and his plans from one of the Ministry of Defense guys after I got stitched up."

"Good, then we're at the same place" Kikouka said. "We found out that Gabriel's company hired some people in Japan to take you guys out. As I'm sure you can guess, one of those was Yamato"

Dan nodded. Considering everything that had happened, it made sense that the ones that helped Yamato escape prison were most likely Gabriel and his company. When that plan failed, he must have resorted to the ex-Laughing Coffin members.

"So what now?" Shino asked.

"Well since they planned this attack on you guys for today, I'd assume-"

"Kikouka sir! We have a problem!" someone yelled, running into the room. "Turn on the monitor!"

The government official quickly obeyed and turned on the monitor. It was automatically set to MMO Stream, which was focused on Alfheim Online. There was only one difference. A giant fortress was floating in the sky.

"What the hell is that?!" Hyde exclaimed.

"Th-That's it" Kikouka stuttered. "That thing is the control center for the heart of Alfheim."

A voice spoke on the television. "People of the world, allow me to show you the Yggdrasil Fortress. This structure will allow us to have full control of the world. In a matter of five hours, the world as you know it will be changed forever."

Kazuto and the rest of the group watched the broadcast in horror. The horrible plan that Kikouka spoke of would be completed in a few hours?!

"Damn it" Kikouka muttered. "They must have sped up their plans when they found out their assassination attempts failed."

"I'm sure many of you have thoughts about stopping us" the voice continued. "By all means, we welcome the challenge. Just be aware of the... risks involved."

'_Risks?'_ Kazuto thought.

"First, anyone that logs on will be unable to log out as long as the fortress is standing. Second, the pain absorber will be set to zero, so trust me when I say if you get hurt in-game it will hurt A LOT. Finally, if you die in-game, your Seed account will be deleted. We can't have players respawning after all, now can we?"

The eyes of Dan and the others widened in shock. Not being able to log out, the pain absorber at zero, and their avatar would be deleted if they died? It was the closest they had been to Sword Art Online since their escape from the death game.

"Let the games begin players. Have fun." With his speech done, the broadcast ended and went back to MMO Stream's main program.

For about a minute, everyone was completely silent. Finally Kikouka stood up and faced the others. "I know you kids aren't exactly fond of us right now-"

"That's putting it lightly" Kazuto interrupted.

"But as it stands, we aren't going to be able to stop them on our own. We need your help"

The group looked at each other, wondering what to do. Finally, Kazuto spoke up "It looks like we don't have much choice. We can't let Gabriel's plans come to fruition."

Dan nodded in agreement. "Yeah. It's up to us"

"We have Amu Spheres in the building for you guys to use. We can get it all set up for you in an hour."

The group of teens sat together in the lobby as they waited for the Amu Spheres to be set up. While waiting, Alicia got out of her seat to go to the bathroom. The black haired girl walked down the hall towards the girls' restroom. As she turned a corner, she bumped into someone and fell down. "Ow. Sorry, my-… you"

Standing in front of Alicia was Elza, who gave her an annoyed look. "Oh it's you"

"Alright that does it! What's your damn problem?!" Alicia yelled.

"My problem is having to deal with naïve brats like you!" Elza bit back. "You're idiots, every single one of you!"

Alicia glared at Elza as the blonde woman stormed off. As she got back up, Kikouka walked over to her. "I see she hasn't changed much"

"I can't stand her!" Alicia growled with rage. "Just who does she think she is?!"

"Don't be too hard on her" Kikouka told the black haired girl. "She has her reasons"

"What reasons could she possibly have to-"

"She used to have a close friend" Kikouka interrupted, making Alicia look at him in surprise. "Elizabeth, or Elza as you know her, is an agent for the Ministry of Defense. As I'm sure you can guess, we sent her into ALO to test players and see if they would be able to help when the time came to fight Gabriel Miller. Elizabeth's been a solo agent for two years, but she used to have a partner."

"A partner?"

Kikouka nodded. "His name was Sean Karasu. I don't know the details, but from what I've heard she fell in love with him. They were on a mission together when… he was shot and killed."

Alicia's eyes widened. She had always just assumed Elza was against friends because she was anti-social. But this was the real reason? The person she loved died?

Kikouka put a hand on Alicia's shoulder before walking away. "I know she seems cruel, but it's just how she's learned to cope with the loss. Try to understand"

Alicia walked into the bathroom not knowing how to react. She looked at herself in the mirror. What would she be like if she lost Dan? She didn't even want to think about it. It would be far too painful for her.

'_But she has to live with that pain every day'_

XXXXXXXXXX

Back at the lobby, Kazuto saw Kikouka motion for him to come so they could talk in private. He got out of his seat. "I'll be right back." He walked over to Kikouka in the other room. He looked at the government official with an annoyed look. Somehow he always ended up getting mixed up in this man's plans. "What do you want?"

"Kazuto… there's something I think you should know" Kikouka said with a grim expression on his face.

"Why do I get the feeling I'm not going to like this news?" Kazuto retorted.

"I take it you've heard about Sugou's death?"

The raven haired teen nodded his head. "Yeah, of course"

"We have reason to believe… he's still alive"

"What?!" Kazuto exclaimed. "How can that ma-… that PARASITE still be alive?! They said he died in prison!"

"I know. It's not certain yet but we have evidence to support that he might be alive, and working with Gabriel"

Kazuto slammed his fist against the wall. "Why the hell are you springing all of this on us now?! First you don't tell us that we might be targets to be assassinated! Now you're telling me that Sugou might be alive! What else haven't you told us?!"

"Look, I know you're upset with me right now-"

"Upset doesn't even BEGIN to describe what I'm feeling right now, you bastard!"

"Kazuto calm down"

"No!" Kazuto yelled. "I'm willing to do this because there's a lot that I care about at stake, but after this we're done! Don't ever contact me for any favors again, got it?!"

Kikouka sighed and nodded. "I understand"

"Good" With that said, Kazuto left the room and went back over to his friends. He hid the fact that he was so furious right now. He didn't want Asuna to know about Sugou. She didn't need anything else to worry about right now with all that was going on.

An hour passed by quickly and Kazuto and the others were told the Amu Spheres were all set up for them. The group was led to a large room with white walls and floors. Beds with Amu Spheres were laid out for the group.

"We'll have heart monitors hooked up to you guys to make sure your lives aren't in any danger" the doctor explained. "The pain absorber may be set to zero, but there shouldn't be any possible way for the Amu Sphere to kill you"

The group nodded and laid down in each of the beds. Soon, Elza entered the room as well and laid down on a bed too.

"So you're going to join us?" Alicia asked.

"Well we need someone to look after you guys and make sure things go smoothly" Elza explained in her usual grumpy attitude.

Everyone fit the Amu Spheres around their heads and closed their eyes. This was it. No going back now. There were only two words left to say.

"Link Start!"

**A/N: Things are really heating up. Please review. Also, just a few things I would like to say, but first a warning: **

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**DO NOT READ THIS PART OF AUTHOR'S NOTE IF YOU HAVE YET TO READ THE ALICIZATION ARC OF THE SAO LIGHT NOVELS!**

**Those of you that have been reading the light novels know that Gabriel Miller is a future character for Sword Art Online. While he may be from the Alicization Arc, I promise THERE WILL NOT BE ANY SPOILERS. I plan on making his character slightly different than how he is in the light novels, though he will still be a villain. I admit I am taking a few pages out of the light novels, but it won't spoil what happens later in Alicization.**

**END OF ALICIZATION STUFF!**

**XXXXXXXXXXXXX**

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**Most of the chapters for the rest of this arc will be fight after fight of good vs evil. As a result, I should be able to update at a faster pace like I said in the beginning. Once I settle into school, it should only take a couple of days to post the next chapter.**

**Also for those of you asking about Hollow Inferno, I apologize that it has been taking so long to update. I have found the next part of the game to use as a chapter, but I have been experiencing a bit of writer's block for that story, plus Blazing Revolution has kept me busy. I will try to get working on it as soon as possible, so please bear with me. I apologize to all of you that have patiently been awaiting the next Hollow Inferno chapter.**


	56. Fate of the World

**A/N: Hey guys. Here's the next chapter. I have settled back into college and I think I should be able to keep up a two chapter per week schedule for a little since most of these are going to be shorter than usual (expect about 2000 words or so per chapter). Hope you enjoy it. Please review.**

**Guest: Wow, I actually didn't realize that. Thanks for telling me.**

Ren opened his eyes and found himself already in the capital city of Alne. Usually, he would be logged in at his player home, the last place he logged out of. Luckily, Kikouka and the others were able to instantly log them in where they needed to be. The male Imp stood on the Northern Terrace in the city. The rest of his friends that logged in with him were also present.

"So where exactly is this fortress thing?" Mai asked as she scanned the area. Once she looked up however, that question was answered instantly.

The Alfheim Fortress, as Kikouka called it, was a gigantic structure floating above the World Tree. Its size almost seemed the size of Aincrad, though the outer layer of the fortress was colored almost entirely black. A long rod stuck out from the top with dark electricity charging around it.

"According to the intel Kikouka gave us, the only way to stop it is at the control center at the top" Elza explained. "However, we can only enter at one point, near the base of the structure."

"Starting at the bottom and aiming for the top" Asuna said with a somewhat entertained grin. "It's like going into Aincrad all over again."

The entire group all summoned their wings and prepared to take off. This mission was going to be anything but easy. Hell, most of the odds pointed to the chance of them losing. But none of that mattered. No matter what, they knew they had to win.

"Let's do this guys!" Ren shouted.

"Right!" everyone nodded eagerly, with the exception of Elza, who gave a simple shrug in response.

Ren and the others zoomed up towards the entrance Elza spoke about. It was then however that THEY appeared. Several hundred players flew out of the fortress, all of varying races. The one thing they all had in common however was the bright red color of their eyes, as if they were robots. But these were all real players. Human beings from the real world.

"Looks like Gabriel finished his brainwashing experiments" Kirito muttered grimly.

"Nothing we can do about it. Smash through them!" Ren said.

"My pleasure!" Helios grinned as he took out his axe. As the group was about to charge another voice spoke up.

"Mind if we join in?"

Everyone turned their heads down below to see even more players. These ones weren't brainwashed though. These players were all ones that they recognized. Eugene stood in front of a large group of Salamander mages and knights. Sakuya and Alicia had a team of their own, with Cait Sith dragoons and Sylph Knights. Several other players from various races were also present, including Klein, Agil, Yaksha, and Asami.

"You all came?!" Liz exclaimed, happy to have the support.

Alicia Rue gave a wink towards them. "Well duh. We can't just let these bunch of idiots do whatever they want with Alfheim."

Sakuya nodded in agreement. "This is our home turf and we're not gonna surrender it easily."

Eugene gave an excited grin as he unsheathed his Demonic Sword Gram and pointed it towards the army of players that had come out of the fortress. "Anybody can talk about being heroes. Us gamers prefer to let our actions do the talking! Show 'em what we can do Salamanders!" At Eugene's command, the mages behind him began chanting spells. They finished their chants simultaneously and launched a wave of fireballs at their enemies, blowing up a large amount of them. "We've got these losers out here! Go attack that damn fortress and give 'em hell!"

Ren grinned and gave a thumbs up. "Thanks guys! We won't let you down!" The group unsheathed their weapons and charged into the fray, soon followed by the group of players behind them.

"Take this!" Alice yelled as he scythe gave off a violet glow. She rushed at several players coming at her, ripping through them with her scythe one after another. Another player tried to attack her from behind, but it was stopped as another female player came in between them and blocked the attack with her large two-handed sword. Alice noticed the identity of the girl who saved her from the locks of blonde hair flowing down her back. "Asami?!"

"Don't get the wrong idea Alice" Asami sternly told the female Imp as she held back the brainwashed player pushing down on her. "This doesn't make us friends or anything. I just can't let these guys trash ALO like this"

Alice gave a small smile to the female Salamander. "Thanks Asami"

"If you want to thank me, hurry up and get in that fortress" Asami said, finally pushing back the brainwashed player attacking her and slashing him in half. "And you better look after Ren, cause if he gets hurt you're gonna have to answer to me!"

Alice nodded and flew after Ren and the others. Asami hated helping the female Imp, but now was no time to be picky. If they were to win this battle, they'd need all the help they could get.

After a grueling struggle of fighting off some of the army of brainwashed players, Ren and the others stood in front of the entrance way. Another player soon joined them, landing on the entrance with them. It was a blonde male Sylph with a golden spear in hand.

"Riku?!" Liz exclaimed. "What are you doing here?"

"Well I can't let you guys all go in to the final battle on your own, now can I?" Riku grinned.

Helios chuckled as he looked at the new arrival. "Just try not to get in our way. You might have gotten stronger since SAO, but you're still leagues from my level"

"I'll try to ignore the insult there and focus on the fact that you just said I'm strong for the first time in… ever"

As the group laughed at the bickering duo from the old Wyvern Inferno, the doors to the fortress opened. To none of their surprise, it wasn't to let them in. Two knights in pitch black armor stood in front of them, both with a sword in one hand and a shield in the other.

"We don't have time for this" Kirito muttered. "We're running out of time"

To add to their surprise, Elza walked forward towards the knights. She removed her Demonic Moonlight scythe from her back and faced the knights. She opened her menu and sent some map data over to Kirito. "That's the data for the fortress's map. Kikouka gave it to me before we logged in."

Alice looked at the other scythe user in shock. "Elza…"

"Listen Alice. Kikouka told you about my past, didn't he?" Elza said. "So don't go saying stuff like you understand my pain. You can't understand it"

Alice looked down with a grim expression. It was true. She had lost people in her life back in SAO. But even still, she hadn't lost the person she loved more than anything, and she prayed she never would.

"So make sure you don't let the person you love get hurt. Don't become like me" Elza told Alice. "Protect him no matter what"

"I will" Alice nodded. "But you better make sure you don't lose either, Elza"

"Heh, against losers like these? You obviously don't remember who you're talking to" Elza smirked. "I'll make an opening for you. Get ready to move when I do"

Alice and the others nodded as Elza got into her fighting stance. The two knights rushed towards her and swung their swords down at her. The female Imp held her scythe up to block it. She felt the massive weight of their blades push down on her as she struggled to hold them back. "Now!"

Upon hearing Elza's command, everybody rushed forward and ran past the two knights. The two armored enemies prepared to run after them, but were soon thrown off balance as Elza twirled her scythe to throw them back. The female Imp then leaped over her two opponents and stood before the entrance to the fortress as the others made their way in.

'_To think I'm actually believing in others'_ Elza thought to herself. _'I must be getting soft'_

The two armored knights stared Elza down threateningly as they readied to fight.

"Alright boys" Elza smirked as she stared her two enemies down. "Try to make this entertaining"

XXXXXXXXXXX

The group ran through the fortress with all the speed they could muster. The place was a complex maze for the first floor but due to the map Elza provided they were able to transverse it without much trouble. But something was off.

"Does anyone else find it weird that we haven't met any resistance in here yet?" Liz asked.

Ren nodded in agreement. "Yeah. I thought we'd have at least run into something"

Finally, the group made it to the last part of the first floor before the stairs. It was a wide open room that seemed almost like a battlefield. Ren and the others ran through it until an odd sound was heard, that made them stop in their tracks. It sounded like a low growl. The only question was where it was coming from.

The first to pick it up was Silica with the hearing boost her Cait Sith ears gave her. "Above us!"

Everyone looked up to see a large red dragon glaring down at them. It blasted a stream of fire at the group, making them jump back to avoid it. The beast descended to the ground. As they got a better look at it, they saw someone standing on top of it.

"This many people made it through? What are those idiots outside doing?" the player asked to nobody in particular. It was a young boy of the Cait Sith race with golden blonde hair and piercing red eyes. Attached to his arms were two claw-like gauntlets.

Mai's eyes widened in surprise as she looked at the boy standing before them. She leaned in towards Himiko. "Isn't he that kid that attacked us in the tournament?"

The young Imp nodded her head. "Yeah. He seems really different now though. Last time he didn't say anything other than killing us. Now he's actually talking in complete sentences."

The boy grinned menacingly at the group. "Well it looks like I'll just have to stall you guys for now."

Everyone gave a nervous look at the kid. As it stood, they didn't have much time to stop Gabriel and the others. They couldn't afford to waste time dealing with this player. There was only one option and Silica knew it as she stepped forward with Pina flying next to her. "I'll deal with him. Everyone go on ahead without me"

"Silica?!" Asuna gasped. "What are you doing? We can't just leave you like this!"

"If we run out of time, then everyone is doomed" the young girl argued. "I know I'm not very good in a fight like you guys, but I need you to let me do this. Trust me"

The group was hesitant to simply go on ahead and leave Silica all on her own. She wasn't exactly the strongest of the group and with the pain absorber set at zero, fights would be a lot more dangerous. But at the same time she was right about the fact that they were fighting against the clock.

"Are you sure about this?" Liz asked.

"I'm positive" Silica nodded. "Besides, I'm not alone. I've got Pina with me"

The group all looked at each other hesitantly, but gave a nod. Kirito looked at the young girl. "Alright, good luck Silica"

"R-Right! Leave it to me Kirito!" Silica said with a small blush that she tried to hide. She unsheathed her dagger and stared down her opponent. Everyone else ran past her and towards the stairs on the other side.

"And just where do you think you're going?!" the boy yelled. "I'll burn you losers to ash!" As he said this, his dragon began to inhale and prepare for a fire breath attack.

"Pina! Bubble breath!" Silica commanded. Obeying its master, Pina let lose a flurry of bubbles that hovered around the dragon. When they all popped, the dragon halted its attack with its head waving around dizzily. The group made it past the Cait Sith and his pet and ran on ahead to the next floor of the fortress.

"Stupid girl" the boy growled as he glared over at Silica. "You'll pay for this."

Silica watched as the boy opened his menu and fiddled around with something. After he finished, the large dragon he was riding vanished and a green wyvern about the same size as Pina flew at his side. The boy got into a fighting stance that made him look like a hungry beast on the prowl. "Remember the name of the person that's about to kill you! Kyoya!"

With the name of her opponent revealed, Silica dashed towards her opponent with Kyoya doing the same.

**A/N: And the battles begin. Just a heads up, the next few chapters are pretty much going to be fight, reveal what the next fight will be, and then go onto the next chapter. I will do my best to make these fights as exciting as possible. I also plan to have some new OCs in this arc acting as the opponents for Ren and the gang to fight. Many of their fighting styles will be inspired from characters in other anime. I'm sure you'll recognize a few when you see them.**


	57. The Better Dragon Tamer

**A/N: Alright everyone. Time for the first fight in the Yggdrasil Fortress. I hope you all enjoy it.**

Silica ran towards Kyoya with all the strength her legs could muster. Pina flew right next to her with an eager look on its face as well. She had to do this. Everyone was counting on her to win.

"Hiyah!" Silica yelled as she slashed her dagger at her opponent. Kyoya easily saw this coming however and deflected it with one of his gauntlets, using the other one to rip into Silica's avatar. The pain from the attack made the young girl scream in horror. Even the attacks in SAO hadn't hurt this badly. Even more pain came her way as Kyoya took his knee and shoved it into Silica's stomach, following up with a kick.

"I sincerely hope you can do better than this" Kyoya smirked as he walked towards the lying down Silica. "It'll be way too boring if you don't put up a fight."

Silica struggled to find the strength to stand. Her legs wobbled from the immense pain she felt from Kyoya's attack just now.

'_Even still, I can't quit now'_ Silica told herself. _'I won't let everyone down'_. The two Cait Siths sped towards each other once again. This time the battle turned into a swift clash of strikes between Silica's dagger and Kyoya's claws. The damage she had taken earlier was slowly recovering thanks to Pina's healing breath.

"Die you stupid girl!" Kyoya yelled as he kept slashing at her like a wild beast. Silica back flipped to avoid it and called out a command to her familiar.

"Pina! Water mirage!"

The small blue dragon obeyed its master and let out a cry. Soon, Kyoya found himself surrounded by several geysers of water. He quickly looked around, trying to locate where his opponent had gone. He saw her for a split second and slashed at that area, but he only connected with the water. He saw her again and slashed there, once again only hitting the water.

"Stop hiding! Come out and fight!" Kyoya told the young girl. "Where are you?!"

"Look up!"

Kyoya tilted his head upwards to see Silica flying down at him with her blade veiled in the light of a sword skill. He didn't even have time to react as the young girl's dagger ripped through his avatar, causing him to scream in pain. Silica leaped back and watched Kyoya, who seemed angrier than ever.

"That does it! I'm going to kill you if it's the last thing I do!" Kyoya snarled.

Silica sped at Kyoya once again, hidden by the geysers. Slash after slash came to Kyoya as Silica's blade cut through his avatar repeatedly.

"Enough!" Kyoya yelled, finally predicting his opponent's next movement. As Silica came from behind another geyser, Kyoya dodged her attack and pierced his claw gauntlet into Silica's stomach. Silica felt the air rush out of her lungs from the attack. Pina stopped the water mirage attack and rushed over to help its master. Before it reached her however, Kyoya delivered a kick to the small dragon and sent it flying into a wall.

Silica cried out to her familiar. "Pina!"

"What a useless pet" Kyoya chuckled. He took the currently impaled Silica and slammed her into the ground. "And look at you crying over it like a baby! You're pathetic!"

"P-Pina…" Silica said weakly. She watched as her HP slowly fell lower and lower. With each passing second, the pain only grew worse.

"You wanna be with that dumb lizard so much? Fine then!" Kyoya smirked as he grabbed Silica by the throat and threw her at the wall where Pina was lying near. Silica's body hit the wall with a painful thud and she collapsed onto the ground. She couldn't find the strength to get back up, but she still struggled to move.

"I… I won't lose. Kirito… Asuna… Liz… everyone… they're counting on me"

Kyoya couldn't help but burst into laughter at Silica's statement. "That's it? That's why you're fighting? You think you'll win because of your friends? You really are stupid"

As he laughed, he paused for a moment when he saw something unexpected. Silica had gotten to her knees, and finally began standing up a little. Pina also began using hidden reserves of strength to stand up. The small blue dragon hovered a little, landing on Silica's head. It couldn't fly anymore, but Pina wasn't willing to let its master down.

"Someone like you wouldn't understand" Silica grunted as she stood on wobbly legs. "As long as Pina and my friends are by my side, I won't quit"

"That pathetic excuse for a dragon isn't going to save you"

"Pina is my friend! We fight together, and we'll stop you together!"

"Is that so?" Kyoya said with a malicious grin. "Let me show you how to really put a tamed monster to use."

Silica watched as Kyoya raised his hand and began chanting a spell. When he finished, his claw-like gauntlets became veiled in a bloody red color. Without warning, he took his right arm and slashed the pet wyvern flying at his side. Kyoya's tamed monster let out a sharp cry of pain.

"What are you doing?!" Silica gasped. "That's your own partner!"

"There's one big difference between you and me" Kyoya grinned as his pet turned into light and became absorbed into his body. All of a sudden, his entire body became cloaked in a bloody red aura. "You actually treat your familiar like a friend. You wanna know what mine is to me? Food, nothing more."

"How cruel" Silica said in horror. She didn't have much time to comprehend what happened as Kyoya dashed towards Silica at a much faster speed than before. He ripped his claws into the young girl's avatar, making her cry out in pain.

"Time for you to die you stupid girl!" Kyoya yelled.

Silica felt pain throughout her entire body as she took on a relentless assault from her opponent. It wasn't just his speed that increased. Now his strength was on a whole other level as well.

'_What do I do?'_ Silica wondered. _'If this keeps up, I'll lose all my HP'_

Another blow sent Silica and Pina flying back into a wall. It took everything she had just to stand. She glared at Kyoya who had a smug look on his face that made her growl in anger. '_Come on, think!'_

Suddenly Silica noticed Pina flying next to her. The small dragon cried out to its master, trying to say something.

"What is it Pina? What are you trying to tell me?" Silica asked. Suddenly her eyes widened. "You're not thinking of trying THAT are you?!"

In response, Pina nodded its head.

"No! I can't do that Pina! You know what will happen if it fails!" Silica told her familiar. Pina shouted back at Silica, trying to convince her to do it. Silica weighed her options. Doing what Pina was suggesting might be their only chance of winning this fight. But if she couldn't pull it off, the consequences would be devastating.

'_The ultimate move for the Cait Sith race. Can I really pull it off?'_ Silica wondered.

It had been about a month ago that she discovered this technique. To help with her training for the tournament, she had gone to Alicia Rue to help. She had met the leader of the Cait Sith race before when New Aincrad was first released and the two of them had become friends. While they trained together, Alicia Rue had taught her a secret technique known only to Cait Siths.

There were only two ways to learn this technique. The first was to become leader of the Cait Siths. If you were elected race leader, the skill would be automatically put in the player's skill list. The second was for the race leader to share it with you. It could be shared with one person, and one person only. When Silica asked why Alicia Rue chose her, the girl simply winked at her.

"_Why did I pick you? Simple really. It's because I've never seen a player more in tune with their familiar than you."_

There was one downside to the skill though. Alicia Rue had told her that when she gave it to her. The person using it had to be in perfect synch with their familiar. If not, the tamed monster would die and be unable to be revived.

"Pina… do you really believe in me that much?" Silica asked. Pina nodded its head and Silica smiled. "Alright then. Let's do it!"

"Kyuu!" Pina squealed in agreement. The duo looked at Kyoya with determination.

"You said your tamed monster is just food to you. Let me show you what mine is to me!" Silica told her opponent. She raised her arms out with Pina floating above her head. Silica began reciting the spell. When she finally finished, both she and Pina became veiled in a bright light. The lights soon merged together and became too bright for Kyoya to look at.

"What the hell is going on?" Kyoya wondered as he shielded his eyes.

'_Please! Let this work!'_ Silica silently begged. She felt Pina rest its body on her and the two of them merged. When the light faded, Silica had transformed. Her Cait Sith wings and tail were replaced with ones identical to Pina's but larger. In addition, she became veiled in a blue aura, the same exact color of Pina's feathers.

"Wh-What the hell did you just do?!" Kyoya gasped.

"It's a high level Cait Sith skill called Perfect Synchronization" Silica explained. "Instead of simply absorbing your pet like you did, I became one with mine. Pina's strength flows through me."

Kyoya growled at her. "Big deal. There's still no way you can beat me!"

Silica took her dagger and got back into a fighting stance. She no longer felt fatigued and in pain like she did before. Pina's healing powers had replenished her HP back to a safe amount and given her strength. _'Let's do this Pina'_

"Raaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh!" Silica and Kyoya charged at each other with a loud cry. The two Cait Siths clashed head on, with their weapons smashing against each other. With the power she had obtained from her new form, Silica could now keep up with Kyoya's speed and power. The young girl deflected an incoming slash from Kyoya and countered with a slash of her own. Kyoya flinched in pain from the hit, but still refused to give in. He swiped at Silica's cheek, causing a small red cut to appear. But she didn't back down either. She ducked under a thrust from Kyoya's claw and grabbed his arm. She swung herself up above him with her leg reeled back.

"Take this!"

The force of Silica's boot slamming against Kyoya's cheek made him stagger back a little. Silica landed and rushed at her opponent to finish him off. Her dagger became veiled in light as she attacked with two diagonal slashes, creating a gash on Kyoya's chest to appear. She finished her attack as she rushed forward at him, piercing his chest and ripping straight through his avatar. Kyoya fell over as his HP hit zero.

"Impossible… how could I… lose?" Kyoya muttered as he shattered into pieces instead of turning into a remain light. Just as Gabriel had said, losing here meant your Seed account would be deleted, including your avatar.

The blue aura around Silica vanished as she cancelled the spell. Her transformed features also reverted back to normal as Pina reappeared next to her. The Cait Sith hugged her pet tightly. "We did it Pina!"

"Kyuu!"

Soon Silica felt the fatigue from earlier come rushing back to her all at once. She fell to her knees as she tried to catch her breath.

"It's up to you guys now. Do your best everyone"

XXXXXXXXXX

"Geez! How much more running do we have to do?!" Leafa complained as the group ran through the fortress.

Kirito took a look at the map data Elza had given him. "From the looks of it there's eight floors to this fortress, with the top floor being the main control area. Each floor is smaller than the last."

"But we're only on the second floor! We have to climb another six ones after this?!"

"No point in complaining" Alice said as they ran. "Either we make it in time, or Gabriel wins. We just have to stay strong"

As the group ran through a doorway they heard the sound of someone clapping slowly. They looked at the top of the door across from them to see someone sitting on the ledge above it. It was a male Leprechaun with tan hair and light metal armor on his shoulders and knees. Two gloves were equipped two his hands that Ren couldn't help but find suspicious.

"Welcome kiddies. I'm so glad you could make it to the show" the Leprechaun sneered as he descended to the ground.

"Who the hell are you?!" Liz glared.

"The name's Haru. And this…" he said as he waved his arms, causing multiple lines of thick wire to appear from his gloves. "Is the place where you're all going to die"

"Pretty big talk for just one guy" Sinon said with a smirk. "You sure you can take all of us?"

"Oh, a feisty one. I like the feisty types" Haru said with an entertained grin. "They make for such better playmates"

"You want feisty, I'll give you feisty!" Mai said as she stepped forward. "Go on ahead guys, I've got this one"

"I'll join in too" Himiko added as she walked up next to Mai.

"Seriously? A couple of brats? That's supposed to scare me?" Haru questioned. "I think I should show you what you're getting into, kids."

The group watched as Haru recited a spell. When he finished, two mechanical figures appeared in front of him. The first had short dark hair. Blades emerged from its two arms. The other one wore a black cloth cloak and had an opening on the palm of both of its hands. Long hair of the same color as the other figure flowed down its back. The Leprechaun swung the wires from both of his gloves at the backs of the figures and attached them. Suddenly the two motionless figures began moving on their own.

"Wh-What the hell?! How did he do that?!" Liz gasped.

"It's my viral spell" Haru explained. "You see, unlike the rest of those monkeys fighting outside, those of us inside here have a much more advanced form of the brainwashing done to us. It allows us to be able to withstand a powerful mind technique known as the viral spells. Usually, using one would cause extreme mental pain and cause you to go insane. But thanks to the advanced brainwashing done to us lucky few, we can withstand it. These viral spells allow us to access to a technique that nobody else can use"

"But aren't you upset about being used like this?" Ren asked. "I mean, you said yourself that you've been brainwashed."

The Leprechaun standing before them simply shrugged. "So? I know full well that I'm being used. It doesn't matter to me. After all, this power is just so much fun to use"

"That's… That's insane!" Himiko exclaimed.

"There's a small difference between those of us in the fortress and the lackeys outside" Haru smirked. "We CHOSE to let them brainwash us. You'd be surprised how amazing it feels to have this kind of power."

"And the others?" Liz glared. "What about the hundreds that didn't want to be brainwashed?! What about them?!"

"Who cares? It's not my problem"

Mai glared menacingly at Haru. "That does it. You are going down."

"Bring it on" Haru said, readying his two puppets. "But can you take me down with just the two of you?"

"How about we make it three then?" Leafa said, walking up next to the two girls. "After listening to you, all I can think about is how much I wanna bash your head into the ground"

"I'm in too" Liz added as she walked forward. "This guy's a disgrace to the Leprechaun race"

"Fine by me" Haru shrugged. He leaped out of the way and stood to the side. "The rest of you can go on ahead if you want."

"You're letting us go past you?" Riku questioned.

"To be perfectly honest, four people at once is probably the limit for me" Haru admitted. "Besides, I'm lowering your little group by four people. That still ends up as a plus for my side"

The group looked at the four girls hesitantly but ran on ahead. Now wasn't the time to be sitting around. All they could do was trust in them.

"Be careful you guys!" Ren called out to them as they ran past the door.

"Don't worry about us! Just focus on stopping Gabriel!" Himiko shouted back.

The group ran through the doorway past Haru and towards the stairs to the next floor. With the others out of the way, Haru turned to the four girls who already had their weapons unsheathed. The male Leprechaun had an entertained grin on his face.

"Alright ladies! Try and make this entertaining before you die!"

**A/N: Well that's the intro to the next fight. Hope everyone is looking forward to it. Next chapter will include the leadup to a fight I KNOW everyone is going to like. Don't worry, I will get the next chapter out as soon as possible to keep you guys from dying of suspense.**


	58. Pulling Strings

**A/N: Hey readers! I hope you've been enjoying this arc so far. I'm working as hard as I can to get these chapters out as fast as possible without rushing the quality. So far, I think I've got a pretty good flow going. Let's hope I can keep it up. Enjoy the chapter.**

"Take this!" Mai yelled as she thrusted her rapier forward while speeding at the enemy Leprechaun standing in their way. She didn't even get close to him however as she found one of his two puppets appearing in front of her. The young Sylph barely reacted in time to dodge the incoming counter attack from the puppet as it swung its bladed arm down at her. Leaping back, Mai growled in frustration.

The team of Mai, Himiko, Leafa, and Liz had been trying several attack patterns to try and hit the opponent named Haru. Every time they attacked however, the two puppets Haru was controlling intercepted them perfectly. They hadn't even gotten close to hitting the Leprechaun while his puppets had damaged them plenty.

"Awww, is this all you've got?" Haru asked with a condescending grin. "I thought we were gonna have more fun playing."

"How the hell is he moving those puppets like that?" Liz muttered. "He isn't even moving his fingers."

"Handy isn't it?" Haru smirked. "My two puppets here are called Cloak and Dagger. I don't move them with my fingers, but with my mind."

"Come again?" Leafa said with a confused look.

"To move these puppets, I have to split my consciousness between them. Usually, I'd have to split it in half between these two puppets and leave my main body exposed. But I'm able to split my consciousness three ways."

"Splitting your consciousness between three bodies? Is that even possible?" Himiko gasped.

"For an average person, this would be impossible. Using it would cause severe mental trauma and possibly make you go insane. Thanks to the special brainwashing I went through however I can do it with ease." Haru explained. "It's not really the brainwashing as you'd think. Instead of controlling my mind, it helps my mental strength increase tenfold. Of course, they can take over my mind in the blink of an eye if I ever went rogue."

"You're insane" Leafa growled.

"Perhaps, but who cares? This power makes it so worth it!" Haru said with a laugh. "Now then it's time we spice up this game, don't you think so ladies?"

With a snap of the Leprechaun's fingers, the ground started shaking. The floor at the sides of the room broke apart, leaving only a long bridge left for the players to stand on. Below the now destroyed edge areas of the room was a pit of boiling lava. Falling into it would undoubtedly lead to an instant death. An excited grin was painted on Haru's face as he readied his two puppets. The girls assumed the bladed puppet was the one Haru referred to as Dagger and the puppet with openings in its hands was Cloak.

"Time to die!" Haru exclaimed as his two puppets charged towards the four girls. Liz charged towards them and swung her mace at the bladed puppet. As she stood deadlocked in a test of strength between her and the puppet, Liz saw the puppet's cloak come off, revealing multiple hidden blades other than the ones that acted as its arms. Liz quickly leaped back to avoid the incoming assault from the hidden blades, but then noticed the second puppet jump above its partner. Its cloak opened up, revealing what seemed to be nearly a hundred openings in its figure. And out of every single one of them came a flurry of flying needles. The pierced the pink haired blacksmith while she was midair, making her cry out in pain as multiple red marks covered her body. Her health hadn't fallen by much but she was now afflicted with several status ailments. Poison, paralysis, bleeding, all of it.

"Liz!" Mai exclaimed. "Are you okay?!"

"I just got pierced by a bunch of needles. What do you think?" Liz bit back as she tried to endure the pain.

"How do you like it?" Haru smirked. "Cloak's main function is firing those needles at opponents. Each one of them can inflict status ailments and even I don't know which ones inflict which ailment."

"Great so we have to dodge all of them, or we risk getting serious ailments like paralysis" Leafa realized.

"You catch on quick. Not bad for a bunch of kids"

Mai readied her rapier with a serious look on her face. "Time to show you what us kids are capable of." With that said, she sped towards Haru at full speed. She thrusted her rapier forward but found it blocked by the bladed puppet. With a quick move of one of its two blade hands it pushed Mai's rapier up into the air. As the young Sylph was exposed from the attack it sent its second arm right at her. It didn't reach her however as Himiko appeared and intercepted the attack. The bladed puppet moved back as its partner appeared and fired a barrage of needles once again. Before they could hit the two girls though a clear barrier appeared in front of them. Mai and Himiko looked behind them to see Leafa using magic to protect the two of them.

"Now Liz!" Leafa shouted. "Do it!"

"You got it!" Liz yelled back as she leaped over the two puppets and ran towards the exposed Haru. She swung her mace down at him, but it was dodged at the last second as the male Leprechaun jumped back with a backflip. Liz gave a confident smirk towards her opponent. "Looks like you're all alone you-"

"Liz look out!" Mai yelled. Liz turned around and saw the bladed puppet right next to her. Her eyes widened in horror as it pierced her stomach with one of its hands. The puppet then followed up with a kick that sent her skyrocketing into the air.

"You're finished" Haru smirked. He removed the wires from his bladed puppet and swung them towards Liz. The wires wrapped around her and with a forceful swing of Haru's arm she was sent flying down into the lava pit below the battlefield. The field blocked everyone's view of Liz before she hit the bubbling hot liquid, but her scream of pain was all they needed to confirm the worst.

"LIZ! NOOOO!" Himiko cried out. She fell to her knees, begging that what just happened was all a horrible nightmare. But it wasn't. This was cruel harsh reality.

"Well that's one down" Haru shrugged as he reattached the wires to his puppet, allowing it to move freely once again. "She came oh so close too. Hahahaha!"

Himiko's eyes lit up with rage. She got to her feet as she glared towards Haru. "You… you…"

"Oh what's this? Do you want to join you're friend too?"

"YOU BASTARD!" Himiko screamed. She ran at the male Leprechaun with all the strength her legs could give her. "I'LL KILL YOU!"

"Himiko don't!" Leafa called out. "You're playing right into his hands!"

The young Imp didn't hear what her friend had to say. Her mind was solely focused on killing the person that had just killed her friend. Liz's real body may not be dead but that didn't matter. Liz had put everything into the accomplishments of her avatar. Her blacksmith shop, the weapons she made, all of that was done by her. Even Himiko's weapon, Murakumo, was forged by the pink haired blacksmith. Himiko could feel the blade shaking with the same rage she had.

"This is for Liz!" Himiko cried out. Her katana lit up as she knocked back the bladed puppets arm, following up with a slash that knocked it aside. She then lunged her katana forward at the cloaked puppet, sending it flying back. With her skill done, Himiko was forced to wait for a few seconds through the stun delay. When it was finished, she continued running towards Haru. When she noticed the shadow behind her however, it was too late. The bladed puppet was already inches from her avatar.

"Himiko!" Mai cried in horror.

Himiko cried out in agony as the blade pierced her. She watched her HP decrease drastically it threw her off its arm. She collapsed against the ground with her health in the red. The puppet lunged towards her, aiming to finish the job. Himiko closed in eyes, not wanting to see the blade cut her down.

"Not gonna happen!" a sudden voice cried out. Himiko's eyes opened in shock to see a sudden figure come crashing down on the puppet, smashing their weapon into it and causing the puppet to break apart. Himiko looked at the female player that had just saved her life, shocked at who it was.

"L-Liz?!" Himiko gasped. "But how? I thought you…"

"Sorry about that" Liz said with a grin. "Had to let that bastard think I kicked the bucket so I could catch him off guard."

Mai's and Leafa's faces brightened to see their friend was still alive and well. Haru looked at what just transpired in surprise. His puppet was now broken beyond repair. It was useless now. He retracted his wires back into his glove. He now had four opponents to contend with and only one puppet at his disposal. Worst of all, it was one that had no power in a close range fight. Liz helped Himiko get to her feet and the four girls glared at the male Leprechaun.

"You're finished" Liz told him. "It's time to show you what we can do"

Haru cracked a grin at this. He had gotten himself into this fight. There was no way he was backing down now just cause the odds were against him. No true gamer would do that. "Alright then. Give me everything you've got ladies."

"With pleasure" Leafa smirked. The four girls ran at him together. This was their chance to finish him off. Haru moved his remaining puppet right in front of him. The cloak opened up once again and so did a large portion of its body. Now several more openings to fire from were present. There had to be at least two hundred in total.

"Take this! The grand finale!" Haru yelled. Needles flew out from all the openings and sped towards the girls. Haru's eyes widened however as Leafa took the lead of the group with her sword veiled in an emerald light. She spun her body around, creating a cyclone in the process. The fierce gust of wind knocked away the needles like a barrier. Mai followed up as her rapier lit up with an azure blue light. She attacked with a flurry of thrusts to the puppet. The last thrust pierced right through its head and the mechanical figure collapsed.

"Damn you" Haru snarled. "Damn you all to hell!" He took the now free wires of his left glove and swung them at the girls, while doing the same with the wires of his other hand as well. Liz ducked under them and slid towards Haru. The pink haired blacksmith delivered an uppercut to her opponent. Haru flinched in pain, but his eyes widened as he saw Liz's mace cloaked in light with electricity surrounding it. She swung it down with a devastating amount of force. The attack connected, smashing Haru's head into the ground and creating a crater from the impact.

"Now Himiko! Finish it!" Liz called out as she leaped back. Haru looked up from his lying position to see the young girl glaring at him as she leaped up and went in for the finishing blow. Her katana was veiled in a violet light as she swung it down at him with a powerful battle cry.

"Raaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh!"

The blade slashed into the male Leprechaun's avatar. He watched as his HP slowly fell down and finally hit zero. His avatar lit up with a clear light and a satisfied grin was on his face. "Looks like I lost. Not bad kid"

Himiko watched as Haru shattered into polygons. She hadn't noticed it before but her breathing was incredibly fast paced right now and her heart was beating like crazy. Was this what it was like for everyone in SAO? Fighting with so much more at stake than winning or losing. No, it must have been even worse. While the pain from this fight was excruciating, her brother and everyone fought with their very lives on the line. She fell to her knees as she tried to catch her breath. She felt a pat on her back and saw Liz smiling at her.

"Way to go Himiko. You fought like a champ today" Liz told her.

"R-Really?"

Leafa nodded in agreement. "Yeah. You were totally awesome! Ren would be so proud."

The young girl blushed a little at being complimented. "Thanks you guys. That means a lot"

"Aww, is someone getting shy?" Mai teased as she wrapped one arm around her friend and rubbed the fist of her other one playfully on Himiko's cheek.

"Hey, come on, Mai! Cut it out!" Himiko laughed as she tried to get her friend off her. Soon Leafa and Liz were also laughing at the young girl's expense. Himiko gave a bright and cheerful smile.

'_Good luck bro. I know you can do it'_

XXXXXXXXXX

Everyone ran through the third floor of the fortress at full speed. Looking at the time, they only had about three hours left before Gabriel's plan would succeed. They had to prevent that from happening at all costs.

"Judging from what's happened so far, I'm betting there's gonna be someone waiting for us right before the stairs to the next floor" Ren told the group.

"You're probably right about that" Kirito nodded in agreement. "The only question is who it'll be"

The group ran through the hallways of the floor. Their minds wondered as to what kind of opponent would be waiting up ahead for them. Thanks to the map Elza provided them and Yui's direction, they were able to navigate fairly easily.

"Up ahead!" Yui told the group as she sat on top of her father's head. "The stairway's right past that room!"

"Time for the moment of truth" Riku said as they ran through the doorway. As they came into the room, a sudden voice called out to them.

"Well, well. I's been far too long everyone."

Everyone watched as a player flew down to greet them. It was a female with long green hair and black wings. She wore a small black leather armored top that clearly revealed most of her chest. On her lower body were long black leggings and red high heel boots. A golden necklace was wrapped around her neck and a vampiric looking spear was slung behind her back. Most of the group widened their eyes as they recognized the woman standing before them.

"Morrigan?!" Alice gasped. "What are you doing here?! I thought you were banned from ALO!"

The Succubus smirked malevolently at the group, especially at the girls. "Oh look, it's the jealous housewives. What a lovely reunion this is going to be"

Asuna glared at the woman in front of her. "How are you even here?"

"What can I say? It helps to have friends. They wanted my help and I wanted a chance at revenge. Besides, it's best to choose the side that's going to control the entire world, isn't it? I even got my avatar back, though the exclusive skills I had are gone. Oh well, I'll just have to find another way to seduce those boys of yours"

"OVER MY DEAD BODY YOU BITCH!" Dagger yelled. "There's no way in hell I'd let you take Helios from me again!"

Morrigan gave a devilish grin towards the female Spriggan. "Oh, it won't be that hard. After all I've got so much more to show off up top than you."

That last comment made Dagger's eyes go to a look of pure hatred. She stepped forward and unsheathed her short sword. "Go on ahead guys. This bitch is all mine"

"I'll fight with you, Dagger" Helios said as he took a step forward. He was cut off however as his girlfriend put her arm out in front of him.

"I said she's mine. Nobody else gets to interfere"

Helios noticed the almost demonic tone in Dagger's voice and took a step back. He knew that getting in her way when she was like this was not a good idea. "Alright. Be careful Dagger"

"Don't worry" Dagger said. "I'll rip this man stealing bitch into shreds then catch up with you guys"

Helios nodded as he and the others ran on ahead, leaving the two girls all alone. Dagger glared murderously at the Succubus while Morrigan just gave a delighted grin as she removed her spear and twirled it skillfully in her hand.

"I'm going to enjoy watching you die"

"Funny. I was about to say the exact same thing to you."

The two girls kicked off the ground and sped towards each other with a terrifying battle cry. They both screamed the same words.

"I'LL KILL YOU!"

**A/N: I hope you liked the fight for this chapter, but I KNOW you're going to love the one next chapter. The return of everybody's favorite Succubus in a battle against the most psychotic female in ALO. This is gonna be one to remember, I promise.**


	59. Morrigan's Vengence

**A/N: Hey guys. Time for the fight you've all been waiting for. The cat fight of the century. Hope you all like it. Please review.**

The group quickly traveled upwards on the stairs to reach the top floor of the castle with Helios giving worried looks to the back of him every now and again. Ren noticed this and gave his friend a reassuring pat on his shoulders.

"Dude it's okay, Dagger can handle her." he said as they slowed to a jogging speed.

Helios sighed as he picked up his speed again. "I know but I can't help but be worried. She's my girlfriend and she's fighting that damn whore who tried to make us into manslaves."

"Think of it this way, Dagger is the insanely jealous type. Morrigan tried to steal you from her. I don't think that is something that she would forget or forgive anytime soon. No doubt she has that grudge fueling her fighting spirit." Alice remarked with a confident smile. "She's gonna kick her ass into next week and give her some pain to remember."

"I hope so. I know Dagger can handle herself but who knows what new tricks that bitch has up her sleeves…" he said lowly as they continued their annoying stair climbing journey

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

Sparks and sword glows filled the air as Dagger and Morrigan clashed their weapons against each other. The female Spriggan deftly dodged the lance thrusts of the older player and countered with her own sword skills when an opening arose. Morrigan must have been practicing her fighting skills these past few months as she managed to move the shaft of her spear to block off the attack and push her away.

"You've gotten a bit better than when we last we met." Morrigan remarked as she brought her weapon towards Dagger's face. "But this time you don't have your fellow jealous cheerleaders to back you up. And I don't think you have the stuff to perform as a solo act."

Dagger rolled her eyes as she smacked the spear's blade away from her. "Oh trust me I'm more than what you think I am. And trust me when I say that when I get my hands on you, you're gonna regret ever touching my friends and my boyfriend."

"Oh yes I remember him. Helios was his name right? Oh he was the most affectionate out of my mind controlled slaves. Always trying to cuddle up with me. That made the other two boys really jealous."

Dagger felt something inside her snap as her eye began twitching every now and again. "I'm sorry what was that? I thought I just heard a suicide notice come from your mouth."

"I said he was a cute little cuddler. You must really be lacking as a girlfriend to not even satisfy a man's basic needs. Have you even slept with him? No? I think I should fix that after I beat your ass into the ground, if you know what I mean."

That sole implication was enough to make Dagger angrier than a shark who smelled blood. And boy did Dagger need to see some blood shed after what Morrigan just said. Dagger charged forward with a battle cry as she swung her shortsword at the older girl. Morrigan smiled as she blocked the onslaught of the Spriggan.

The two girls glared hell at each other as Dagger parried the thrusts of Morrigan's spear and moved in the behead her. As her blade made contact with the Succubus's neck Dagger's eyes widened when her shortsword just flew through the neck of an illusion and a kick slammed against her temple, sending her crashing into the ground.

Morrigan smiled smugly as she spun her lance around playfully. "Illusion magic is certainly very useful. As if I'd even let you get close enough to stab me."

Dagger shook off the black spots forming in her vision and glared at the floating girl. "Oh don't challenge me bitch! I'm already motivated enough to kill you painfully from what you did all those months ago! Do not add fuel to this inferno!"

"Oh what a cute little tantrum you're throwing. Just makes me want to kill you faster so I can get my hands on that cute little Salamander of yours. Such a fiery temper he has. It's gonna be so worth it to tame him to obey my every comm-"

She was cut off as a spasm of pain shot through her lower chest. Looking down she saw a throwing knife embedded in her body causing her to scream in pain, making her lose her focus on flying and fall to the ground.

Dagger slowly started to walk towards the fallen Succubus, gripping her blade hard as she stood over the older girl. "You know there are three triggers you should never flip when fighting me. One." she punctuated the one with a quick stab to her back causing another scream to erupt from Morrigan. "Is calling me poor. Two." Once again she shanked her blade into her back causing the same reaction from before to repeat. "Is insulting my looks in any sort of way, which is something you did a long time ago. And three!" The stab this time has a lot more force behind it as she twisted it while it was still inside the Succubus. "Is mention that you would do anything to MY Helios!"

To anyone looking in on the scene it would be the equivalent as a brutal murder scene in a horror movie as Dagger made it her business to hear Morrigan scream in pain. She wanted to savor her revenge in the most satisfying way possible and this was it in it's finest. She was so focused on her vengeance that she didn't notice Morrigan slowly reaching for her fallen weapon before it was too late. Her eyes widened as Morrigan used all of her currently draining strength to swing her spear at Dagger's side. The young Spriggan cried out as the spear stabbed into her side making her fall off as she clutched her stab wound. Using her spear as a prop, Morrigan slowly lifted her body and slowly walked to Dagger's helpless body.

"And now the tables turn. It's my turn now and boy is this. Gonna. Hurt!"

Morrigan viciously kicked Dagger in the face taking enjoyment as she saw her body roll like a ragdoll on the floor and slowly trotted towards her once more. As she reached Dagger once more, she was mildly surprised when she saw her try to get up from the floor from her most recent blow to the head. "Oh how cute. You're still resisting. Maybe this will fix that rebellious attitude of yours!"

Dagger couldn't even find the strength to scream as Morrigan's spear pierced her body and pinned her to the ground. The older girl smiled as she leaned down and met Dagger at eye level. "You made a huge mistake to fight me alone. Trust me, I'm gonna make your suffering as drawn out as possible before I kill you. And after I kill you I'll sink my hands on that Helios of yours. My employer is quite generous with the proposition he offered me. I kill some ALO loving brats and I get to brainwash any person I wished. I'll hypnotize little Helios to forget about you and all the cute little times you shared and have him only exist to worship me. And let me tell you I'll take good care of him. You can die knowing that your beloved little boyfriend is going to someone much better and more full bodied."

"Yep… You… are so... goddamn... dead…" Dagger managed to grunt as she pulled out a small knife from her pocket and stabbed Morrigan in the face with it.

The screams of pain that came from her mouth is something that Dagger would never forget as she took maximum pleasure in seeing Morrigan fall to the ground as she finally removed the knife from her fall, panting heavily as she did as though she just ran the world's longest marathon.

Using all of her efforts Dagger managed to lift the blade out of her lower torso and pulled out another shortsword and cut the spear in half, completely destroying it and leaving Morrigan helpless. The older woman slowly started to back away from Dagger in fear as she approached her. Not looking behind her, Morrigan tripped on a piece of fallen debris and soon found herself paralyzed with fear as the Spriggan loomed over her.

"Wh-what are you waiting for…? Aren't you gonna kill me…?"

Dagger gave a laugh at her as she pulled out a healing crystal from her inventory. She crushed it in her hand and threw its contents on Morrigan healing her HP back to full. Before she could question the act of kindness she found Dagger's knife embedded in her leg, ripping off the limb completely.

"Oh no I'm not gonna kill you just yet, that'd be too easy. No I'm gonna prolong this for everything you said to me, every threat you made towards my friends and my BOYFRIEND!" With a quick flick of her wrist she stabbed her weapon into Morrigan's stomach.

"Just kill me already!"

"Oh I will… sooner or later…"

For the next part of an hour Dagger was on an endless loop of healing Morrigan and stabbing her to the brink of death only to repeat the process over and over again. Once she had run out of healing items Dagger smiled as she drove her knife through her neck beheading her in one go. Smiling as she saw Morrigan's body shatter into tiny fragments, Dagger put away her weapon and fell down to the ground, exhausted beyond belief.

"In retrospect I probably should've kept one healing crystal for myself… Meh, worth it…"

XXXXXXXXXX

Ren and the others continued running through the halls of the next floor of the fortress. For some reason or another, this particular floor was quite dark. The only thing allowing the group to see was the dim lights on the walls.

"Hold on!" Yui told everyone, causing them to halt to a stop.

"What is it Yui?" Kirito asked. "Is something wrong?"

"The layout to this floor is different than the others" Yui said. "There's an intersection up ahead. Both paths lead to the staircase, but there's a switch at the end of both of them. From what I can tell, we need to flip both of them to make it to open the doors to the last room before the stairs."

"So they're splitting us up" Ren realized. "Alright then, nothing we can do about it. Alice, Helios, and I will go right, and Kirito, Asuna, Sinon, and Riku can take the left."

Everyone nodded in agreement. Yui flew onto Ren's shoulder so she could lead the way for his group since Kirito had the map. The group split up and went their separate ways.

Ren's group ran through the halls with Yui directing them where to go. Hopefully, they would be able to meet up with Kirito and the others once they made it to the next floor.

"Take the next left!" Yui told Ren. The tactician did as the navigation pixie said and turned the corner. They finally arrived at a dead end. A switch was on the wall for them to push. Ren placed his hand on it and after a few seconds the switch lit up. The wall rose up, allowing the group to move forward. As they ran into the room however, the room became pitch black. Visibility was reduced to zero.

"Gah, what the hell?! I can't see anything!" Helios exclaimed. Soon, the sound of malevolent laughter was heard.

"My, my. You got here earlier than I expected."

Suddenly, the floor lit up with azure flames, allowing the group to see. Ren and the others looked up to see a player descend to the ground in front of them. It was a female Salamander with long red hair and piercing scarlet eyes. She had no weapons on her, making them assume she was a mage-type player. Her armor consisted of red light metal armor on her elbows, hands, and knees. Her clothing was also a red color with a golden yellow trim.

"I take it you're the person guarding this area?" Ren assumed.

"Nothing gets past you I see" the female player chuckled. "My name is Amaterasu. I'd remember it if I were you since it's the last name you'll ever hear."

Ren and Alice got ready to fight, but soon paused as Helios walked forward. The Unrelenting Psychopath cracked his knuckles and pulled his axe out from his back. "Go on ahead guys. I got this."

"You sure man?" Ren asked.

"Trust me. I've been wanting to bash someone's head in, and if I have to wait another minute to do it, I'm gonna lose it. Leave her to me and go on ahead."

Amaterasu gave an amused grin at Helios's show of bravado. "Well aren't you feisty? This might actually be fun."

Ren and Alice looked at each other and noded. They could leave this to Helios. Besides, there wasn't much time left for them to stop Gabriel's plan. The two Imps ran on ahead with Yui, leaving the two Salamanders alone to fight it out.

"Ladies first" Helios smirked, making a taunting gesture with his hand.

"Just a moment if you would. I'd like to liven this fight up a little" Amaterasu said.

Helios grinned at this. "Now you're speaking my language. What did you have in mind?"

"It'll just take a second. You see, there's another person on the other side of that wall" she explained as she pointed to the wall on the left side of the room. "That's where one of your other friends should be, getting ready to fight my friend over there. She and I are more of a… duet act if you will"

"By all means, go ahead and bring her over here. I could take both of you on solo" Helios shrugged.

"Very well then" Amaterasu smirked. She snapped her fingers and the wall she was pointing to sunk into the floor. On the other side was a female Imp with long violet hair and clear blue eyes. Her equipment was very similar to Amaterasu's, simple light armor. The only differences were that the color of her outfit was a dark blue and the fact that she wielded a weapon, a long katana that was sheathed at her waist.

"It seems you have your opponent as well, Amaterasu" the female Imp smirked.

"As do you, Tsukiyomi" Amaterasu said. "Shall we teach these two a lesson in pain?"

"It would be my pleasure" the girl named Tsukiyomi chuckled.

Helios looked over to see who was going to be his teammate in this fight. His eyes widened in surprise before he let out a low groan. His partner did the same as he saw Helios.

'_Of all people, it HAD to be him'_ Helios thought to himself.

Standing across from the Unrelenting Psychopath was Riku.

**A/N: Ok, I know some of you guys think I'm being cheesy and unoriginal with these names, but I couldn't come up with any other names that would work for a duo and I want to get these chapters out as soon as possible.**

**On another note, what do you guys think of the fights so far. I want to think I'm doing a good job, but I would like your feedback as to what you guys think. Feel free to either tell me in a review or PM.**


	60. An Unlikely Combination

**A/N: Hey guys. Not much to say really. Guess that's what happens when I update twice a week for so long. Oh well, I hope you enjoy the fight for this chapter.**

"Why the hell do YOU have to be my tag partner?!" Helios groaned loudly. "Seriously, even Yui would be better to have with me than you"

"I could say the same to you" Riku told the condescending Salamander from his former guild. "You aren't exactly the best person to be with for a team fight"

Amaterasu and Tsukuyomi gave a collective smirk at the sight of the two bickering players. Amaterasu looked over to her partner. "Not very friendly, are they?"

"If they can't work together, this is going to be over quickly" Tsukuyomi said with a nod of agreement.

"You activated your viral spell before they arrived correct?"

"Of course. Unlike yours, mine doesn't have a time limit"

The female Salamander nodded. "Alright then. Keep them occupied till I can get it ready"

Tsukuyomi giggled in delight as she stepped forward and unsheathed her katana. "Ok then. I can't promise that there will be much left by the time you're ready though." She slowly walked forward to the bickering duo in front of her. "Oh boys, can we get started already? Or do you two intend to yell at each other all day like a bunch of brats?"

Helios and Riku paused their arguing and looked towards the female Imp. Helios growled from being insulted as he gripped his axe. "Stand back Riku. I can do this on my own."

"You idiot! Don't go acting so cocky when you don't know what these two can do yet!" Riku yelled at him.

Helios ignored Riku's comment and charged forward towards his opponent. Tsukuyomi did the same as she sped towards the axe-wielding Salamander. Helios swung his Olympus Mons with all his might, but the attack didn't manage to connect as Tsukuyomi seemed to split into two out of nowhere. One of the two slid under Helios's axe and slashed at his legs. The other one jumped over him and delivered a painful kick to his jaw. The devastating combo attack made Helios fall to one knee as the two female Imps became one person again and prepared to attack the exposed Salamander's back. Before she could go in for the attack however, a flash of light caught her eye from behind her. Tsukuyomi leaped out of way just in time to avoid getting impaled by Riku's Gae Bolg.

Helios took a quick moment to catch his breath while he slowly stood back up. _'What the hell was that attack? Illusion magic? No, both of those were real attacks. Neither one was a mirage. Then what the hell was it?'_

"I bet you're wondering what my ability is right now" Tsukuyomi guessed. "My viral spell allows me to split into two of me for brief moments. It makes an average person's mind feel as if they're being split in half, but it has no effect on me. That's the power of brainwashing technology I guess"

Helios and Riku glared at the female Imp. Being able to become two people at will would make her an extremely tricky opponent to deal with. Helios charged in again, but Tsukuyomi made no movement. She just stood there as the raging Salamander charged towards her. Before he could reach her however, a powerful blast of fire hit him from the side. Helios tumbled painfully across the ground.

"Oh I'm sorry. I thought we made it clear that this was a tag fight" Amaterasu chuckled as she walked over with a flame lit in her hands, as if to declare that she was the one responsible for that blast of fire just now.

"Damn bitch. That was a cheap shot" Helios grunted as he got to his feet. All he got was a laugh from the two girls in response.

"Silly fool. It's your own fault for not paying attention" Tsukuyomi told him. She looked over suddenly to see Riku dashing towards her at a fast speed. She easily ducked under the lance and stabbed Riku in the chest with her katana. "Excuse me. It's rude to interrupt a lady when she's talking."

Riku was paralyzed in pain from the blade impaled in his body. It didn't stay there for long as Tsukuyomi pulled her weapon out and followed up with a kick to Riku's side, making him fly into Helios as he tried to get up. The two tumbled over before glaring at each other.

"Watch it you dumbass! You crashed right into me!" Helios yelled.

"Well maybe if you didn't go charging in recklessly like an idiot, this wouldn't be happening right now!" Riku barked back.

As the two bickered once again, they noticed a stream of fire come blasting towards them. The two males jumped out of the way just in time to avoid getting hit. Amaterasu let out a yawn as she let the flames she was controlling die down. "Look, as much as I enjoy watching you two argue like an old married couple, this is starting to get boring. Could you two at least try to make this interesting?"

Helios was about to charge once again, but was soon stopped as Riku held his lance up to block him. "Hold it. We need a plan before we go charging in."

"Like hell we do! I could handle both of them if you'd stop getting in the way!"

"Oh yeah, cause you've been doing such a great job so far"

Helios growled in annoyance, but he couldn't put up much of an argument. As much as he hated to admit it, Riku had a point. They needed a plan if they were to win this fight. "Alright fine, so what's your idea?"

"I'm still working on that." Riku said. "If we could just take out one of them, we'd be able to win easily."

"Yeah but how? At the rate things are going, one of us will die before we could take them out" Helios said. Suddenly his eyes lit up with inspiration. "Wait a minute…"

"Don't even think about it. I am not sacrificing myself for your petty amusement." Riku sternly told him.

Helios shook his head. "No dumbass. The one we're sacrificing is me"

Riku raised an eyebrow at this. "What are you talking about?"

"Just shut up and listen. Here's what I need you to do…"

Amaterasu and Tsukuyomi watched the two players whispering quietly between themselves. Amaterasu summoned her flames once again, and prepared to attack. "Do you really think we'll just sit back and give you two time to strategize?"

"Light 'em up" Tsukuyomi told her partner with a smirk.

"My pleasure" Amaterasu grinned. She blasted a stream of fire at the two male players. Helios charged at the stream of flames while Riku leaped back to evade it. Being a Salamander, fire attacks didn't have as much of an effect on Helios, but his HP was still steadily going down. Tsukuyomi split into two again and ran down both sides of the flames. As she approached Helios, the female Imp gripped her katana tightly and prepared to finish him off. She appeared on both sides of him and lunged towards the exposed Salamander, with Amaterasu extinguishing the flames at the last second to keep her partner from getting burned alive.

"You're mine, kid!"

Helios grinned as he saw Tsukuyomi take the bait. "Now Riku!"

Tsukuyomi's eyes widened as she saw a yellow crystal in Helios's hand. He uttered the words "Teleport! Riku!"

Tsukiyomi's eyes widened as Helios disappeared in a flash of light. She turned towards Riku, only to find him and his Gae Bolg already inches away from her and Helios appearing right next to him. The golden lance impaled into her avatar, making her cry out in pain. As she tried to focus back on the enemies in front of her, Helios had already charged towards her with his axe gripped tightly in his hands. He leaped into the air and his axe lit up with an orange glow. Flames burned around the edge of the blade.

"Take this!"

Helios slammed his axe down onto Tsukuyomi with a tremendous amount of force as Riku pulled out Gae Bolg and jumped back at the last second. The attack made the female Imp's HP plummet into the red zone. Before Tsukiyomi even had a chance to get back up and counterattack, Riku already had his lance veiled in the light of a sword skill. He stabbed the long weapon into his opponent and shaved off what was left of her HP. The female Imp let out one last cry before shattering into polygons. Amaterasu looked at the scene in shock as the fragments that were her friend disperse and turn into dust. The crystal Helios had used was a special type of teleportation Crystal that teleported a person to the player of their choice. He must have taken that flame attack purposely to draw Tsukuyomi in to attack. Her eyes lit up with a fiery rage.

"This isn't over… DAMN YOU BOTH!"

Helios watched as the flames flew towards him. His HP was extremely low from all the hits he had taken earlier, including the flame attack he had let hit him to draw out Tsukuyomi. If he got hit by this, he would be finished. His eyes widened in shock however as he saw Riku stand in front of him. The blonde Sylph twirled his lance rapidly in a circle. As the flames made contact, they dispersed to the side, bouncing off of the lance defense skill Riku activated, Spiral Barrier. After a few seconds, the flames slowly died out. Amaterasu tried to fire out another blast, but nothing happened.

"No… not now… damn it, don't time out on me now" Amaterasu muttered as she tried to summon her flames again.

Helios grinned in his exhausted state. He looked over at Riku. "I'll let you do the honors"

"Thanks" Riku said with an appreciative grin. He sped towards Amaterasu, who had a look of fear on her face. Riku's golden spear lit up as he delivered a series of thrust attacks to the female Salamander. Each hit gradually shaved off more and more of Amaterasu's HP. The final hit brought her health down into the red. She looked at the blonde Sylph in fear. Riku readied his weapon for the finishing blow. Before he could do it however, a figure suddenly rushed past him and cleaved the female player in half. Amaterasu let out a cry of pain as both parts of her body shattered away into fragments. Riku looked to see Helios turn towards him with a smug look on his face.

"What the hell?! I thought you were gonna let me finish her off!"

"You were taking too long" Helios shrugged.

"You freaking killstealer!"

"Hey, next time don't take so long and I won't have to killsteal"

Riku rolled his eyes in annoyance as he sat down to recover from the fight. "You never change. You're still the same unbearable jackass from SAO."

Helios chuckled as he sat down as well. "Yep. Although for what it's worth… you've gotten stronger"

"I'm sorry, what was that?" Riku asked, wanting to hear it again.

"... You've gotten stronger" Helios muttered even more quietly than last time.

"I can't hear you"

"FINE!" Helios yelled. "You're a little stronger than you were in SAO! Happy?!"

Riku smirked as he watched Helios suffer from having to give him a compliment. "Very."

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

The group of now five players plus Yui ran through the halls of their latest floor. When they had met up and realized the two left behind were Helios and Riku, they were… worried to say the least. But there was no time to turn back now. They still had two more floors left to go before they would reach the top.

"We have approximately ninety minutes left" Yui told the group as she rode on Asuna's shoulder. "We're running out of time!"

"Then we need to pick up the pace" Kirito decided. "This way!"

The Black Swordsman lead the way as the other four followed closely behind. They finally reached the last room before the stairs and like all the other ones, someone was waiting for them.

"So this many people made it through? Geez, what are those fools doing?"

The player standing before them was a female Undine like Asuna. She had azure blue hair tied up in a ponytail, and eyes of the same color. She had no weapons on her, but her outfit seemed more like that of a speed sword type than a mage.

"So you're our opponent this time?" Sinon questioned.

"That would be correct. Although I wasn't expecting to be facing a bunch of brats" the woman sighed. "The name's Chi. Try not to forget that"

Yui got off of Asuna's shoulder and hovered in the air with her tiny wings. "Be careful Mama. I have a bad feeling about this one"

Chi raised an eyebrow at the talking pixie. "I'm sorry, did she just say Mama?"

"That's right!" Yui sternly told the Undine. "Mama and Papa are very important to me!"

"Is that so?" Chi said with a smirk. "Then I'll be sure to give them extra special service!"

The group watched as Chi raised her hand and quickly recited a spell. When she finished the incantation, she held out her hand and took a knife hidden under her equipment. Chi took the tiny blade and stabbed it into her hand. Blood dripped down from her hand as the group watched in horror. The red liquid soon solidified and became a rapier type sword, made entirely out of the blood that had been dripping from the Undine's hand.

"Wh-What the hell was that?!" Alice gasped.

"This is the power of my viral spell" Chi explained with a smirk. "As you know, Undines specialize in water magic. This allows me to use a different type of water. The blood in my body."

"You can use your own blood as a weapon?" Kirito said in shock.

"That's right. I can shape it however I please and fight with it. That's why I don't need a weapon. I AM a weapon!"

"It doesn't matter!" Yui said in a loud voice. "Mama, Papa, and everyone else will beat you!"

Chi glared at the tiny pixie in annoyance. "You know, I'm really starting to get irritated listening to you." With a flick of her arm, the blood rapier extended and became a long whip. She flicked her arm once again and the whip of crystallized blood flew at the group, striking Yui in the face. The little pixie cried out in pain as Asuna and Kirito looked at their daughter in horror.

"Yui!" Asuna cried out as she caught her daughter in the palms of her hands. "Are you alright?! Yui, answer me!"

"M-Mama…" Yui muttered weakly.

"Oh look, you're all concerned. That's adorable" Chi smirked. "It's just a program. No need to cry over it getting hurt"

Asuna looked up towards Chi, giving a glare that would scare even the mightiest enemies in ALO. She handed Yui over to Kirito and stepped forward. "You know they say a mother grizzly bear has the strength of a hundred men when her cubs are in danger. I'm a bit different." A tone of pure rage could be heard from Asuna's voice while she unsheathed her rapier and pointed it towards the woman that had just hurt her daughter. "I have strength that would even make a mother grizzly run in fear. And you're about to feel EVERY! LAST! OUNCE!"

"A-Asuna…" Kirito had never seen Asuna this angry before, not once in his whole life.

"Kirito, take Yui and go on ahead. This one's mine"

"Asuna…"

"GO!"

Kirito put Yui into his coat pocket and looked at Ren and the others. They all nodded in agreement. The group ran on ahead. Now it was just Asuna and Chi. Only one was walking out of this fight alive.

Chi gave a malevolent smirk as she readied her whip and prepared to fight. "Let's see what you can do 'Mama'."

Asuna glared murderously as she got into her battle stance. "I hope you've made peace with whatever gods you believe in, cause once I'm done with you not even the best doctors in the world will be able to help you."

**A/N: And people thought Dagger was scary when she got pissed. As usual, I should have the next chapter up in a few days. Please review.**


	61. Blood

**A/N: Hey guys. Really happy to see all the love this story has been getting with the reviews and PMs you guys keep sending me. I hope I can continue to live up to your great expectations.**

"Raaaaaahhhhhhh!"

Asuna ran towards Chi at full speed with a murderous glare in her eyes. She didn't care who this Undine woman thought she was. Anyone who would hurt Yui like that wasn't going to be forgiven easily by the Berserk Healer.

Chi wielded her blood whip skillfully as she lashed it out towards Asuna. Several flashes of the flexible weapon came towards Asuna, but she dodged each one with speed so fast that even Ren would be impressed. As Asuna closed in to attack, Chi retracted her whip and transformed it back into a thin rapier. The battle quickly escalated into a swift clash between the two rapiers. Sparks flashed as the two blades skidded across each other, both finally striking their targets. Chi took a scratch to her cheek, while Asuna felt her opponent's weapon pierce into her shoulder. The pain was worse than any injury she had gotten in SAO, but she wasn't willing to let that stop her. Her rapier lit up with the light of a sword skill and she thrusted it towards Chi, who quickly pulled her own rapier out and backed away. She avoided getting hit by the stab itself, but the shockwave was more than powerful enough to blow her back.

"Heh, not bad" Chi said as she caught her breath. "You're pretty good for a kid"

Asuna still hadn't lost the hateful look she had since the fight started. It was as if she was possessed by a demon. "I'm going to make you pay for what you did to Yui. Nobody hurts her and gets away with it."

"Give me a break. It's just a stupid A.I. What's so precious about it?" Chi said as she rolled her eyes.

"Yui isn't just some A.I. She's mine and Kirito's daughter and no one is going to say otherwise"

Chi sighed as she shrugged her shoulders. "If you want to go and play pretend then fine. I'll just kill her too once I'm finished with you"

"Like hell you will!" Asuna growled. "There's no way I'm letting you win"

"Then show me what you've got" Chi grinned.

Asuna did just that as she sped towards Chi once again. Chi met the attack head on as both of them thrusted their rapiers forward. The rapier Chi wielded was supposed to be made of crystallized blood, but it seemed to be just as sturdy as any other metal sword. The two Undines sped past each other as their rapiers skidded across each other. As Asuna turned around to face her opponent, she saw that Chi had already transformed her weapon back into a whip and lashed it towards her. The lightning fast strike hit Asuna right in the face, making her cry out in pain. Chi continued with a relentless assault of attacks from her whip. Asuna's body soon became covered in red gashes and her HP was steadily decreasing. Chi finished up her assault as she swung her whip and wrapped it around her opponent. She retracted the long weapon and spun Asuna around dizzily. As Asuna struggled to regain her balance, Chi rushed forward while attacking with another barrage of strikes from her whip. When she got close to Asuna, she reeled her fist back and sent a punch straight to Asuna's cheek. The blow made Asuna fly back and tumble across the ground painfully.

"Aww is playtime over?" Chi chuckled as she walked over towards Asuna, who was struggling to get up. "I wanna play some more. As a mother, you should give it your all when playing. Maybe that little A.I feels neglected from such a mean mommy."

"SHUT THE HELL UP!" Asuna screamed as she rushed forward. She attacked with a repeated series of thrusts from her rapier. Chi found it increasingly difficult to dodge the assault, slowly getting more and more scratches on the side of her body. She raised her weapon up for a downwards lash.

"Die!"

Asuna stood there as the whip came down at her. She raised her arm up and caught the flexible weapon as it struck her hand. The pain was enormous, but Asuna didn't care. She pulled the whip back, making Chi stumble towards her while Asuna readied her rapier. The slim blade lit up as she attacked with the eight-hit skill Star Splash. Three quick consecutive hits came towards Chi's chest, followed up by three slashes at her legs. Chi cried out in agony as she felt her legs wobble from the pain. Asuna wasn't finished however as she performed the last two hits of the skill, two consecutive thrusts to the opponent's chest. The last of the two final hits sent Chi flying back. As she flew back, Chi sent another lash of her whip at Asuna, who moved her body to the side instinctively to evade it. The dodge was in vain however as Chi's whip found its real target, Asuna's rapier. The long weapon wrapped around the thin blade. Chi pulled back her weapon, taking Asuna's sword with it. Chi grabbed the hilt of her opponent's rapier and held it with her free hand.

"What a lovely blade. I think I'll use it to finish you off once and for all."

Asuna growled in frustration as Chi changed her whip back to a rapier and rushed towards her with two rapiers now in hand. She desperately tried to dodge the two weapons being thrusted at her one after another, over and over again. It was impossible to dodge them all however as Asuna kept getting pierced by the two thin blades. Chi's skill with wielding two swords didn't even come close to Kirito, but without a weapon of her own to defend with it made no difference.

Chi finally found an opening to deal the finishing blow as she slashed diagonally at Asuna. The teen grunted in pain as she tried to endure the screaming feeling coming from her stomach where a long red gash was now present. A followed up thrust attack sent her tumbling back. Asuna laid on her back as Chi went in for the finisher. Chi swung down both her blades at once at Asuna. "This is the end!"

'_No!'_ Asuna told herself. _'I will not lose here! Not to someone like this!'_

Chi's looked in shock as Asuna raised both her hands up and caught the two blades coming down at her. The sharp metal cut into both her hands as she tried to hold them back long enough to break free. That chance came as Asuna curled her body back and thrusted her legs up, kicking Chi in the jaw with both of them. The blow pushed Chi back and made Asuna's rapier fall out of her hands. Asuna reclaimed her weapon and gripped it firmly. She stared down at Chi, who was recovering from the blow her jaw had taken just now.

"You know, usually I wouldn't want to waste a technique like this on someone as pathetic as you" Asuna said coldly as her rapier became veiled in a shining violet light. "But I'm gonna make an exception, just because of how pissed off you've made me"

Chi watched as Asuna sped towards her at a blinding speed that didn't even give her enough time to defend.

'_Watch over me, Yuuki'_ Asuna mentally said as she began her attack. Five thrusts rained down on Chi with each one sending pain coursing through her body, bringing her health from yellow to red. Not long after the first five hits came, another five consecutive hits pierced through her body. Chi's HP fell down to a small sliver. Now was the chance to counterattack… or so she thought until she realized Asuna's blade still hadn't lost its violet glow.

Asuna roared as she thrusted her rapier forward for the final strike. "Take this! Mother's Rosario!"

Chio cried out in pain as the last hit pierced her and sent her flying back with such tremendous force. Her body crashed into the wall of the room as she saw the last bit of her HP fall, finally reaching zero.

"No way… I lost…?" Chi muttered as she fell over and shattered into fragments.

Asuna sheathed her rapier and took a moment to catch her breath and let her health recover. Once she did she prepared to go catch up with Kirito and the others. _'I'm coming Kirito'_

As she walked towards the stairs however, a sudden blast of magic was fired towards her and blasted her from behind. The impact knocked the Undine to the ground. As she tried to get back up, she felt her body freeze up. Her paralysis caused her to fall back to the ground with a thud. Asuna tried her best, but she couldn't find the strength to move.

"Wh-What the hell? Why can't I move?" Asuna asked herself.

Suddenly a snickering sound entered her hearing. "Hahaha! Oh my, it's been far too long hasn't it?"

The voice Asuna heard sent a chill down her spine. She hadn't heard that voice in a long time. She had wished she would never hear it again, or see its owner. But here he was.

"You look as beautiful as ever... Titania"

XXXXXXXXXX

Ren, Alice, Sinon, and Kirito ran through the halls of the floor. This would be the last one before the control center of the fortress. The only ones left in their originally large group were the four of them. It was because of everyone else that they had made it this far. Looking at the time, Ren saw that they only had about thirty minutes left. There wasn't much time to stop Gabriel.

As the group of four ran, a mumbling noise was heard from Kirito's pocket. He reached into it and pulled out his daughter. "Yui? You feeling better?"

"Y-Yeah. I think so" Yui nodded. She looked at the group. "Where's Mama?"

"I wouldn't worry about her, Yui. She's probably kicking that Chi girl's butt right now" Alice told the little pixie. "She's gonna kick some ass then meet up with us"

Yui lowered her head slightly in worry. Kirito noticed this and gave gave his daughter a reassuring smile. "Don't worry Yui. You know how strong your mother is. She'll be fine."

Yui nodded. "R-Right! Mama can beat anyone!"

"How close are we to the stairs, Kirito?" Ren asked.

Kirito checked the map again. "Not far. We're pretty close"

"Whoever's waiting for us up ahead, there's no doubt their going to be strong" Sinon said.

"That's for sure" Alice nodded in agreement.

The group finally made it to the last room before the stairs. They had expected the player guarding the area to appear after they entered, but the person was already there. Actually there were three players waiting for them. They were all wearing hooded cloaks, so it was impossible to tell who they were or even what race their avatars were.

"Go on ahead Kirito" Ren told his friend as he unsheathed his sword. "Alice, Sinon, and I will take care of this"

"Oh I don't think so" the player standing in the center of the trio said. He snapped his fingers and the staircase behind him became sealed shut by a door. "None of you are going on ahead. Every single one of you is going to die right here"

"Who the hell are you three?" Alice asked.

"Who are we? Hahahahaha, has it really been that long?!" the player on the left laughed.

"Don't go blaming them Johnny. They only met the two of us once, and none of them has ever seen the boss in person" the player on the right reminded his friend.

"Johnny?" Kirito questioned. Suddenly his eyes widened. "Don't tell me…"

"Looks like you figured it out Black Swordsman" the player in the center said with a grin. The three of them grabbed their cloaks and tossed them to the side. The three of them were Johnny Black, Red-eye Zaza, and PoH. The three top players of SAO's murder guild Laughing Coffin.

"So Morrigan wasn't the only Japanese player working with them" Ren realized.

"Correct, and judging by the fact that you're still alive I take it our other members failed" PoH said. "No matter though. That just means we get to have the fun of killing you"

"Too bad you can't kill us for real" Alice grinned. "I guess Laughing Coffin will just have to settle for this"

"Oh I wouldn't be so sure" Johnny chuckled. "Boss, is it about time for our special surprise?"

"Yes it is" PoH nodded. With another snap of his fingers, the room became lit up by azure blue lines running across the walls like circuits, even going outside of the room to the halls Kirito and the others had just come from.

"Wh-What's going on?" Sinon questioned.

"This is the last floor before the control room. As a result, we were able to activate a little hack" PoH explained. "There's actually a small bug in the Amu Spheres players wear. They're supposed to be unable to kill you, but there is a loophole."

"Loophole?"

"We've just set it so the Amu Sphere CAN kill you!" Johnny Black snickered. "The same bug was automatically activated on our Amu Spheres as well! Anyone who dies on this floor will die in the real world as well!"

"What?!" Kirito gasped. "That's impossible!"

"Actually it's quite possible" PoH explained. "It doesn't fry your brain, but it can send a small electric signal through your nervous system all the way to your heart. A signal that's strong enough to make your heart stop."

"Activating the bug was such a pain in the ass though. It took forever!" Zaza mentioned. "But at least this way we get to have a real fight to the death."

"It'll be just like old times! Doesn't that sound exciting?!" Johnny laughed.

"You're insane" Ren growled.

"Maybe but who cares?" he shrugged. "Hey boss, can I have Kirito?"

"No. I already said he's mine" PoH told his subordinate.

"Fine. I'll just take the cat girl then" Johnny sighed.

"No, she's mine" Zaza said. "If I can't get my revenge on Kirito, I'll at least take out the bitch that screwed over my plans in GGO"

"What?! So I get the leftovers? No fair!"

"Stop your whining. A job is a job" PoH said in a stern voice. "You'll kill who the client tells you to kill"

"Ugh, fine" Johny whined. "Just activate the field already"

Ren and the others got their weapons ready as PoH readied to snap his fingers once again. "I hope you're ready heroes. Because… it's show time"

With that, the Laughing Coffin leader snapped his fingers one last time and both them and Kirito's group became veiled in a blinding light.

**A/N: Time for the final battle with Laughing Coffin (this is not the last fight in this arc, still have more after this next chapter). Please review and tell me your thoughts. What will happen with Laughing Coffin? What are Sugou's plans for Asuna? All that will have to wait till later. Hope you're looking forward to it.**


	62. Fight to the Death

**A/N: Hey guys! It's new chapter time! Hope you've all been looking forward to the exciting battle against Laughing Coffin cause here it is!**

Sinon finally regained her sight from the blinding light. However, she found herself not in the room she was in earlier, but instead in one of the hallways she and her friends had just run through on this floor. The blue circuit lines ran across the walls even here. The worst part was that she was all alone except for the Laughing Coffin member staring her down. If what the person the others referred to as PoH said was true, she was now in for the toughest fight of her life.

Zaza, or as she better knew him Death Gun, was standing across from her. He had a mask covering the top portion of his face with piercing red eyes glaring at her. He had a blade sheathed at his waist and seemed more than ready to fight to kill. But could she? No, now wasn't the time to be questioning herself. She had to fight with everything she had or she would surely die.

"Too bad for you, Sinon. That little bow of yours won't do you much good here. You're all alone with nobody to cover you." Zaza said with a snicker. "It's time we settled our score from the third BoB."

As much as she hated to admit it, Zaza had a point. Her bow wouldn't do much good in a 1v1 fight against a close combat fighter like Zaza. She had pulled it off with Helios once, but that was when she had cover to use and the fact that she could rely on the Salamander's stupidity. Zaza wasn't as easy to fool. He was cunning, but more importantly he was extremely skilled. She had figured out that much when he had witnessed his fight with Kirito in GGO. But none of that mattered. She wouldn't need her bow.

"You'd have a point, Death Gun-"

"Death Gun was my nickname in GGO. Call me Zaza"

Sinon rolled her eyes. "Fine. Zaza. As I was saying, you'd have a point… if I didn't have something other than my bow to use."

Zaza narrowed his eyes in curiosity as Sinon opened her menu. After shuffling through it for a few seconds, her bow and her arrows were replaced by a sword at her waist. She unsheathed it and showed it to the Laughing Coffin member. It was a slim blade, almost like Asuna's rapier. The blade was a shimmering emerald green and the hilt was a clear sky blue. It seemed to resemble Sinon's avatar, almost as if it was made exclusively for her.

"Interesting. So you had another weapon other than your bow" Zaza realized. "This should make things much more interesting"

Sinon had gotten her sword about two months ago. She was an expert archer, probably one of the best in ALO, but she knew that archers were at a disadvantage in 1v1 fights. As a result, fighting tournaments like the ALO World Tournament would be impossible to win. That was when she decided to try out one-handed swords. She had gotten a semi-rare metal and brought it to Liz, asking her to forge a sword for her with it. All she had to do was mention the chance of using it to one-up Helios, and Liz put all her focus into making it the best sword possible.

The result had been Emerald Star, the sword she was wielding now. It had taken a lot of secret training to increase the level of her one-handed sword skill. None of her friends knew about it except for Liz. She had planned to unveil it in the next ALO Tournament. Never had she imagined she'd be using it in a situation like this.

Both Sinon and Zaza got their blades ready and got into their fighting stances. Just like in GGO, Zaza's weapon was a rapier type weapon called an estoc. Both of them were using thin weapons. It would be a battle of speed and accuracy. Both players kicked off the ground and sped towards each other.

"Time for you to die!" Zaza grinned as he thrusted his weapon at Sinon.

Sinon ducked under the thrust and swung her sword with an upwards slash. "Let's see you try!"

Zaza backflipped just in time to avoid the slash. After distancing himself from the female Cait Sith, he went back on the offensive, as did Sinon. The two went back and forth between thrusting and dodging. Neither of them were able to get in any clean hits and could only rely on the small scratches their blades made every so often.

'_I won't lose to this guy'_ Sinon told herself. _'I'm not the same weak little girl I was back then'_.

Finally Zaza took things to the next level as he activated a sword skill. Sinon did the same as well. Both of their first three thrusts collided perfectly, but Zaza's attack had more hits to go. Sinon found herself stuck in the post motion skill delay as Zaza delivered another two thrusts at his opponent. The stinging pain of them made Sinon cringe slightly, but she wasn't willing to back down yet. She went for a full out attack as she activated another sword skill, Vertical Square. The four-hit attack sent Zaza flying back a bit, but he held his footing as Sinon came at him once again. Zaza parried the attack and went in for an attack at the exposed Sinon.

"Die!"

XXXXXXXXXXX

As the blinding light around them faded away, Ren and Alice found themselves standing across from Johnny Black. The poison dagger user of SAO had an excited grin, despite the complaints he had been making earlier. Perhaps the chance at getting to kill for real again was enough for him.

Ren remembered Johnny Black from SAO. He was a poison dagger user. Even a scratch from his weapon was enough to inflict the deadliest of status ailments on a player.

"Alice, stay back" Ren said. "Leave this to me"

"Not a chance Ren. There's no way I'm letting you fight him alone." Alice told him.

"Just let me do this" Ren begged. "Please. I don't want to have to worry about you while I'm fighting"

"Ren I-" Alice was cut off as a throwing knife came flying through the air and stabbed itself into her shoulder. She slowly fell over with a paralysis icon next to her cursor. Ren looked over to see Johnny Black laughing away as if he was watching a comedy.

"Hahahahaha! You shoulda listened to what your boyfriend had to say girlie" he laughed. He threw another throwing knife at Ren, who quickly dodged it. As he evaded the knife however, another one came and lodged itself into Alice, adding a poison effect to her status ailments.

"Alice!" Ren exclaimed. He glared over at Johnny Black. "What the hell did you do?"

"I just added a little excitement to this game" he shrugged. "Think of it as a time limit. Kill me before she dies from the poison. Doesn't that sound fun?"

Ren's grip on his blade tightened as he glared at his opponent in rage. He prepared himself to fight and got into his battle stance. "Just hang on Alice. I'll be done with him in a sec."

"Be careful" Alice warned.

Ren nodded as he dashed towards Johnny Black at full speed. Johnny met the attack head on as he ran towards the Imp with a grin of delight. Ren swung his sword diagonally at the Laughing Coffin member, who easily jumped over it and Ren. As Ren turned around, Johnny thrusted his dagger towards him. Ren took a stab wound to the shoulder, the poison effect appearing on his cursor. It seemed Johnny still hadn't lost his taste for poison daggers. Johnny dodged another slash that came for him, but Ren saw it coming as he followed up with another slash, this one making a direct hit. Johnny leaped back with a long red gash on his avatar. He was grunting in pain, but still hadn't lost his chuckle.

"That really hurt you know? Don't worry though, I'll be sure to send it back twice as much"

Ren looked past Johnny towards Alice's avatar. She was doing her best to endure the pain as the poison slowly drained away her HP. It was getting close to the yellow zone now. Ren didn't have time to stand around dawdling. He rushed forward with his blade veiled in light. Johnny could easily tell the attack pattern coming as he recognized the skill. He tilted and twisted his body, dodging each slash that came for him. When the skill ended, Johnny grinned in delight with his opponent now frozen in place.

"Big mistake pal! Did you forget I was an SAO survivor? I know all the sword skills from there like the back of my hand!" Johnny lunged towards Ren and prepared to unleash a devastating attack. He failed to notice however that Ren's fist veiled in light. Ren delivered a powerful uppercut to his foe, making Johnny widen his eyes in shock.

"What?! But how?!"

"It's called Skill Connect" Ren smirked. "Have a taste!" A quick but powerful jab came for Johnny's cheek, sending him flying back. The Laughing Coffin member tumbled across the floor painfully. When Ren felt the motion delay wear off, the male Imp sped towards Johnny and prepared to finish him off.

"Psych!" Johnny suddenly exclaimed as he threw a knife at Ren when the Imp had gotten in close enough. Ren didn't have enough time to dodge as the knife became lodged into his chest. He suddenly felt his body freeze up and fell to the ground. Johnny got to his feet and stood over his paralyzed opponent with a grin of delight on his face. He took his dagger and stabbed it into Ren's back. Ren cried out in pain and agony as Johnny slowly whittled his HP away in the most painful ways possible. He enjoyed watching the helpless player suffer.

"Come on! Beg for your life! Tell me how much you want to live!"

"Never" Ren spat back. He wasn't going to lose his dignity to someone as low as this.

"Fine. Have it your way" Johnny shrugged. He raised his dagger and prepared to deal the finishing blow. Before he swung it down however, he felt something curve around his waist. He looked down to see the curved blade of a scythe hooked around him.

"What?!" Johnny gasped. "But how?!"

"Sorry, but I made a promise to someone that I wouldn't let Ren die" Alice said as she yanked her scythe back. Johnny cried out in pain as his avatar was ripped in half. The attack was more than enough to deplete what was left of his HP. Alice must have nullified the paralysis with pure willpower. It was the only thing that made sense to the PKer.

"So this is how it ends huh?" Johnny grunted weakly. "Fine. I suppose that's what I get for being careless. At least I get to go out with a bang"

Alice watched as the Laughing Coffin member shattered into fragments. She fell to her knees, breathing heavily at having taken someone's life. It was a feeling she thought she'd never have to experience again after she left SAO. A comforting arm was soon placed on her shoulder and she looked up to see Ren.

"Thanks for saving me there Alice."

Alice smiled at him and kissed his cheek. "Dummy. That's what happens when you go acting reckless. I'll always be there to support you."

Ren helped Alice get to her feet and the two quickly started sprinting back to the room they had been teleported from.

XXXXXXXXXX

Zaza grunted in pain as he took another stab wound from his opponent. He soon returned the favor with an attack from his estoc. The two leaped back from each other and took a moment to catch their breath.

"Heh… you're pretty good with that sword of yours gun girl" Zaza grinned.

"I see you haven't lost your touch in battle either" Sinon said.

The two enemies soon continued their clash as they sped towards each other. Both of their HP bars slowly fell with each hit. Finally Sinon succeeded in creating an opening as she knocked Zaza's weapon into the air. Sinon didn't miss the chance as her sword became veiled in a bright light. The sword skill that came for him made Zaza's HP fall into the red as he was knocked back and fell to the floor. Before he could get up, Sinon pressed her boot on the arm holding the estoc and pointed her sword a t Zaza.

"You lose. Give up" Sinon glared.

"You obviously don't get what kind of person I am" Zaza said. "I'm a murder. Us Laughing Coffin types don't come quietly. You only have one option. Kill me." Sinon froze a little at the thought. Zaza noticed this and grinned. "My brother Kyouji told me all about you, you know. About how you killed that bad guy with a gun when you were a kid."

"Shut up"

"You did it once so why can't you do it again? Just swing that sword down and kill the bad guy. Be the hero. But you can't, can you? You're no hero."

"I SAID SHUT UP!" Sinon yelled.

"You're just a cowardly little girl"

Sinon stood there, frozen. Could she really go through that again? The first time she killed somebody, it haunted her for years. But one thing let her hang onto her sanity and not lose it here in front of this man that had murdered so many, both in SAO and GGO.

"You're right Zaza. I am a coward" Sinon said. "But even a coward can find the strength to fight with the help of her friends."

Zaza's eyes widened as Sinon thrusted her blade and stabbed it into him. His lips soon formed a smile as he saw his HP hit zero. "Not bad. Not bad girl. But I'll still take satisfaction in knowing that I've tainted your hands with blood."

Sinon watched as the Laughing Coffin member shattered away, dying in both the virtual and real world. She dropped her sword and fell down to one knee, feeling like she had to vomit. Once again, she had taken somebody's life. But this wasn't like last time. She held onto her sanity with one simple truth.

"If it's to protect my friends Zaza, I'll dirty my hands with blood as much as I have to." Sinon said as she rose to her feet and picked up her sword. She began running through the halls to reunite with her friends.

'_Hang on everyone. I'm coming'_

XXXXXXXXXX

"Raaaaaahhhhhhh!"

Kirito roared as he clashed with PoH. The Black Swordsman from SAO against the founder of Laughing Coffin and quite possibly PKing itself in SAO. In any regular game, this would be the fight of a lifetime. Unfortunately, this wasn't a regular game. PoH had taken that away when he allied himself with Gabriel and turned this into a fight to the death.

PoH grinned as he watched Kirito fight with the same fury and rage as he did in SAO. This is what he wanted. A fight to the death with the legendary hero of the death game. A chance to settle things once and for all. He had even gotten the chance to use his favorite weapon from SAO, Mate Chopper. It was a rare dagger type weapon that looked like a knife from a butcher shop. How he had missed the feel of it in his hand. Ever since he left SAO, he had always felt empty inside. In that death game, he was able to do so much. It was all HIS fault that his fun ended. The Black Swordsman would pay in blood.

"It's time for you to die Kirito" PoH grinned as he swung his Mate Chopper at the raven haired swordsman. Kirito dodged with a backflip and distanced himself from his opponent. He had thrown away Kazuto Kirigaya for this fight. He was Kirito, the strongest player from SAO, and nobody else. He couldn't afford to ease up for even a second.

"It's a shame you wasted your talents as a PKer, PoH" Kirito said. "You could have done great things with the assault team."

"Save it. As if I would ever be a part of those bleeding hearts" PoH told him. "I have nothing else to say to you"

"Very well. Let's put an end to this once and for all then"

Kirito dashed towards PoH at full speed. PoH met the attack head on, running towards Kirito as he licked the blade of his Mate Chopper. The Laughing Coffin leader leaped into the air and dived down at Kirito with a powerful swing of his weapon. Kirito parried the attack and left PoH wide open. He positioned Exacaliber for a sword skill and the golden blade became veiled in light. Kirito unleashed a relentless assault with the eight-hit skill, Howling Octave. PoH watched his health plummet into the red from the attack, but it didn't hit zero. Now it was Kirito who was wide open and PoH wasn't going to waste this opportunity. He swung his weapon down at Kirito and severed his left arm from his body. The arm shattered and Exacliber fell to the ground. Kirito screamed in agony from the unimaginable pain he felt from having his arm cut off. PoH smirked as he delivered a powerful kick to Kirito's chest, sending him tumbling back.

"I guess this is all you're capable of Black Swordsman" PoH said as he slowly walked over towards Kirito. "You lost the power you had back in that death game. The old you would be ashamed"

"Maybe so" Kirito grunted as he slowly got back to his feet. Even with his left arm severed, he endured the pain and faced his opponent. "But I stopped living in the past a long time ago. That's something you and the rest of Laughing Coffin haven't been able to do."

"That's because there's nothing for us in the real world! What can we do?! Live our little peaceful lives and bag groceries for a living?! No, the only time we were able to feel alive was in SAO! You stole that life from us! That's why this is our retribution! Our chance at revenge by killing you wanabe heroes!"

"Just try it" Kirito glared. The two players dashed towards each other with all the remaining strength they could summon. Their weapons both became veiled in light as they clashed with one last strike. Both of them dug their heels into the ground, not giving either one of them an inch. Finally, Kirito pushed back with enough strength. PoH flew back and hit the wall with a painful thud. Before he could make a move, Kirito closed in and severed one of his legs. PoH looked up at Kirito, waiting for the finishing blow to come. But time passed by and the Black Swordsman didn't make a move.

"What are you waiting for? Kill me already and claim victory."

"... No"

PoH raised an eyebrow at this. "What?"

"I'm not killing you. You can pay for your crimes back in the real world."

"Hehehe… HAHAHAHAHA!" PoH laughed as he listened to this. "Pay in the real world?! What, send me to prison?! Try and 'rehabilitate' me? Teach me to help benefit society? I'm sick of the real world! This is where I actually live!" He raised his Mate Chopper and brought the blade to his own neck. "I'm going out on my own terms. Farewell Kirito."

"Wait! Stop! Don't do it!" Kirito yelled, reaching for the handle of the weapon. It was too late however as PoH swung the blade and severed his head from his body, bringing his HP down to zero. The Laughing Coffin leader shattered into fragments as his body disappeared from the world.

Kirito caught his breath as he fell back and sat down on the ground, exhausted from the fight with PoH. Yui flew out of her father's breast pocket. "Papa, are you alright?!"

"Yeah. Don't worry Yui. I'm just a little tired" Kirito assured his daughter.

"B-But your arm"

"Huh?" Kirito questioned, looking at his missing left arm. "Oh yeah. Forgot all about that… owowow!"

"Papa!" Yui exclaimed. She quickly flew under Kirito's coat and came out, carrying a healing crystal with her. "Quick, use this!"

"Thanks Yui" Kirito smiled as he accepted the crystal. He shattered the item and recovered his HP back to a safe amount. The crystal also regenerated his arm. Kirito sheathed his sword and walked over to pick Excalibur off the ground, sheathing it as well.

"Kirito!" a sudden voice exclaimed. The Spriggan and Yui looked over to see Ren, Alice, and Sinon run into the room. The trio ran over to their friend.

"You okay man?" Ren asked.

Kirito nodded. "Yeah. Once I catch my breath, I'll be ready to go"

"We should all rest up for a minute" Sinon suggested. "Right above those stairs is the control room. Who knows what's going to be there waiting for us"

The group of four didn't have much time to rest as time was running out. It was only a couple of minutes before they headed out and ran up the stairs.

XXXXXXXXXXX

Asuna slowly opened her eyes. Her vision was a little hazy, but she could somewhat make out her surroundings. There were several people in the room, none of which she recognized. Computers and consoles were all over. She began to feel a pain in her wrists and realized she was chained up.

'_Where am I? What's going on?'_ Asuna wondered.

She soon felt two arms wrap around her waist from behind. She shivered as she recognized the touch. "S-Sugou… but how… you're supposed to be dead"

"Are you enjoying yourself Titania? You get a front row seat to the moment the world changes forever."

"Let me go right now!"

Sugou chuckled as he watched the Undine struggle. "Soon enough. Just wait a little while longer." He walked in front of her. The avatar Sugou had resembled the avatar Oberon that he had used when he was in control of ALO. He cradled her face in his hand. "It'll be so nice to use the brainwashing technology I created to make you mine forever. You'll have eyes only for me and forget all about that hero of yours."

Asuna growled at Sugou. She used her free legs to kick the parasite straight in his unmentionables. Sugou's eyes bulged out as he backed away, holding his hands between his legs. Several quiet snickers were heard around the room as the watched Sugou be humiliated.

"That's enough messing around, Noboyuki" another voice said in a commanding voice. Asuna watched as another person walk past her. He seemed to be around thirty years old. Loose blonde hair fell from his head. His eyes were an azure blue color. His face showed a serious look. "You can fool around after we're done here. Until then, you have a job to do"

"R-Right. Of course" Sugou nodded. He walked past Asuna and gave her a devilish grin. "I guess our fun will have to wait till later, my soon-to-be wife."

The other man rolled his eyes before turning to Asuna. "So you're the legendary Berserk Healer? I must say, I'm interested whether the rumors of your skills are true."

"I'm flattered" Asuna said sarcastically. "Who the hell are you?"

"I suspect your government has already told you about me. I am the man that will soon rule this world" the man said.

Asuna's eyes widened as she realized who the man was. "Gabriel"

"Smart girl" Gabriel smirked. He walked up next to her. "I honestly don't care what that fool Sugou plans to do with you. I'll be the one in control when this is all over anyway"

"You'll never get away with this" Asuna glared. "Kirito and everyone will stop you"

"I actually hope they might be able to" Gabriel smirked. "Games get boring if they're too easy."

"A game? This is all a game to you?!"

"Everything is a game. Even life itself" Gabriel explained. "But I shouldn't talk too much. I have work to do"

Asuna watched as Gabriel walked away from her. She struggled to try to break free, but soon gave up. She growled in frustration. _'Kirito… I know you can win against these guys. Until then, I won't give up'_

**A/N: Hope everyone liked the chapter. Please review. I hope you guys have liked this arc so far. I know it's been going on for awhile, but the final chapter for this arc will be the next one. One last battle with the fate of the world at stake (cause that's never been done in anime before lol).**

**Also for those of you looking for another good SAO fic to read, I highly suggest reading some of heroes1202 stories. His latest fic, Sword Art Online: Double Adventure has been amazing so far and I think you'll all enjoy it. I would suggest reading his other stories "Forever After" and "Christmas Blessings" first as they are the prequels to his current story. I guarantee you will enjoy it.**


	63. Gabriel Miller

**A/N: Alright everybody, time for the final battle in this arc. I really hope you have all enjoyed the story so far and continue to enjoy it as it goes past this arc.**

**LilyCheyenne: There are still a lot of chapters after this arc. This story is not even close to being done. Sorry if I mislead you with anything I said last chapter.**

Ren, Kirito, Sinon, and Alice ran up the stairway to the control room. Their HP may have been restored due to the items they used, but they were still exhausted from their fight to the death with Laughing Coffin. Yui rode in Kirito's pocket as they ran.

"So when we get there, what exactly do we have to do?" Sinon questioned.

"If we can just shut down the control system, I think that should do it" Kirito said. "Although I highly doubt it'll actually be that simple."

"We'll probably have a few people left to fight" Ren guessed. "And we only have about ten minutes left."

"Then we better hurry" Alice suggested. The group of four increased their running speed even more. Suddenly, Yui perked her head out of her father's pocket.

"Papa, I sense something! It's Mama's player I.D."

"What?!" Kirito exclaimed. "Asuna's up there?!"

Yui nodded in response and Kirito picked up the face even further.

"How could Asuna be up there?" Alice questioned. "She should be on the lower floors fighting that Chi player."

"You don't think she lost, do you?" Sinon wondered.

"No way! Mama would never lose to someone like that!" Yui confidently said.

The group of four continued running up the stairs. Finally they reached the entrance to the next floor. The door was shut tight, but it swung open easily as Kirito took a step back and rammed it.

As the four players and Yui rushed in, they felt all eyes turn to them. There were at least twenty people working at consoles and computers along the sides of the room. None of them seemed to have any sort of equipment on. The main thing that caught their attention however was the player with long blonde hair sitting on a chair at the end of the room.

"Sugou" Kirito growled. "So you are alive after all"

"You mean you already knew? And here I was hoping to surprise you with this little reunion" Sugou grinned. "Also, I'd prefer it if you'd call me Oberon"

"You're still going by that name? You're not a king anymore"

Sugou shrugged in response. "Maybe not, but I do hold a very important card. Maybe you'll recognize her."

With a snap of Sugou's fingers, chains began to fall down from above, holding a person with them. The group gasped at who it was.

"Asuna!" Kirito called out.

"Mama!" Yui exclaimed, coming out of her father's pocket and gasping at Asuna.

Sugou raised an eyebrow as he heard the little pixie. "What's this? Did that little thing just say Mama? Oh, that's a riot! The hero and the princess had a little maggot program become their daughter?! Hahahahaha!"

Kirito glared hell at Sugou as he watched the man laugh. "Don't you dare call her a maggot you son of a bitch"

"Mama, I'm coming!" Yui yelled, flying up to Asuna.

"Yui don't! Stay back!" Asuna warned. It was too late however, as more chains came from above and shot down towards the pixie. As Yui tried to dodge them, a small birdcage came at her and trapped her inside.

"Yui!" Kirito exclaimed. He glared back at Sugou. "Let her go right now!"

"Aw, are you worried about your little baby girl, Kirito? Don't worry, I'll make sure to reprogram her, just like I'm going to do with Asuna's mind. She'll be my wife, and that adorable little girl can call me Papa."

Kirito's face showed a level of rage he had never felt before. He unsheathed both of his swords and charged at Sugou. "I'LL KILL YOU!"

Sugou grinned as he watched the raven haired Spriggan run towards him. Before Kirito could reach him, a sudden figure came in-between them. Kirito swung one of his swords at the man, but it was blocked as he easily grabbed it with his hand. Ren, Alice, and Sinon widened their eyes in shock. No player had ever blocked Kirito's attack that easily.

The man delivered a powerful kick to Kirito's stomach, making his eyes bulge out. Before Kirito could recover, another hit came at him, this one a punch to the face. Kirito flew back and tumbled across the ground painfully.

"Damnit… what the hell was that attack? I've never seen anyone with that kind of pure strength" Kirito grunted as Ren helped him get to his feet.

"So you're the famous Kirito?" the man said as he cracked his knuckles. "I heard you were a kid, but I wasn't expecting such a straightforward and weak attack"

Sugou grinned as he watched Kirito and the others glare in frustration at the man's strength. "Allow me to introduce you. This is the man in charge of this operation, Subtilizer. You might also know him as Gabriel Miller."

Sinon's eyes widened as she heard the name. "Subtilizer… could he be…?"

"What is it Sinon? You know this guy?" Alice asked.

Sinon tensed up as her eyes turned to a look of fear. "There was a player who went by that name in GGO. Rumor had it, he won the first BoB using only a handgun and a knife."

"A-Are you serious?" Ren gasped. Even Kirito had needed a lightsaber in order to deflect the bullets coming his way. Winning with only a mere knife and handgun seemed next to impossible.

"I see you've heard of me. I take it you're the Sinon that tied for first in the third BoB and was the runner up in the fourth BoB?"

Sinon growled to herself a little at having to remember the fact that she lost to Helios of all people in the latest BoB. She might have gotten her revenge, but that loss still stung.

"So do you fools see what a hopeless situation you're in now?" Sugou smirked. "My friend here has gone through military level training. A bunch of brats like you don't stand a chance against-"

"Be quiet!" Gabriel ordered. His loud booming voice instantly made Sugou flinch. "Maybe you've forgotten, but underestimating these 'brats' is why you lost when you fought them"

"Why are you doing this?" Ren asked. "Why go to all this trouble? Is ruling the world that important to you?"

"It's quite simple really." Gabriel explained. "What do you gamers do in the games you play? Try and become the strongest, correct? That's simply what I'm doing now. I'm asserting my dominance against all of mankind"

"You're insane" Alicia glared. "Trying to become the best in a game, and taking over the world are two completely different goals."

"Is it? Let's face it, the real world isn't anything special. It's just a boring world where people wheel and deal to get ahead in life. It's gotten to the point where games have become so popular. The reason why that is, is simply because reality is just that boring. People play games to escape reality. I'm just making the real world much more exciting"

"There's no way we'll let you get away with that" Ren told him. "We're going to stop you here and now"

Gabriel grinned at those words. "I'm glad to hear that. I've been hoping for a good challenge to test me. Let's see if you kids have what it takes."

Sugou grinned at the show that was about to be put on for him. "Don't worry about dear Asuna. I'll be sure she gets to watch you die. It'll be so fun to watch you squirm like the maggot you are boy! Ahahahaha-"

Sugou was cut off as Gabriel reached his hand out and grabbed Sugou by the throat. "You've served your purpose. I'm sick of listening to you talk"

"What are you… doing... Gabriel?" Sugou choked out as Gabriel strangled him with his hand. Gabriel threw Sugou to the side of the room. The force of the impact combined with the pain absorber being set at zero knocked him out cold.

Kirito and the others watched in shock as they saw Gabriel crack his knuckles with the nuisance out of the way. "Now then, let's get down to business"

Ren took a quick peak at the time on his vision. They only had about eight minutes before time was up. Time was running low. He unsheathed his sword and got ready. "Kirito, Alice, and I will distract him. Sinon, you go for the kill the second you see an opening. You guys ready?"

The three of them nodded in agreement. Ren sped towards Gabriel at full speed. Anticipating the incoming grab, Ren kicked off the ground and leaped into the air. As he jumped over Gabriel though, he felt something grab his leg. He turned to see Gabriel's hand having a firm grip on the limb as he swung Ren down into the floor, creating a crater from the impact. The blonde male wasn't done yet as he continued to swing Ren into the floor over and over again. Ren grunted in pain as he felt his body slam into the ground each time.

"Hang on Ren!" Alice exclaimed as she rushed in with her scythe. As she closed in towards her opponent, Gabriel took Ren once again and threw him towards Alice. The two Imps collided with each other and groaned in pain as they tried to get up.

"Is that all you've got?" Gabriel asked with an unamused expression on his face.

"No! This is!" Kirito yelled as he sped towards Gabriel. As Gabriel reached in to grab the Spriggan, Kirito bent his body back and slid across the floor, getting behind Gabriel. Kirito took the opportunity to attack the exposed Gabriel with his two swords. Gabriel moved away just in time to avoid getting ripped in half, but still received two cuts from Kirito's swords. Before Kirito could follow up, Gabriel grabbed both of the boy's wrists and drove his knee into Kirito's jaw.

"Kirito!" Asuna exclaimed.

Kirito would have been sent flying from the impact if not for Gabriel pinning his wrists down. Instead Kirito kept getting hit by the same attack over and over again, the pain increasing with each hit. In the corner of his vision, Gabriel saw a bright light. He turned towards it just in time to see Sinon's arrow fly towards him. Gabriel ducked out of the way as the arrow zoomed over his head. Kirito used the opening to break free from the man's hold and jump back. His jaw was aching in pain, but more alarming was the fact that his HP was down to the yellow zone.

"How the hell are we supposed to beat this guy?" Ren grunted as they tried to catch their breath.

"I've got an idea" Alice said. "Sinon, can you block his vision for a small moment?"

"You got it" Sinon nodded. She readied another arrow and began chanting a spell. When she finished, Sinon let go of the arrow and it flew out towards Gabriel, who easily dodged it. Hitting him wasn't the point of the attack however, as a stream of thick black smoke traveled along the path of the arrow. Gabriel soon found himself surrounded by a thick smokescreen. Soon, he saw a scythe come at him. He moved out of the way and went to grab the girl wielding it. His eyes widened in surprise as he didn't feel anything in front of him, the scythe spiraling past him without someone holding it. In his surprise, Gabriel saw a faint light come through the smoke. Two swift punches veiled in a violet light hit him, followed up by a powerful uppercut. As Gabriel was sent flying into the air, he saw the same girl that owned the scythe come at him with her leg raised above his head. She swung it down at his head, but Gabriel managed to swat the leg away and grab it. He pulled Alice in close to him and delivered a devastating punch that sent her crashing into the ground. Before Alice could get out of the way, Gabriel crashed down on top of her with his foot pressing down on her ribcage.

"That was pretty good kid. I wasn't expecting that" Gabriel said as he pressed his foot down harder on Alice, making it tough for her to breathe.

Ren glared in anger as he watched Alice suffer. He sped at Gabriel and leaped into the air. As he swung his sword down, Gabriel moved his head away from the slash and grabbed Ren by the throat. Seeing her friends in trouble, Sinon switched her bow in for her sword and charged at Gabriel. He easily saw the Cait Sith coming however and used Ren as a weapon, swinging him down at her. Sinon broke her stance as she saw Ren come at her and took the attack in full. Gabriel picked up the girl with his free hand and began to choke her as well. "Did you really think those straightforward attempts would be enough to beat me?"

"Not really" Ren managed to choke out with a grin. "But we did manage to occupy both of your arms"

Gabriel widened his eyes once he realized what the tactician meant. He scanned the room for the last one in their group, but was too late as he felt a sword stab through his body. Gabriel dropped Ren and Sinon as he struggled to endure the pain.

"Damnit… How could I… lose?" Gabriel grunted.

"Game over, Gabriel" Kirito said coldly as he moved the impaled sword up, slashing through Gabriel's avatar. He fell over as he watched his HP hit zero.

"Looks like someone finally managed to beat me. Not bad, kids" Gabriel managed to say before his avatar shattered into pieces.

Ren helped Alice get to her feet and the group took a moment to recover. The multiple people manning the computers and consoles quickly took off at the sight of their boss defeated. Kirito flew up into the air and swung his sword at the chains binding Asuna, freeing her. He soon did the same with the cage imprisoning Yui. As they reached the ground, Yui transformed back into her human form and ran into Asuna's arms. "Mama!"

"It's alright Yui. Mama's fine" Asuna assured her as she stroked her daughter's hair. Kirito went over to the two girls and joined in on the family hug. Ren, Alice, and Sinon smiled at the sight until they heard a low moaning sound. All heads turned to see Sugou slowly regaining consciousness as he tried to get up off the floor.

"Ugh… what happened?" Sugou questioned as his consciousness slowly returned to him. He looked around the room, seeing Gabriel and his men gone and Kirito and the others glaring angrily at him. Kirito was about to walk over, until Asuna blocked his path with her arm. Yui looked at her mother with worry in her eyes.

"Mama?"

"Don't worry Yui. I just need to take care of something quickly" Asuna said as she stormed over to the man lying on the floor.

Sugou grinned maliciously at the girl. "You think you've won? You still can't stop the countdown. Once it reaches zero, everything will be over. The world will be ours, and there's not a thing you can do about it. You can still join the winning side though, Asuna. Just agree to be my wife and I'll forget all about your stubborn disobedience up to this point. We can even add that little daughter of yours to the-"

Sugou was cut off as a violent stop came from Asuna's boot. She continued stomping on him as she glared at Sugou with hatred in her eyes.

"This is for trapping me in ALO for two months!" Asuna yelled as she raised her foot once again and slammed it down onto Sugou's face. "This is for nearly getting all of us killed!" she added as she followed up with a kick. Finally she unsheathed her rapier and pulled it back. "And this is for hurting Yui and calling her a maggot!" The blow from her sword pierced right through Sugou's eye, the same one that Kirito had stabbed before when he fought Sugou at the top of the World Tree. Sugou felt all the pain come rushing back from that moment, only this time the pain was even worse. He cried out in agony as Asuna continued to beat him to a pulp until he finally shattered into fragments.

Ren and the others watched Asuna's furious assault with a look of almost fear in their eyes. Granted, Sugou had deserved it for everything he had done up to this point. But they still had never seen such a demonic look in the Undine's eyes. To their relief, the look soon vanished as Asuna sheathed her rapier and walked back over to the group.

"Mama? What was-?"

Asuna cut Yui off as she wrapped her arms around her daughter tightly. "M-Mama?"

"Shhh, it's alright now Yui" Asuna told her daughter. She didn't want to have to show that side of her to Yui, but there was no stopping her. Sugou's actions couldn't go unpunished and after everything he had done to her and her family, Asuna needed some well-deserved payback. "It's all over now. The bad guys are gone and we can be together forever."

Yui looked at her mother with a small hint of worry as she had never seen Asuna so angry before, but decided to ignore it as she hugged her mother back. "Right Mama. We'll always be a family"

"As touching as that was Asuna, it still isn't over" Sinon reminded her, pointing to the main console. "We've only got about a minute left till this thing takes over the entire net"

Everyone's eyes widened as he realized they still hadn't finished their mission. The group ran over to the main console and Kirito began scanning the device.

"Damn it all. How do I work this thing?" Kirito asked to nobody in particular.

"Let me try" Yui suggested. She stepped forward to the console and touched it with her hand. "I think I've figured it out"

"Really?! Then let's hurry! We need to shut it down and fast!" Alice exclaimed.

Yui quickly began typing on the console. Windows opened and closed all over the screen as Yui quickly accessed the main system for ALO. Everyone looked at the time, seeing it slowly whittle away.

10… 9… 8… 7…

"I've almost got it" Yui said with a determined look.

6… 5… 4… 3...

"There!" Yui exclaimed. She hit a few more keys and the words 'System Shut Down' appeared on the screen. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief that it was finally over.

"I can't believe it. We actually saved the world" Sinon said with a laugh.

"You did great Yui" Asuna told her daughter with a smile. "I'm gonna make some of my best dishes tonight just for you"

"Really?! Hooray!" Yui exclaimed with a big cheer, making everyone smile at the young girl's carefree joy.

"What about us? Don't we get any food?" Ren asked with a teasing smile.

"I'm a mother, not a maid!" Asuna replied with a teasing smile of her own. Perhaps it was the sudden weight being lifted off their shoulders, but everyone began laughing.

A few minutes passed before footsteps were heard. The group all turned to see their friends running into the control room. All it took was a nod and a smile from the five of them to tell their friends that they had succeeded.

"Yahoo! We did it!" Mai cheered as she jumped into the air.

"As if there was any doubt" Helios said with a cocky puff of his chest. "We had me as our trump card after all"

"Oh get over yourself" Liz said with a roll of her eyes.

"You're just jealous that the only thing you can do is make weapons. When it comes to fighting, you're hopeless"

"You wanna say that again jackass!" Liz glared.

"Gladly! You're a useless piece of dead weight when it comes to fighting!" Helios said with a glare of his own.

Ren sighed as he watched the two of them bicker. "Some things never change"

After exiting the fortress, the group was greeted by the army of players outside, yelling shouts and cheers to them. It had been a long and difficult fight, but it was finally over. They had won.

XXXXXXXXXX

After logging out, Dan and the others were greeted by a very thankful Kikouka. Their bodies had suffered some minor injuries from the pain absorber being set to zero, but for the most part everyone was fine.

Kazuto and the others gave Kikouka the names of the players in Japan that had assisted Gabriel, consisting of the now three dead Laughing Coffin members as well as Morrigan. Kikouka had sent men from the Ministry of Defense immediately to where they tracked where they were diving from. They found three people they identified as Johnny Black, Red-eye Zaza, and PoH dead on the beds they were diving from. A spare bed was in the room with nobody in it, though an Amu Sphere was present. Kikouka assumed it was most likely Morrigan who had run away once it had been confirmed that their plans had failed. Morrigan's real world identity was already known by their department and a search team was deployed to look for her. She was found about half a day later, hiding in an alleyway.

Over in the U.S, the spot Gabriel and his men had been diving from had been traced and they were all arrested, along with Sugou. The kids and teens his company had kidnapped were all freed and the damage done to their minds from the brainwashing had been undone.

News stations all around the world were curious about who had saved the world from Gabriel's plans. Kikouka and his department had been able to satisfy them with saying it was "a few brave ALO players". The last thing Dan and everyone needed was being swarmed by the media with questions. They had already dodged a bullet from not having to deal with media from the SAO incident.

A few days passed by and things began to slowly go back to normal. Everyone decided to get together at the Dicey Café to celebrate their achievement. After a quick toast, the party began. People were chatting all around the bar. Alicia and Dan sat together with the black haired girl leaning on her boyfriend's shoulder.

"It's finally over. Back to normal life" Alicia smiled.

"When was the last time our lives were ever normal?" Dan chuckled.

"Fair point" Alicia admitted. "But at least the fighting's all done"

"That's more than enough for me" Dan said in agreement.

Deciding to give the couples a fun moment, Agil put on a slow song next. Dan took Alicia's hand and the two got up to dance together. Dan wrapped his arms around Alicia's waist and she laid her head on his chest. Kazuto and Asuna danced together as well, along with Hyde and Lilina with the ashy haired teen giving a smug look at Rika over his girlfriend's shoulder. Their summer days were coming to an end though. Within a couple weeks, school would be back and their free time would be limited once again. But that didn't matter. Because now everything was peaceful in their lives once again.

**A/N: Phew, finally done. Now I'm sure you're all wondering what exciting adventure is going to come next. Well the answer to that is simple. There isn't.**

**Don't get the wrong idea. I'm not ending this story. It's just that a lot of chapters from this point onward aren't going to form some big adventure. A lot of the chapters will be based on stuff that happens in the real world and show some lighter and more humorous moments since I think we can all agree there have been a lot of fight chapters lately with the Tournament and Yggdrasil Fortress arcs. This does not mean there won't be anymore fights, cause trust me there will be fights every now and then. Just don't expect them every single chapter.**


	64. Beach Day

**A/N: Hey guys, its time once again for another chapter of Blazing Revolution. Like I said last week, the chapters from here on won't extend into any big "arc". It'll be more or less a collection of one chapter stories (maybe sometimes two) that focus on everyday life for the characters of this story, now that they've saved the world and whatnot. Also, I don't know if I said this in the Author's Note for last chapter but I will now be going back to updating once a week since the collection of fight scenes are done.**

**I'll stop talking your ears off now. Enjoy the chapter.**

Alicia sat on the bench in the park with the sun shining brightly in the sky. Everything seemed so peaceful. Today however would be anything but happy and she knew that all too well. As worry rushed over her, she saw a familiar brown haired teen walk up to her and take a seat next to her.

"Hey Alicia" Dan greeted. "Mentally preparing yourself for today?"

Alicia nodded her head. "Yeah. I'm just a little nervous"

"You know you don't have to do this if you don't want to" Dan reminded her.

"I know, but I want to. This is something I have to do"

Dan could hardly blame his girlfriend for feeling nervous and scared about today. They both knew this day was coming. Today was the trial for Yamato. Interrogation had been going on for weeks, but Kikouka didn't need answers from him anymore. It was more than obvious by now that Gabriel's men had been the ones to assist in his escape, and they were now taken down. Gabriel's company had been all but dismantled and everything was peaceful once again.

Now that it was time for Yamato's trial, Kikouka had contacted Dan and Alicia to tell them the date. The government official had told the couple that he would almost certainly be in prison for the rest of his life, but a testimony from Alicia would definitely improve the chances of him never getting a chance at parole. Dan had been afraid that doing this would trigger some unwanted memories for his girlfriend, but Alicia decided to go along with it. She was willing to do anything to make sure Yamato rotted in jail for the rest of his miserable life.

Dan looked at his phone and saw the time for the trial was coming up. "It's almost time"

"Alright then. Let's get going" Alicia suggested, getting up from the bench. Dan held her hand as the two of them walked through the city streets. When they finally reached the courthouse, Alicia began to grow even more nervous. Dan noticed this and gave her a peck on the cheek.

"I'll be right there with you. I promise" Dan assured her.

"R-Right" Alicia nodded as she calmed down a little. She remembered Asuna coming over to her house a few days ago to help her out with emotional support, as the chestnut haired girl had been in this same situation before when it came time for Sugou's trial after Kirito rescued her from the World Tree in ALO. If Asuna could do this, then so could she. Alicia held her boyfriend's hand as the two of them walked through the doors of the courthouse.

The trial lasted for a few hours. Alicia felt unbelievably scared that the man that had hurt her so much was so close to her, but having Dan nearby comforted her and kept her from losing it. When the verdict was reached, Yamato was sentenced to prison for the rest of his life. Just as Kikouka had told them, Alicia's testimony tilted the odds in their favor and made sure Yamato wouldn't have any chance at parole. During the trial, Yamato had shot her a malicious grin, almost as if to say it wasn't over. It made her shiver, but it no longer mattered. It was over. Now he would be out of her life forever.

Coming out of the courthouse, Alicia felt a wave of relief wash over her. Finally it was all over. She leaned her head on Dan's shoulder as they walked away from the courthouse. "Thank god it's finally over"

"You did great" Dan told her. "Plus, we've got tomorrow to look forward to"

"You mean Kikouka's little reward for us?" Alicia said with a small smile. Due to the efforts of everyone in the fight against Gabriel in ALO, the government official had given them a little thank you. Tomorrow, they would all have Tatadohama Beach reserved exclusively for them. A full day of fun in the sun with their friends was just what Alicia felt she needed to take her mind off of everything that had happened over the summer. After all, there was only a week left before they had to go back to school.

"I take it you're looking forward to it?" Dan guessed with a small smile.

"Not as much as you probably are. After all, I'll be wearing a swimsuit tomorrow" Alicia said with a teasing smile. Her boyfriend's face blushed a scarlet color similar to her eyes, making her giggle. "Well I'm gonna go get ready for tomorrow. See you then, Dan." With a quick peck on her boyfriend's cheek, Alicia ran off towards her house, excited for the big day tomorrow.

XXXXXXXXXX

"Wow! This beach is HUGE!" Clair exclaimed as she stepped onto the sand of the beach with her brother.

"It's a perfect beach day too" Dan said as he felt the sun's warmth wash over him. There wasn't a cloud in the sky. The waves were nice and calm. A refreshing breeze flew through the air. The conditions for a day of fun in the sun were perfect, as if the gods were rewarding them for a job well done.

Dan was wearing red trunks and a white t-shirt. His sister already had her pink swimsuit on, as she was excited to play in the ocean.

A few people had already arrived to the beach, including Kazuto, Asuna, Suguha, Rika, and Keiko, all in swimsuits of their own, though Asuna and Rika were the only ones wearing bikinis. As the Hiryo siblings walked towards the group, Asuna waved over to them. "Hey guys! Over here!"

Dan and Clair walked over to their friends and laid out their beach towels for them to lay on. "Alicia hasn't arrived yet?"

"Oh she's changing into her swimsuit with Emi." Asuna explained. "They'll be out in a minute."

Just as Asuna had said, Alicia and Emi soon came out from the bathroom and walked onto the beach. Alicia was wearing a violet and white striped bikini that left little to the imagination, while Emi wore a green one piece swimsuit.

"Look at Alicia rockin the bikini. Trying to seduce your boyfriend with stripes are you?" Rika teased.

"Is that jealousy I hear?" Alicia replied back. "Maybe you could try this when you get a boyfriend"

Rika gave a cold stare towards the black haired girl. "That was a low move Alicia"

"Speaking of couples, look over there" Asuna said, pointing towards the distance. "Looks like Hyde and Lilina are here now"

The group looked over to see their friends walking over towards them. Hyde was wearing a black sleeveless shirt and a pair of blue trunks with a wave imprint on it while Lilina wore a ruby red bikini along with a pair of sunglasses and a sun hat.

"Hey guys!" Lilina waved. "Isn't this weather awesome!?"

"I'll say. After kicking ass and taking names I say we deserve some nice weather with our beach day." Hyde agreed.

"Hey there Lilina." Rika greeted before staring at her friend's boyfriend. "Hyde..."

Hyde completely ignored the brunette's remark and began taking off his shirt to show his body to everyone. Lean and fit were the best words to describe Hyde's body type as he gave a quick stretch of his arms. After he quickly set up his and Lilina's spot, he pointed towards the ocean. "Well I'm gonna take a dip, see you there Lilina." With that said he rushed forward to the water and began swimming.

"... Mama likes." Lilina giggled as she ogled her boyfriend's figure

Over time, more and more people showed up at the beach. Kikouka had given the beach day not only to those that had fought in the fortress, but also every player that logged onto Alfheim to fight. Hikari arrived in a seductive looking hot pink bikini of her own while wearing shades over her eyes. She lifted them as she walked past Dan and winked at him, making Alicia glare daggers at the blonde girl. Klein showed up along with Agil, who had his wife in tow. Shino arrived in a green one piece swimsuit and sunglasses resting on her hair around the same time as Riku, or Shirou as he was called in the real world. Surprisingly even the quiet and mysterious Yaksha made an appearance.

Alicia and Dan laid together on a towel, with the black haired girl cuddled around her boyfriend. She laid her head against Dan's chest and felt all her troubles leave her. This was paradise.

"Yoo-hoo! Reny-kins!"

And with that, the paradise was instantly ruined. Alicia groaned as she saw Hikari running over to them, namely Dan. She stood next to where the couple was lying and gave a seemingly innocent smile. "What do you think Dan? Doesn't this swimsuit make me look sexy?"

"Piss off Hikari" Alicia told the blonde girl.

"I don't believe I was talking to you Alicia" Hikari said in a subtly cold tone. "So? What do you think Dan?"

"It looks fine" Dan said, trying to get Hikari to leave them alone.

"Come on, you've got to have more to say than that!" Hikari begged.

"If you want, I'd be happy to offer my humble opinion" Klein said as he appeared and kneeled before Hikari.

"Zip it pervert" Hikari bit back.

"... That was a bit harsh" Klein sulked as he tilted his head down.

"Alright that's enough from both of you" Asuna said as she walked up and grabbed both Klein and Hikari by the ear. "Hikari, stop ruining Dan and Alicia's beach day. Klein, stop being… you"

"Why must you ladies all be so ha- Owowowow!" Klein yipped as Asuna dragged him away, along with Hikari.

Alicia sighed as she nuzzled up against her boyfriend again. "Geez, is it so hard to get one day of peace and quiet around here?"

"Well you have to admit there's never a dull moment around this crowd" Dan pointed out with a small chuckle.

Alicia rolled her eyes. "That's for sure."

The excitement continued as Rika walked up to Kazuto who was lying on a beach chair near Alicia and Dan.

"So Kazuto what do you think of our swimsuits?" Rika asked as she did a little pose in front of the black haired teen. "Pretty sexy huh?"

Dan groaned as he heard this conversation start. This wouldn't end well with Asuna around.

Kazuto averted his eyes from the girl in front of him with a dusty blush on his face. "Y-yeah you look great..."

"What about me brother?"

"And me as well?"

"Am I sexy?"

Soon Kazuto's "harem" group all surrounded the teen asking about their figures in their swimwear. This soon stopped as Asuna appeared behind them and gave them a stern glare.

"Stop trying to seduce my boyfriend! Keep your bouncy bodies to yourselves!" she said sternly.

Rika gave a shrug of her shoulders and an innocent look to the chestnut haired girl. "We're just asking an honest question. He could say yes or no."

"Would you ask Hyde how you look in your bikini?" Asuna countered.

Rika gagged a bit at the thought of Hyde checking her out. "Gross Asuna! Don't ever say that again!"

"That's because there's nothing to check out!" Hyde yelled from his spot at the ocean.

Rika glared over at the teen in the ocean. "I DARE you to say that again jackass!"

"Nothing! To! Check! Out!"

"I will kick you in the nuts!"

"Do it! I'm not afraid to hit a girl! Doesn't help that you're already manish looking!"

"Alright everyone calm down!" Asuna yelled. "This isn't a time to be fighting it's a time to be celebrating! We saved the world that's something to be happy about!"

"Tell that to that jackass over there!" Rika yelled while pointing an incriminating finger at Hyde who only whistled innocently. "He just had to go and open his mouth saying that I'm not worth checking out! I'm hot right?"

"Nobody answer that question!" Hyde once again yelled. "It's a trap!"

Rika took off one of her flip flops and chucked it straight at Hyde's face. She took satisfaction in seeing the footwear hit him in the face and watched him squirm in pain before being slapped in the back of the head by Lilina. "Ouch! What the hell Lilina? He deserved that!"

"You don't see me slapping your boyfriend do you? Oh wait you don't have a man to call your boyfriend!" Lilina countered.

"... Ouch" Kazuto said. "Just ouch…"

Rika felt as though she was punched in the gut by that insult. "Was that really warranted!?"

"Probably not but there was no other way to get the point across."

"If it counts for anything Rika, I think you're sex- OW stop it Asuna!" Klein yelled as he was once again dragged away by Asuna's ear pulling.

"Okay getting back to the original point, I think you all look fine." Kazuto said trying to defuse the situation.

But it only made it worst as all the girls started demanding to know who was the sexiest of them. And of course Lilina had to throw fuel on to the fire.

"Girls, girls calm down. We all know that I'm the sexiest girl in this group." she said with a swell of pride in her voice.

"You tell 'em babe!" Hyde yelled.

Sugu gave a frown at her statement. "Oh really? You're the best looking? Says who?"

"Says anyone who knew me in SAO. I had a lot of fans in numerous guilds because of how attractive I am."

Asuna gave a roll of her eyes at that. "If anything I was the most popular girl in SAO. Heathcliff saw it fit to make sure I had a bodyguard with me at all times before I got married to Kazuto in order to keep my fans away."

"Asuna please don't make this into a contest…" Kazuto groaned.

"Yeah after all it's no contest. I'm the sexiest girl in our friend group." Lilina said once again.

"Oh it is on!" Rika suddenly yelled. "We are really going to see who's really the sexiest girl in our group!"

Shino raised an eyebrow at her friend's declaration. "And how do you suppose we go about that?"

Rika put her hand under her chin in thought for a moment before she snapped in realization. "I got it! A swimsuit contest!"

The faces on her friend's face were so blank you could write a thesis paper on them.

"What?" Kazuto was the one to break the silence.

"We have three judges, all male mind you, to see how good we look in our swimsuits. Kazuto will have to be one."

Sugu nodded her head with enthusiasm. "Okay I'm all for this."

Keiko also nodded. "If Kazuto is one of the judges I won't mind."

Kazuto sighed as he resigned to his fate. Once the girls got started on something ridiculous like this there was no changing their minds anytime soon.

"Ok so we need two more judges" Rika said. She looked over towards the other couple lying on the beach. "Dan, thanks for volunteering"

"Wait, what?" Dan questioned as he raised his head. "I am playing no part in this"

"But don't you want to give Alicia a helping hand in the judging?" Lilina asked.

Alicia gave a confused look at her friend. "I never said I was joining this. I just want to spend a relaxing day with Dan."

"Of course you wouldn't join" Hikari snickered. "You wouldn't want to take the chance of Dan seeing proof that I'm far more sexier than you"

"Excuse me?" Alicia said with a glare. "There's no way in hell I'd lose to you!"

Hikari gave an amused smirk. "Care to put your money where your mouth is?"

Alicia sighed as she sat up from her lying position. "Fine then. But when I kick your ass in this competition, you leave me and Dan alone for the rest of the day."

"Ha! Like you have a chance!"

Rika clapped her hands together in success. "Alright, so we just need one more guy judge… how about you, Yaksha?"

As the group all turned towards where Yaksha had just been standing, but only a dust cloud of sand was present. The stealthy teen had completely disappeared.

"Damn he's fast... Alright so Yaksha's out" Rika said with a sigh. "I don't see Riku anywhere. No way are we having Hyde as a judge"

"That's cause there's nothing to judge when it comes to you, blacksmith" Hyde bit back.

"Anyways!" Rika yelled, trying to get back to the point. "We need one more guy to be a judge"

"Oh! Oh! Me! Pick me!" Klein shouted as he jumped up and down with his hand raised like a little kid.

"... Anyone at all"

"Me! Please! Pick me!"

"I'll even take a girl dressed as a guy"

"ME!"

Rika sighed in defeat. "Fine. Klein, you can be the last judge."

"YES!" Klein exclaimed. "Alright, let's get this contest started!"

"I can already smell the restraining orders" Dan sighed as he stood up. "Alright, let's get this over with."

The group soon set up for the swimsuit contest. Out of all the girls there, the ones competing were Asuna, Alicia, Lilina, Hikari, Rika, Keiko, Shino, and Suguha. Three beach chairs were set up next to each other with the three judges sitting in them. Dan and Kazuto had an annoyed look at being dragged into this while Klein looked happier than he had ever been.

Dan and Kazuto both knew the only people they could give 10s to were their girlfriends. Giving one to any other girl would be a death sentence.

The first contestant to take the stage was Suguha. The Kirigaya girl struck a cute pose as she bent her right leg back and raised her fist into the air like a cheerleader, giving a wink to the three judges.

_'God this is so weird'_ Kazuto thought as he watched his sister/cousin try to act seductive towards him. The three judges each threw up their signs, going from Kazuto to Dan to Klein.

8

7

10

Suguha walked away, fairly satisfied with her score. The next one to walk up was Shino. The short haired girl bent her body towards the guys, shooting a seductive look at them. In her hands was a large two-handed water gun. The judges couldn't help but take her creativity with the water gun into consideration, though the gun wasn't what Klein was focused on.

8

8

10

The contest continued with the girls coming one after another. Rika's performance got good scores from the judges as she cuffed her hands behind her head and stuck her chest out.

8

8

10

The brunette shot a grin towards Hyde. "Nothing to check out, huh?"

Hyde rolled his eyes as Rika walked away. Keiko's turn was up next. To make up for her lack of sexiness, the young girl did all she could to look as cute and adorable as possible. The three judges threw up their signs.

7

7

9

Kazuto and Dan looked at Klein, wondering why he had given a 9 when he had given out 10s for every other girl so far. Klein simply shrugged, saying "Not enough cleavage". The statement earned him a bash to the head from the other two judges while Keiko blushed in embarrassment.

Asuna walked up in front of the three judges with her game face on. This usually wasn't something she would participate in, but Lilina had made this personal. The chestnut haired girl struck a very sexy pose, having her hands stretched up into the air with her chest bouncing while she gave the most adorable smile she could make. All three judges were captivated by her incredible movements.

10

9

10

Asuna gave a confident smirk as she walked back to the other girls. Lilina returned the look back with a smirk of her own as she stepped forward. She leaned forward letting the judges get a good look at her front bumpers as she gave a wink and blew a kiss towards them. If Klein's cheering was any indication, she certainly made her point of her sexiness valid.

9

9

15

Klein was swiftly swatted on the head by Dan making the older man grumble as he fixed his score back to a normal 10.

"Yeah! That's my girl!" Hyde cheered as he gave a smug smirk towards Rika. "Look who outranked you in sexiness blacksmith!"

Rika grumbled lowly as she looked away from the scene.

There were only two contestants left. It was now Hikari's turn as she confidently walked to the judges. The blonde haired girl stuck her hip out to the side, placing one hand on it. Her other hand was helping show off her long hair that seemed to sparkle in the sun. She gave a small, subtle shake of her body to draw attention to her chest as she gave a sexy wink to the judges.

9

9

10

Hikari let out a seemingly innocent giggle as she walked back to the other girls. With her back now to the judges, she shot a smug grin towards Alicia. "Beat that, Alicia."

"My pleasure" Alicia said as she stepped forward. Taking a different approach than the other girls, Alicia lied down on the sand with the front of her body facing the judges. She placed one hand on her hip while using the other hand to loosen the shoulder strap of her bikini slightly. Anyone looking at the scene would think Alicia was a beautiful mermaid that had washed up on the shore.

9

10

10

Alicia fixed her shoulder strap as she walked back to the other girls. Hikari was fuming at the smug look Alicia was giving her._ 'Oh she is going to pay for that later!'_

"Alright the scores are tallied up" Kazuto announced. "It looks like we have a tie between Asuna and Alicia. How are we going to settle this?"

"It's ok. Asuna can have the title" Alicia shrugged. "I only entered to prove a point. I never needed to win the whole thing"

"Ok then" Kazuto shrugged. All that mattered to him was that this would end this ridiculousness quicker. "The winner of the Miss ALO Swimsuit Competition is Asuna"

"Alright!" Asuna cheered as she leaped into the air. The other girls sighed in defeat, though Hikari was still fuming that she had lost to Alicia. She watched as Alicia walked over to Dan. Before she did however, Alicia turned her head back to face Hikari.

"I'll be going now to spend time with MY boyfriend. Have fun, Hikari."

XXXXXXXXX

Meanwhile, Lilina and Hyde walked down the nearby boardwalk in an attempt to get the red haired girl's mind off of placing third in the beauty contest. As they walked Hyde noticed a distinct aura of defeat surrounding his girlfriend and gave her a soft pat on the back.

"Hey come on you didn't lose the contest Lilina. I mean third place is better than nothing and that means you're sexier than all the other girls that were placed below you."

Lilina slapped him in the back of the head with a glare. "You know you really have a crappy way with words."

Hyde rubbed the back of his head in pain and gave a shrug. "Well let's face it, you didn't fall in love with me over my poetic side now did you?"

She cracked a small smile at that. "You're a charmer in your own ways."

"Eh I try my best."

As they walked down the boardwalk and had gotten ice cream, Hyde noticed a small game booth that had some colorful prizes. The point of the game was simple, knock down six pins with one ball for any prize. Seeing as how his girlfriend could use some cheering up Hyde decided to go to the booth ignoring her inquiries as to where he was going.

"Hey set me up!" he yelled at the female attendant at the booth as he slammed down 500 yen on the countertop.

The attendant smiled as she took the money from him and gave him the ball for the game. "Alright tough guy let's see how you do. Knock all the pins down and win a prize."

"Consider it done." he muttered as he took on a pose of a professional baseball player. Letting his hand fly back a bit before he shot it forward, releasing the ball with an impressive throw. The ball hit its mark making all the pins fall down in a messy pile on the floor of the booth. Hyde smirked as he moved towards the attendant. "I'd like my prize now."

"Alright sir take your pick." the girl muttered as she picked up the pins from the floor.

He pointed at a small tanooki with a money bag on its belly. "I'll take that one."

The attendant pulled down the stuffed animal and handed it to him. "Here you go."

"Thanks." Smiling, Hyde turned around to Lilina and handed the stuffed animal to her. "Here. I saw it and it reminded me of you. Like it?"

"... An animal with large balls reminds you of me?" she questioned

"N-N-No! I meant that-!"

Lilina cut off Hyde by giving him a quick peck to the lips. "Relax I'm joking. I love it. Thanks Hyde, I needed that."

Hyde smiled as he gave a peck back to her. "No problem. You'll always be the sexiest girl in my eyes if that means anything."

"It does. More than that score of 15 Klein gave me" she said as she leaned onto her boyfriend.

XXXXXXXXXX

Back on the beach, Alicia and Dan were back in their cuddling position on the blanket. With all the craziness of the competition between the girls out of the way, the couple could go back to their peaceful time together. Alicia treasured this. She couldn't ask for anything more than to be with Dan forever.

"You did really great in the competition" Dan told her. "Although, loosening your strap might have been a bit extreme."

"Is someone jealous that other guys got close to seeing something you don't want them to?" Alicia joked.

"Well duh" Dan said as he pulled her in closer. "No guy is ever taking you away from me. Especially a pervert like Klein"

Alicia giggled as she gave her boyfriend a kiss on the cheek. "So what did you think of my performance? Was I sexy?"

"You were a sexy mermaid in my eyes"

"Well that makes you my prince charming then" Alicia smiled, this time planting a kiss on the lips.

"I wouldn't have it any other way" Dan smiled back as the two of them locked lips.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

On two beachchairs nearby, Kazuto and Asuna sat back and let the sun wash over them. This would be one of their last moments for summer. After this, there would be schoolwork again, and the fact that Asuna would be going to college the year after this. The time when they could spend their free time with each other was slowly coming to an end. Asuna could easily see the look in Kazuto's eyes that showed he was deep in thought about something.

"Hey Kazuto, what are you thinking about?"

Asuna's words seemed to snap Kazuto out of his train of thought. "Huh? Oh nothing special…"

"Kazuto" Asuna said with a stern look. "I can tell when you're lying. Tell me the truth"

Kazuto sighed. "It's just… I'm thinking about how this all started. You, me, Dan, Alicia, everybody. We all met because of some madman that trapped us in Sword Art Online. All our lives were changed in so many ways just because of that decision. It's weird, don't you think?"

Asuna pondered her boyfriend's words for a moment before responding. "No actually. I don't think that at all"

"Really?"

Asuna nodded her head. "Yeah. Somehow I feel it wasn't Kayaba that brought us all together. I feel it was… destiny."

"Destiny?" Kazuto questioned.

"Yeah. We all met and bonded almost immediately. Plus I don't see how we could have befriended someone like Hyde or Lilina if some greater force wasn't at work" Asuna said with a chuckle at that last part.

"You have a point there" Kazuto laughed. "Well anyway, I'm glad we all met. I couldn't ask for a better group of friends or a better girlfriend."

"Awww you" Asuna smiled as she leaned over and planted a kiss on his cheek.

XXXXXXXXXXX

The day slowly passed by with the entire group having a fun time. As the sun began to begin setting in the afternoon sky, everyone began to pack up their things and prepare to leave.

"There's my parents" Alicia said as she saw a car drive up to the parking lot near the beach. She gave a quick kiss to her boyfriend and walked over to the car with Emi. "See you later guys!"

Everyone waved goodbye as the two Tsuki sisters drove off into the distance. As time progressed, more and more people began to leave. Finally Dan and Clair's mother came to pick them up. They put their things in the trunk and got into the car. As they drove off, Dan thought about the things that had happened these past few months. They had fought in a worldwide tournament and afterwards even fought to save the world. Oddly enough though, he was glad about everything that happened. It just meant everything was finally over now. Things could go back to normal… at least as normal as things ever got around them.

**A/N: So I hope everyone enjoyed the Miss ALO Swimsuit Competition. If any of you liked any of the girls' performances specifically, feel free to give them a shout out in your review. As I said earlier, chapters will now be posted on a weekly basis once again. Next chapter, its back to school for everyone. Hope you all like it.**


	65. Back to School

**A/N: Hey readers! Have a few things to say to everybody. I already announced this stuff in my other SAO fics, but I thought it best to let everyone know in case they don't read Hollow Inferno or I Will Not Bow Again.**

**1) SAO Movie with full original story has been announced!**

**2) New SAO game for the PS 4 and Vita has been announced!**

**3) I did the greatest happy dance ever when I found out about the first two things.**

**Also in Hollow Inferno, I am currently having a vote on who to ship with Riku. Depending on how things go, I might bring the ship over to Blazing Revolution as well. So I want to hear from everyone who they want to ship with Riku. Please tell me your opinion either through PM or review. This is the list of potential girls for everyone's favorite underdog.**

**Liz/Rika**

**Sinon/Shino**

**Leafa/Suguha**

**Strea**

**If you have already voted for this through Hollow Inferno, please do not send a second vote in. I am using these all in the same pool. Well I think I've talked your ears off for long enough. Enjoy the chapter.**

The school bell rang around the SAO Survivor's School as Dan took his seat for homeroom. It had been a long and eventful summer, but he was almost happy to be back in school. It was a sign of things returning to normal, something he was very grateful to have.

"Hey Dan, what's up" a familiar voice said. Dan looked to see Asuna taking a seat next to him. The former vice commander of the KoB from SAO gave a friendly smile to her friend. "Looks like we're in the same homeroom."

"Seems like it" Dan responded with a smile of his own. Scanning the room, it didn't seem like any of their other friends were there with them. He recalled back to last year when ex-players were swarming him and his friends, as they were all practically celebrities in Sword Art Online. By now, things had settled down and everyone treated them like anyone else.

"So what classes do you have this semester?" Asuna asked.

Dan pulled out his schedule from his bag. "Besides my basic classes, I was able to get into the Advanced Mechatronics course they offered."

"Oh Kazuto's taking that class too" Asuna told him. "You guys will be classmates then. The nerd duo of SAO, side by side"

"And proud of it" Dan joked. "There's no pride better than nerd pride!"

Asuna giggled at her friend's goofiness. "So are you looking into any colleges yet?"

"Yeah. There's a few places I'm looking at" Dan told her. "What about you?"

"My mom's already been showing me colleges I should consider nonstop." Asuna sighed. "Between that and the lineup of suitors she has for me, I feel like I'm going nuts!"

"Must be tough being a rich girl"

"You have no idea"

Dan and Asuna chatted together for a bit before the homeroom teacher came in. After homeroom was over, everyone parted and went to their first classes for the day. It was only the first day of school so most of the teachers ended up doing the usual intro stuff. Class expectations, grading percentages, required materials, and all the other boring things.

Finally the time came for the class Dan was waiting for. Advanced Mechatronics. It was a somewhat difficult course, but he had already taken the beginner level course for it last semester along with Kazuto. The two of them usually ended up doing their group projects together, since they were already good friends.

"Hey Dan. You're here too?"

Dan turned to see Kazuto walk into the room and take a seat next to him. He nodded his head to Kazuto's earlier question. "Yeah, of course. How've your classes been so far?"

"I felt like I was going to die in English class. I don't know what I'm gonna have to do to pass that"

"Tell me about it. Why do we even have to learn English? That's what translators are for" Dan said in agreement.

As the two teens talked, the bell rung for class to begin. The teacher went on about the material they would cover, as well as the types of projects they would have over the semester. This was one of the few classes that kept Dan's attention.

Finally the day ended as the last bell rang around the school. Dan grabbed his bag and walked over to the courtyard where he usually met up with his friends. When he arrived, he found Alicia sulking with an exhausted look while holding a paper to her face. It was as if all the life had been sucked out of her.

"Rough first day?" Dan asked as he loomed over her.

Alicia jumped out of her resting position with a jolt. "Dan?! Geez, don't sneak up on me like that!"

"I didn't really sneak up on you. All I did was walk over here" Dan told her. "So, what's that paper in your hands?"

Alicia looked back at the paper in her hands and quickly tucked it behind her back. "N-Nothing! Nothing at all!"

Dan raised an eyebrow at the obvious suspicious behavior. "Alicia…"

"Oh fine" Alicia sighed, handing him the paper. Dan looked at it, a class intro sheet for Beginners Mechatronics.

"I didn't know you were taking a mechatronics course" Dan said. "What's so wrong about this?"

"What's wrong is that my brain feels like it's been turned to mush and it's only the first class." Alicia groaned. "I didn't realize mechatronics was this difficult."

"Then just drop the class and pick a new one. We get a week to be able to do stuff like that after all." Dan suggested.

Alicia shook her head. "No, I can't do that"

"Why?"

"Because this is our last year before college! You know what you want to do! Asuna knows what she wants to do! Rika knows what she wants to do! Even Kazuto knows what he wants to do and he's not even a senior like us! It feels like everyone knows what they want to do except for me! I have no clue what I want to do with my life!"

Dan chuckled as he gave his girlfriend a peck on the cheek. "So you haven't figured out what you want to do. So what? Plenty of people are like that"

"Well I do know one thing for my future I want" Alicia said with a smile as she leaned on Dan's shoulder. "I want to be with you forever"

"I couldn't agree more" Dan said as he brought in Alicia for a kiss. The two locked lips together in a moment of pure happiness.

"Get a room already you two"

The couple turned to see Emi walking over to them with a teasing smile. The young brunette giggled at the sight of the couple. "You two should really find a more secretive place to make out. Prying eyes might be watching"

"Prying eyes like you?" Alicia countered. "Why don't you go bother someone else?"

"Because it's so much fun to tease the two of you. You look so adorable when you're embarrassed, Alicia"

Alicia ended up blushing from the comment. Dan leaned in and whispered in her ear. "She's not wrong you know"

"D-Dan!" Alicia said as she blushed even more, earning a chuckle from her boyfriend and sister.

Dan looked back at the mechatronics intro class sheet Alicia had. "So back to the previous topic, why did you pick mechatronics?"

"Wait, mechatronics?" Emi questioned as she took a look at the sheet. She gave a curious look to her sister. "No offense sis, but science isn't exactly your strong suit"

"I-I have my reasons" Alicia argued. "Dan's going to college for mechatronics so… I thought I'd try it out and see if I could do it too"

"Alicia, you don't have to do that" Dan told her. "I don't want you going into a field just to be closer to me if it's not something you like. Pick something that you love doing"

"But I have no idea what that is!"

Dan put a comforting arm around her shoulder. "You'll figure it out. Don't worry"

Alicia let out a sigh. "I hope so"

"What's up guys?!" another voice called out. The group turned to see Hyde walking over with Lilina at his side. "Finally done with the first day!"

"Sheesh, you never shut up do you?" Emi sighed. "Thank god this is the last year I have to put up with you every day at school like this"

"What was that squirt?" Hyde growled, bringing the young girl in for a noggy.

"Get the hell off me you jerk!" Emi yelled as she struggled to break free. She finally succeeded by slipping out of his grip. "This is why we're your only friends!"

Dan sighed in annoyance. "Can you two not be at each other's throats for just one day?"

"She started it!" Hyde said as he pointed an accusing finger at Emi.

"Oh don't even try making be the bad guy here!" Emi retorted.

It was sometimes very hard to believe that the two of them hadn't tried to kill each other yet. Dan decided to try and change the subject in order to break the tension a little. "So, what do you guys want to do today?"

"I don't know about you guys, but I'm up for some ALO" Hyde suggested. "It'll be nice to kick some ass in there without the future of the world at stake"

"I'm down with that" Alicia agreed. "We should do a quest or something"

"Alright then. Let's meet up at Yggdrasil City" Dan suggested. Everyone nodded in agreement and made their way back to their houses.

XXXXXXXXXXX

Ren slashed a Lizard Soldier in half, causing a long red gash to appear on the monster's body. Its HP fell to zero and the reptilian monster shattered into fragments. Ren wiped the sweat from his forehead and sheathed his sword onto his back.

"Way to go Ren!" Alice cheered as she gave her boyfriend a high five. The group of six continued making their way through the dungeon on Floor 33 of New Aincrad. It was a damp cave area with twists and turns at every corner. Reptile monsters, mostly consisting of Lizardmen, populated the cave. None of them were any match for the high leveled guild. The objective of their quest however was to get to the end of the dungeon and take out the mini-boss there.

"So where's the dungeon boss supposed to be?" Ren asked, looking towards Dagger who had gotten the map data for the dungeon through her sources. The female Spriggan checked her menu and traced the route with her finger.

"It should be just up ahead" Dagger told her guild leader. "If what my sources said is true, it should be a powerful Lizardman with a bunch of weaker ones backing him up."

"It better be tougher than the weaklings we've been fighting up till now" Helios said as he cracked his knuckles.

"Alright, let's do this!" Ren said as he raised his fist into the air.

"Yeah!" everyone yelled out in agreement.

After a little more walking, the guild finally reached the boss's lair. The inside was even damper than the rest of the cave, with puddles of water covering the ground. There was little light in the room which made it hard to see. After Himiko applied a night vision buff to everyone, the room became much clearer.

"Over there!" Mai directed as she pointed over towards the end of the room.

A large Lizardman was sitting on a throne across from the group, with the name Lizardos, the Lizard King hovering above its cursor. The two torches next to it lit up as it rose from its seat. It was dressed it heavy metal armor on its chest, shoulders, and knees. In its hand was a long and heavy scimitar sword. As it walked down the stairs from its throne, multiple Lizard Soldiers spawned around the room.

"Here we go guys!" Ren said as he unsheathed Ragnarok. "Let's take this guy down!"

"Right!"

"Helios, take out the ones behind us! Alice, the ones on the left! Himiko, the right! Dagger and Mai, cover me while I charge the boss!"

Everyone nodded at their assigned tasks and split up. Helios ran at the multiple reptile monsters in the rear of the group. Leaping into the air, he raised his Olympus Mons and activated a sword skill. The impact created as he crashed into the ground sent the Lizard Soldiers around him flying and sent their health into the red instantly. Alice hooked multiple Lizard Soldiers with one rush from her scythe, cleaving them all in half. Himiko parried an incoming attack and swung her katana down at a Lizard Soldier in front of her. As more came in to attack her, the young Imp easily back flipped away. With the minions out of the way, Mai, Dagger, and Ren ran towards the boss. Two Lizard Soldiers came to block their path, but Mai and Dagger intercepted them and gave Ren an opening to attack.

Lizardos roared as he swung his sword down at Ren. The male Imp blocked the attack as he got into a defensive stance. Ren did his best to hold back the sword pushing down on him. Finally, Ren pushed the boss back and got into the stance for a sword skill. Ragnarok became veiled in flames as Ren attacked with the eight-hit skill, Howling Octave. The ferocious assault ripped through the boss's HP and brought it down to half of its HP bar. Lizardos soon recovered and growled menacingly at the male Imp. It charged towards him and prepared to attack while Ren was stuck in the post skill delay. It never reached him however as Alice jumped into the fray and delivered a powerful kick to Lizardos's gut. The boss flew back and crashed into its throne.

"Thanks for the save, Alice" Ren said with a smile.

"No problem" Alice smiled back. "Now let's finish this thing off"

Ren nodded and the couple charged towards the boss as it got back on its feet. Alice took the lead as she swung her scythe up to parry the incoming slash from the boss. Her attack knocked the boss's weapon into the air. "Switch!"

Alice moved back as Ren went in for the kill. His sword became veiled in light as he moved in to finish the boss. One swift slash from Ragnarok was all it took to take out the remaining health it had left. Once Lizardos shattered into fragments, the remaining minions shattered as well. Ren sheathed his sword and stretched his arms out now that the fight was over.

"Alright! Take that you oversized reptiles!" Mai cheered as she raised her fist into the air victoriously.

"These losers ain't got nothing on us!" Himiko shouted with a similar cheer.

"Well the quest is over now that that's done" Alice said with a yawn. "It's starting to get late. We should log out"

With the quest completed, Ren and the rest of Wyvern Inferno headed back to Yggdrasil City to log out for the day. After waving goodbye to their friends, Ren and Alice teleported to Floor 17 of New Aincrad and flew towards their house.

Flying through the air of Lunet made Alice feel at peace as the refreshing breeze blew through her hair. She twirled her body around, feeling the wind blow past her. If there was one word Alice could use to describe this sensation, it was freedom.

Ren looked at his in-game wife and smiled. "You act like such a little kid sometimes, you know that?"

"So what?" Alice asked defensively. "I'm entitled to act a little immature every now and then, aren't I?"

Ren flew closer to Alice and gave her a peck on the cheek. "You're childish side is also one of your most adorable sides."

Alice blushed as she heard this. "I don't do it THAT often"

"Whatever you say" Ren said with a roll of his eyes.

Ren and Alice landed in front of their player home and walked towards the front door. This house always made the couple feel at peace. They could always be alone together when they were here. When they walked inside, Ren let out an exhausted yawn. "Well I think I'm gonna log out. All that fighting really wore me out."

"Hold on a sec, Ren" Alice told him. "I need you to stay here for a minute? I've got a surprise for you"

Ren raised an eyebrow at this. "A surprise?"

With a wave of her hand, Alice opened her menu. She scrolled through the inventory she shared with Ren and manifested one of the items. It was a small bottle, about the size of one for a potion.

"What's that?" Ren asked.

To answer his question, Alice placed the bottle on the table in the living room and tapped the top of it. Suddenly, the bottle opened up and slow dance style music began to play. "I found this in a Pooka city a few days ago. I've been waiting for a chance to use it and I thought now would be a perfect time since we're alone. What do you think?"

"Like you even need to ask" Ren told her. He took Alice's hand and brought her in close. He wrapped his arm around her waist and the pair began dancing in rhythm to the music.

Alice hummed along with the music as the two Imps danced. She leaned in and gave her in-game husband a kiss. "I love you Ren. I want to be with you forever"

"I wouldn't have it any other way" Ren said with a smile.

Alice began to frown a little while they continued to dance. "You know once college starts, we won't be able to be together as often. We'll both be busy with school."

"It's alright. We'll still find ways to hang out" Ren assured her. "No matter what happens, I'm going to stay with you to the end."

Alice smiled as she rested her head on Ren's shoulder. "Yeah. Me too"

**A/N: Hope you guys liked the chapter. Tune in next week everybody.**


	66. Fluff

**A/N: What's up readers! This week I decided to try my hand at doing a pure fluff chapter since its been a long time since I've done it for this story. I hope you all enjoy it. And for all you guys that review frequently, I want to say thank you. You guys have no idea how much it means to me when I hear all the great stuff you have to say.**

It had been a long first week at school. A new year with all new classes brought its share of challenges. Everyone could still agree it was better than risking their lives to help save the world though.

Alicia had decided to take Dan's advice and drop the Beginners Mechatronics course she had originally planned to take. She would find something that she loved to do, even though she didn't know what that thing was currently.

Finally the first weekend for the school year came, something everyone was happy to have. Not too long after Dan woke up and ate breakfast, he received a text from Alicia with her asking if he wanted to hang out today. After he replied with an obvious yes Alicia texted him to come to her house as soon as he could.

"Mom, I'm heading to Alicia's for the day!" Dan called out upstairs to his mother.

"Alright. Have fun" his mother called back as Dan headed out the door.

XXXXXXXXXXX

Alicia sat in her room, brushing her long black hair. It took a lot of work to make it look good every morning, but she always felt it was worth it because of Dan's compliments. He always stroked her hair whenever she was feeling down, a feeling that Alicia loved. It made her feel at peace, like nothing could go wrong.

Today was going to be perfect. Her parents were already gone, Emi would be hanging out at a friend's house today, and to top it all off she had gotten a special surprise she couldn't wait to show Dan.

The second she heard the doorbell ring, Alicia rushed out of her room and ran downstairs. She opened up her door and saw her boyfriend standing there with a greeting smile on his face. "Hey Dan, that was pretty qui-"

"Umm, Alicia…?" Dan interrupted while having a dusty blush. "Perhaps we should continue this conversation inside?"

"Why?"

"Well… have you looked at what you're wearing right now?"

A sudden sense of dread rushed over Alicia as she hesitantly looked down. In her rush to open the door for her boyfriend, she had forgot to put on a shirt, leaving the black haired girl's upper body covered only by her bra. Her cheeks lit up with a scarlet red color as she covered her chest area with one arm, while using the other one to quickly pull her boyfriend inside. Alicia could barely form a sentence after she slammed the door shut.

"Oh my god… that was so embarrassing! I hope no one else saw"

"What was embarrassing?" a sudden voice called out. Alicia and Dan turned to see Emi walking downstairs. She quickly noticed the lack of clothing on her sister and connected the dots, breaking out into laughter. "You mean… You actually…? Oh my god, that IS embarrassing!"

"Shut up!" Alicia yelled, throwing a pillow from the nearby couch at her sister. Emi quickly ducked under it and kept laughing as she ran back upstairs.

"Missed me sis! Maybe you should throw your bra next. I'm sure Dan would love to see that"

"Get back here you!" Alicia shouted as she chased after her sister. Dan stayed downstairs, hearing a door slam shut and a pounding sound coming from Alicia. "Get out here you coward!"

"Sorry, not gonna happen" Emi called back with a laugh.

A few minutes passed by as Dan heard Alicia give up and go into her own room to get fully dressed. She came back downstairs wearing a red shirt. Her cheeks were still blushing from the earlier incident. "Sorry about that…"

"It's alright. At least we get to spend the rest of the day together" Dan pointed out.

Alicia nodded in agreement. "Yeah, you're right."

The couple walked over to the couch in Alicia's living room and sat down together with Alicia cuddling herself next to Dan. As the couple stayed together on the couch, Emi quickly ran downstairs and sped towards the door. "Heading to Keiko's house! See you later! Bye!"

Alicia had an irritated expression that her sister had pulled a sneaky move like that and left before Alicia had the chance to get some sibling payback. She shrugged it off however and decided to continue cuddling with her boyfriend.

"So, any plans for today?" Dan asked. "Not that I'm not enjoying this right now"

Alicia peeked her head up. "Oh that's right! I totally forgot the surprise I had for you!"

"Surprise?" Dan questioned. "What is it?"

"Wait one sec. I'll go get it" Alicia said as she ran out of the room and went upstairs. She came back down a few seconds later, holding a plastic bag. "Guess what I got the other day?" Dan was about to give a guess, but Alicia didn't give him that chance as she pulled out what was in the bag, revealing a game case reading Super Mario GR. "Ta-da! My uncle gave me a copy of it before it hit the shelves. You know, to thank us for all the help testing it."

"That's awesome!" Dan exclaimed.

"Yep! Oh, I almost forgot, he included something else in here" Alicia remembered as she pulled out a small wrapped box. "He said this was something he wanted you to open"

Curious as to what it was, Dan took the box and unwrapped it. He opened it, revealing another VR game called Five Nights at Freddy's GR. A note was included inside the box.

_To Dan Hiryo,_

_Thought you might like this. I think you would love to play this game with Alicia. You can thank me later. Just try not to take advantage of her with this._

_Sincerely,_

_Kaito Tsuki_

Dan gave a dusty blush at the implement Alicia's uncle included in the note. To make matters worse, he wasn't sure this would help. He remembered the old game Five Night's at Freddy's. Playing that gave him nightmares for a full week. A VR version would no doubt be even scarier. Hell, it might even scar both him and Alicia for life.

"So? What is it?" Alicia asked, leaning over Dan's shoulder and looking in the box. She grabbed the game inside and took a look at it. "Five Night's at Freddy's? Never heard of it."

'_That's probably for the best'_ Dan silently thought.

"Well what are we waiting for? Let's try it out" Alicia suggested.

"But I didn't bring my Amu Sphere with me"

"You can use Emi's" Alicia told him.

"Are you sure you want to play this though?" Dan asked.

"How bad could it be?" Alicia shrugged.

XXXXXXXXX

-Twenty minutes later-

"Happy place. Gotta find my happy place" Alicia muttered as she huddled in the fettle position. She had read the cover of the game, so she knew it was a horror game. But still… she hadn't prepared for stuff like THAT. There were things in there that no amount of mental training could ever prepare her for.

"You okay, Alicia?" Dan asked as he put a comforting arm around her shoulder. He knew something like this would probably happen, but he hadn't expected Alicia to log out before even a half hour passed.

"Dan… we are NEVER playing that again! I don't think I'll ever recover from that"

"So what now? If you want, we could cuddle again till you calm back down."

"I think I need a shower right now to get that game out of my mind" Alicia said. "I'll be quick, don't worry." Alicia got off the couch and walked towards the upstairs bathroom. She paused for a moment on the stairs. "Hey… Dan…?"

"What is it?" Dan asked.

"Well… I was just wondering… if you want… you know… to take a shower… w-with me?"

Dan's face blushed red from the question. Looking at Alicia's face, he could tell she was also blushing. "Umm… well I…"

"Are you saying you don't want to be with me in the shower?"

"No! Wait, I-I mean… damn it, I can't win here"

"Too bad. You already said you wanted to, Mr. Pervert" Alicia giggled.

"Hey, cut me some slack. I'm a guy"

"And a pervert"

"At least I'm not Klein"

Alicia giggled at that statement. "Thank god for that." She continued to walk upstairs. "I'm giving you five minutes. If you don't come in by then, I'm taking it as you saying I'm ugly."

"And if I do come in, then I'm a pervert?"

"Yep"

"That is completely unfair!"

"Too bad" Alicia teased as the bathroom door closed.

A minute or so passed by before Dan hesitantly got out of his sitting position on the couch and slowly walked upstairs. Every step he took, his mind screamed for him to turn around due to the fact that he would be so screwed if someone caught the two of them doing this together. But still, he kept walking. Finally he reached the point of no return as he came up to the bathroom door and opened it.

Dan walked into the bathroom, feeling the steam hit him in the face. He looked at the shower curtains with water raining down behind it. Alicia's soft humming came to a stop as she heard the door close. She peeked her head out from the curtain, smiling as she saw Dan. "H-Hey"

"Hey" Dan replied back nervously.

"I'll um… be waiting in here" Alicia said as she went back behind the curtains. The blush she tried to repress came blasting out onto her face all at once. This wasn't weird was it? They were both eighteen and it wasn't like they hadn't seen each other… clotheless. What made her so embarrassed this time?

Dan stepped into the shower, fully undressed. He wrapped his arms around Alicia's waist and pulled her in close. Alicia followed up by wrapping her arms around the back of Dan's neck and kissing him on the lips as the hot water rained down on them. When their lips separated, Alicia turned around so Dan could wash her. His hands felt so warm to her as he rubbed soap on her skin. Once he finished, it was Alicia's turn as she washed her boyfriend, her hands rubbing all around his upper body. She hugged him from behind, wanting to stay in this peaceful moment forever.

"You know, that game was really scary" Alicia said. "I would have lost it if you weren't there with me"

"I'll always be there for you" Dan told her as he turned his head around and kissed her on the lips.

"My hero" Alicia smiled as she kissed him back.

After a long extended shower, Dan and Alicia got redressed and exited the bathroom. Returning to the living room, Alicia and Dan returned to their snuggling position. Alicia grabbed the VR game she had left on the table, the Super Mario GR that her uncle had sent. "Wanna give this game a try?"

"But snuggling with you like this is so comfy" Dan argued with a smile.

"Pervert"

"But I'm your pervert"

"Tell you what" Alicia began as she leaned in close and whispered into his ear. "If we beat the first world together, you can snuggle with me all you want. Deal?"

"… You do realize this may unlock power inside me that could destroy the world as we know it?" Dan joked.

"Still worth it though" Alicia giggled. Her face went to a begging expression. "Come on, please"

"Alright" Dan sighed in defeat. "I can't say no when you bring out those puppy dog eyes"

"They're my most powerful weapon against you. Now hurry up and put your Amu Sphere on"

Dan did as he was told and put the Amu Sphere that Emi owned over his head. He closed his eyes along with Alicia and the couple entered the game.

"Link Start!"

XXXXXXXXXX

"Come on, just a little more!" Ren called out to Alice as he blasted two fireballs from his hands.

"You got it, Ren!" Alice grinned. She fired a blast of ice from her hands at Bowser, knocking the Koopa King off balance. The fireball attack from Ren that soon followed kept up the pressure and made Bowser fall onto his back.

"Now's our chance" Ren smirked. Alice ran past the boss onto the other side while Ren leaped over him, planting his foot on Bowser's face in the process to further humiliate the Koopa King. Ren hit the button and the bridge collapsed, sending Bowser plummeting into the lava pit below. The sign 'Congratulations' was shown and Ren and Alice gave an exhausted sigh.

With World 1 cleared, Dan and Alicia logged out and returned to the real world. They removed the Amu Spheres from their heads and leaned back against the couch.

"That was a bit harder than I was expecting" Dan said.

"Yeah it was" Alicia agreed. She soon moved closer to Dan and wrapped herself around him. "Well a promise is a promise. Now for your reward"

Dan laid on the couch with Alicia as the two of them snuggled together and kissed. This was paradise. Nothing could go wrong.

"Ahem… Is this a bad time?"

Alicia and Dan quickly got out of their snuggling position to see Alicia's father standing at the entrance to the living room. Both of the teen's faces immediately went to a full out blush.

"H-Hey Dad. When did you get home?" Alicia asked.

"Oh, about ten minutes ago" he told her. "So… what have you two been doing today?"

"N-Nothing Dad! Just hanging out!" Alicia said with her cheeks still red.

"Just hanging out huh? Is this true Dan?"

"Y-Yes sir" Dan quickly nodded.

"And that make out session you two were just having?"

Both teens tilted their heads down, not having an excuse for that part. Mr. Tsuki broke out into laughter. "Don't worry you two. I'm just messing with you. I'll get out of your way now. Word of warning though, your mother will be home soon Alicia so I suggest you wrap up your romantic make out session before she gets back."

Several minutes passed by with Dan and Alicia sitting still on the couch with the romantic mood ruined. Neither of them felt like going back to making out with Mr. Tsuki in the other room. Alicia finally decided to settle for just cuddling with Dan. The couple laid together on the couch with Alicia resting her head on her boyfriend's shoulder.

"I wish we could stay like this forever" Alicia said softly.

"Me too. One day maybe."

"Yeah. It'll be just you and me. Maybe with a little addition or two"

"That's all I could ever want" Dan smiled as he kissed Alicia on the cheek.

Soon the sound of the door opening was heard. Dan and Alicia looked over to see Emi walk into the house. "Hey, I'm home!"

"Welcome back Emi. Did you have fun at Keiko's?" Mr. Tsuki asked as he walked over to greet his youngest daughter.

"You bet! We played with Pina and went shopping for a bit. That cat is really something"

"Well I'm glad you had fun"

"Not as much fun as Alicia and Dan probably had. You should have seen what happened earlier. When Alicia went to greet Dan at the door she-"

"Emi! Keep quiet about that incident or I will kill you!" Alicia glared.

"What exactly happened?" Mr. Tsuki asked.

"Nothing! Happened! Right Emi?"

"Whatever you say sis" Emi said with a roll of her eyes as she walked away with an innocent whistle.

Mr. Tsuki looked towards Alicia, seeing if he could get an answer from her. Alicia seemed pretty serious about keeping whatever happened a secret so he decided to walk back into the kitchen.

Another few minutes passed by before the front door opened again. This time it was Alicia's mother who walked in. Like Alicia, she had scarlet eyes, but her hair was the same color as Emi's. Their father was the one with the same black hair Alicia had. She looked over to the couple with a bright smile. "Oh, hello Dan. Alicia didn't say you were coming over today."

"Hello Mrs. Tsuki" Dan greeted.

"It's been a long time since we last met. I do hope you two haven't been doing anything naughty behind my back"

"Mom!"

Seeing her daughter's blushing face made Mrs. Tsuki chuckle. "Don't worry. I trust you two to not do anything stupid. Dan's a fine young man, and I'm sure he treats you well"

"Th-Thank you ma'am" Dan said with his cheeks still blushing.

The couple continued to spend time together for a little longer before it was time for Dan to go. Night was darkening across the sky and he didn't want his family to worry. Alicia walked him over to the door.

"See you at school" Alicia said as she kissed her boyfriend on the lips.

"Till then" Dan told her, returning the kiss before walking out the door.

Alicia watched sadly as Dan walked away. Someday, he wouldn't have to leave anymore. They'd be together forever. But right now, that was only a dream.

'_I'll make that dream a reality someday'_ Alicia told herself as she closed the door.

**A/N: So what did you guys think? I know I sort of had a RenXAlice moment last chapter and it might feel a little stale, but I can promise you that you guys will LOVE the chapter I have planned for next week. Don't believe me? Well here's a small peek...**

**XXXXX**

**"Attention maggots!" Hyde yelled out to his friends. "Commissar Hyde Gekido has arrived! All hail Mother Russia!"**


	67. Student Kingdoms

**A/N: Alright, I bet you guys have been wondering what this chapter is going to be about ever since you read the short preview in the last Author's Note. Well I won't keep you waiting any longer. Here it is.**

"Alright let's get this staff meeting underway." A teacher announced in the staff room. It was currently 7 a.m and numerous teachers were having a hard time trying to keep awake.

"Why the sudden meeting Kushinada?" A man in his thirties groaned as he took a swing of his coffee.

"I called this meeting to discuss a new school wide project Mr. Negima." The teacher at the head of the desk said. "Now this project will involve the whole school being divided into three factions in order to teach them about high stress situations and how to make important decisions. Any questions?" A hand raised to her right by a young woman. "Yes Ms. Fuuka?"

The young black haired teacher gave a confused tilt of her head. "Didn't these kids suffer from high stress from being in that death game? Wouldn't this be more harmful than helpful if they have a relapse?"

"I'm glad you addressed that. The reason we're doing this is to find those very individuals and be able to consult them. Many of these students are good at hiding behind a mask so finding them and helping them will be of the utmost importance."

"And what if they decide not to be a part of this project?" another voice asked.

The teacher smiled. "Oh a very simple answer Mr. Yono. If they don't participate, they will receive an F for the semester and will not able allowed to participate in school events like the field trip to Kyoto later this year."

"That's blackmail!"

"And what's your point?"

Fuuka raised her hand once more. "Okay so students will be the leaders of these factions. What if that kid Hyde Gekido gets a position of power?"

The teacher scoffed at the idea. "Oh please what are the chances of him being picked out of the thousands of students in this school?"

Negima groaned at Kushinada's statement. "Great now you jinxed it. He's gonna get it. I bet my pension on it."

"Alright now before school begins we will gather up all the students into the auditorium to announce the project and the leaders of each faction."

"And how exactly will we pick them?"

"Easy." Kushinada said as she pulled something from under the desk and put it on the table. Many teachers looked at the item with a blank stare.

A bingo drawing machine.

"This is not going to end well." Negima groaned as he downed the rest of his drink

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

There was a loud buzz of excitement as students chatted with one another in the auditorium. With the principle announcing that all students had to come here, certainly something was up.

"So what do you think this is you guys?" Alicia asked her friends.

"Dunno" Dan shrugged. "Could be anything"

"It's probably about Hyde doing something again" Rika sighed as she rolled her eyes.

"Oh come on, I haven't done anything… recently" Hyde argued.

"Quiet guys!" Asuna told them. "It's about to start"

The students watched as the principal walked up to the podium and spoke into the microphone. "Students, today I have come to announce a school-wide project about collaborative efforts and bridge building"

"Ugh, I'm bored already" Hyde muttered from his seat.

"You will all be split up into three factions, either the US, Japan, or the USSR Russia. Each faction will be given a leader through random draw. Ms. Kushinada, if you will."

The female teacher walked up next to the principal and place a bingo drawing machine on the podium. "The first chosen leader will be for the United States. And the leader will be… Rika Shinozaki"

Rika looked up with surprised eyes at the fact that she was picked from the draw. She wasn't sure how to take this news. On one hand, being leader of a faction would be pretty cool. On the other hand, they didn't really have the best experiences with America considering the events of last summer.

"Now for the second faction, Japan." Ms. Kushinada stated as she selected another student. "And the leader is… Dan Hiryo"

Dan was also surprised to have been chosen. Many students gossiped around quietly in the crowd about hoping they would be in the same faction as the famous tactician from SAO.

"And now for the final faction leader. This one will be for the USSR Russia. And the leader will be…"

The students watched in silence as Ms. Kushinada looked at the slip of paper, stunned into silence by the name. They were beginning to grow curious as to who it was.

"Ms. Kushinada?" the principal questioned. "What is the name?"

"Hyde… Gekido…"

"YES!" Hyde yelled, getting out of his seat and pumping his fist in the air. "Bow before your king my subjects!"

'_Dear god… what have I done?'_ Ms. Kushinada asked herself as she and the other teachers gave a worried look to each other.

"Alright now that the faction leaders have been selected, all remaining students will now line up to receive a slip of paper. Each different piece of paper will have a different color on them. Red means you are allied with the USSR. Blue will be the color for USA while yellow will be Japan."

After the selection process was completed, the entire school was divided into three. Other than the random students here and there, the friends Dan had in his group were Alicia, Yaksha, and Argo. In Hyde's group was Lilina, Kazuto, and Hikari, who was depressed about not being in the same group as Dan. Lastly, the friends Rika had in her group were Asuna, Emi, and Keiko.

"I hope you all enjoy your time participating in this project. Also, all actions for your faction groups must be done after school." the principal stated. "You will be graded by how well your factions do by the end of next week." As everyone was dismissed, students began chatting about the factions they were put in.

"I can't believe I have to listen to orders from Hyde of all people"

"It'll be cool to have Dan as a leader. I always wondered what he was like when making strategies on the front lines"

"Thank god I'm in Rika's group. It's much better than being with that Hyde kid"

'_This is going to be an interesting week'_ Dan thought to himself as he walked out of the auditorium with the crowd of students.

-A couple days later-

The final bell rung throughout the school and the mood instantly changed. The free spirited students of the school suddenly had an aura of seriousness around them. The students that had been appointed to positions of power went to the meeting area for their factions.

In the short amount of time that had passed since the school-wide project was announced, students had changed. People that were the best of friends had turned into rivals and enemies. The change hadn't affected Dan, Kazuto, and the rest of their friends however. They were still talking outside of school, though Hyde had gone a little overboard at times.

Going with old Japanese tradition, Dan had been given the title of Emperor. To nobody's surprise, Alicia had become Empress. The tactician had put Yaksha and Argo in charge of reconnaissance and info gathering, as they were two of the stealthiest players in SAO. He hadn't done much as of yet, deciding to be a relaxed leader. As long as nothing bad happened to their faction, there was no reason to provoke the other two factions.

Rika had been given the name President since she was leader of America. She had put Asuna as her secretary. Emi had been put in the position of Secretary of Defense. Oddly enough, Keiko had been put in charge of the CIA.

The three leaders, along with one associate per faction, had been told to meet together this afternoon by the teachers. Dan and Alicia had showed up first and were currently waiting for the other two factions to show up.

"I don't get what the school's thinking" Dan sighed. "This is so stupid"

"I know right" Alicia agreed. "This really cuts into our free time after school."

The couple continued to talk before the door opened and two more students entered. It was Rika and her right hand girl Asuna. The blacksmith entered the room while waving the American flag around and yelling "USA! USA! USA!"

"Rika? Are you ok?" Alicia asked.

"You will address me as President Rika, Empress Alicia" Rika told the black haired girl.

"Can this get any weirder?" Dan asked nobody in particular as he lowered his head down on the desk.

And the answer to that question was an astounding yes as the door to the room swung open once again. This time, Hyde entered dressed in a full Commissar outfit. He had on an authentic USSR Commissar uniform, tan in color with real looking war medals emblazoned on his chest with a matching pair of pants and black combat boots. Lilina wore a similar outfit but it was a few sizes smaller to fit her slim figure compared to her boyfriend's broader one.

"Attention maggots!" Hyde yelled out to his friends. "Commissar Hyde Gekido has arrived! All hail Mother Russia!"

"... I stand corrected in the worst way possible…" Dan said with a groan as he face palmed himself.

"What do you think of our outfits?" Lilina asked as she did a little spin to show it off. "Hyde really went all out with them."

"Jealous 'President' Rika'?" Hyde taunted adding air quotes to President.

Rika scowled at her nemesis. "Like I care, Russia sucks compared to the awesomeness of the USA!"

"... Didn't the US try to kill us a couple months back?" Dan asked from the side.

"M-Moving on! Those outfits are cheesy as hell!"

Hyde flipped of the leader of the USA in response. "I will have you know that these are replicas of actual outfits the USSR wore back during the Cold War!"

Alicia raised an eyebrow at this. "Where did you even get those?"

"My attic. There's all sorts of crazy crap up there collected by my dad." Hyde explained. "He goes on a bunch of business trips whole wide but he's almost always gone from the house, leaving me with my bitch mother…" He seemed to trail off after that last part.

"Anyway!" Dan interrupted, not wanting the conversation to become uncomfortable. "Why are you even in that outfit? Don't you think that's a bit excessive?"

Hyde shrugged his shoulders. "Hey if you're playing a part, might as well go all the way! So shall we get negotiations underway or are Japan and America not up for being civilized?"

"Hyde don't start already with this crap." Alicia moaned, hoping Rika wouldn't escalate this.

But RIka, being the girl she was, decided to escalate it.

"Oh this coming from the war hungry Russian." Rika exclaimed at him. "As if I'd stoop myself to your level! I think me and Emperor Dan will have negotiations just fine without you!"

"Don't bring me into this please!" Dan begged.

Hyde laughed at the girl president. "Already insulting the foreigners huh? Just like you American filth to insult my great people with your stereotypes! Why don't you go run your economy into the dirt and leave the intelligent countries to talk about peace?"

"Are you kidding me with that crap!? Don't even pretend like you're a nice guy while I'm the bastard here?" Rika yelled back.

Hyde raised an eyebrow with a smirk. "Wouldn't it be bitch? I mean, bastard is a term used for men, not women."

"Sexist pig!"

"Racial Dictator!"

The two neighboring faction leaders began tossing insults at each other faster than a bullet train. Lilina and Asuna were off to the side discussing the actual matters at hand while Dan and Alicia just watched the contest of insults by the two leaders.

"That does it!" Rika yelled with a stomp of her foot. "Negotiations have dissolved! From here on out it's gonna be full on Cold War mode!"

"Fine by me!" Hyde yelled back. "Just know that if you cross my borders it's gonna be a declaration of war!"

The two faction leaders left the room in a fit of rage, soon followed by their associates, who had actually tried to get some discussion underway. The only ones left in the room were now Dan and Alicia.

"Well… that could have gone better" Alicia sighed.

"Just don't" Dan said, shaking his head. "I have a really bad feeling this is going to get a whole lot worse before it gets better."

Unfortunately, Dan had no idea just how right he was going to be.

-The next day-

Rika walked through the halls of the school with classes finally being over. As she walked into the meeting place for her faction, she was greeted by Asuna, Keiko, and Emi. The three girls were all busy at their desks, doing work for their factions. Surprisingly, Keiko had been able to sneak her cat Pina into the school. The young girl claimed that having her pet around helped comfort her with all the work she had piled up.

"Hey girls" Rika greeted. "How's everything progressing?"

"Pretty well" Emi said. "Our faction hasn't been attacked in any way so far and-"

"We haven't?!" Rika said, almost angrily. "Why?! Why isn't that jackass doing anything yet?!"

"Calm down Rika-"

"PRESIDENT Rika" the blacksmith corrected.

"Fine. President Rika. As long as Hyde's faction hasn't done anything to us yet, isn't that a good thing?"

"No it isn't! We need a reason to go to war with those Russian scumbags!" Rika yelled. "Head of CIA Keiko, have you been able to uncover anything about Hyde that can give us a reason to go to war with him? When I start pushing buttons, I want an undeniable reason for doing so."

"Nope."

"And what about you Five Star General Emi?" she exclaimed to the younger girl.

"Same here"

"Damn it! Why can't we find any dirt on this guy?!"

As Rika growled to herself, Asuna looked over towards Keiko and Emi. "So onto another topic, are you guys excited for Lilina's birthday party?"

"You bet!" Emi said.

"Yeah! It's going to be so much fun!" Keiko agreed.

Rika turned her head towards the other girls. "Wait, what birthday party? I wasn't told about this"

"Really?" Asuna questioned. "Hyde sent out the invitations to everyone"

"This is the first I'm hearing of a party. Did you receive anything for me while I was out?"

"Let me see here" Asuna said as she looked through a large pile of letters addressed from Hyde. "Invite for me. Death threat for Rika. Invite for Keiko. Death threat for Rika. Invite for Emi. Death threat for RIka. Death threat for Rika."

"Just how many death threats did Hyde send to Rika?" Emi asked.

"Let me check… nine… twelve… seventeen, wow there are A LOT of death threats here" Asuna said. "I'm surprised the school has allowed this many."

"So is there an invite for me or not?" Rika asked.

"I don't see one here. Sorry"

"That does it!" Rika yelled. "We are going to war with the USSR!" Rika stopped for a quick second before turning to her secretary. "Wait, what type of cake are they having?"

Asuna pondered in her head for a moment trying to remember what Hyde said. "I think he said vanilla?"

Rika sighed and shrugged her shoulders. "Alright then it's no big deal. Whatever."

"Wait now I remember." Asuna said as she clapped her hands in realization. "He said ice cream cake, a large one."

"THAT SON OF A BITCH!" Rika yelled, her anger coming back full force. At the same time a lightning bolt seemed to crash nearby to emphasize her anger but when Asuna looked outside she didn't see any clouds. A freak occurrence of nature she chalked it up to. "That's it! War now! Somebody give me the buttons to press! Ready all available troops for battle!"

"But we don't have any substantial reason to" Asuna argued. "We couldn't uncover any dirt on him, remember?"

"Fine then" Rika sighed. "If we can't uncover anything, then we'll do it the only other way possible"

"And that would be?" Asuna asked.

"We vote!"

'_I have a really bad feeling about this'_ Asuna thought.

"All in favor of going to war raise your hand!"

Rika and Emi were the only two to raise their hand.

"All not in favor of going to war raise your hand!"

Asuna and Keiko raised their hand in response.

"So… it's a tie?" Asuna questioned.

"Not yet!" Rika argued, looking over at the fluffy animal on Keiko's lap. "We haven't addressed General Pina yet"

"When did you make my cat a general?" Keiko asked.

"General Pina, what are your thoughts?"

"Meow" the fluffy ball of fur said.

"I heard go to war!" Rika exclaimed. "Majority rules! That's how democracy works!"

"I know I'm going to regret asking this" Asuna said. "But what exactly is your plan of attack?"

"Simple!" Rika stated. "We will attack when the enemy is distracted at Lilina's party"

"Oh no! No, no, no, I am NOT doing that!" Asuna said. "Hyde and Lilina would kill us!"

"Yeah, plus that would be mean to Lilina" Keiko agreed.

"Fine, then just me and Emi"

"I'm out too" Emi said. "I heard there's going to be a bounce house there. No way am I ruining my chances to play in that"

"There's going to be a BOUNCE HOUSE?!" Rika exclaimed. "I am going to kill that jackass Hyde for not giving me an invite!"

"Rika don't you think you're acting a bit too extreme right now? I mean if the teachers heard you were planning war already you could be impeached from your position." Asuna said, trying to defuse the situation.

"Well I'm about to impeach you with the back of my hand if you don't follow the President's orders!" Rika yelled back.

"But Rika-"

"BACK OF THE HAND ASUNA!"

"Ugh... you know what, screw it. This is getting too out of hand" Asuna said, getting out of her seat and walking out of the room."

"Traitor!" Rika yelled as the door closed. She looked over towards Emi and Keiko. "So it's just us now"

"Look Rika, I get why you want to attack Hyde like this, I REALLY do" Emi told her friend. "But I can't be a part of this plan"

"I'm with Emi" Keiko agreed.

"Fine!" Rika yelled. "Then I'll execute this plan on my own!" With that said, the President walked out of the room stomping in frustration.

'_Just you wait Hyde. I'm going to get you if it's the last thing I do'_

XXXXXXXXXX

It was now Saturday and everyone was enjoying their weekend off. The main reason for their enjoyment however was the fun party Hyde had thrown for Lilina. All of their friends from school had been invited, along with a few outside of school mostly family friends and such. Unsurprisingly Hyde's mother was nowhere to be seen and neither was Rika.

"Awesome party Lilina!" Emi said as she walked to the birthday girl. "Hyde went really all out with everything. How did he afford this?"

"He said his dad had some connections to party store businesses around Japan so he called in a favor. He exchanged his gifts for his next birthday for throwing me this party."

"Wow… that's actually really nice of him." Emi said in surprise. "You sure he didn't suffer some kind of blow to the head?"

Lilina shrugged her shoulders. "I thought the same thing but he said he wanted to do something special for me. He's a real softy once you get to know him."

"Somehow I really doubt that. Like I mean REALLY doubt that but I can't complain." she then pointed behind her to the big bounce house in the distance. "Now if you'll excuse me I am going to enjoy that bounce house and all its sweet bouncy glory."

Like the kid she was, Emi ran to the rubber house, kicked off her shoes and began playing with the other kids.

"Hey babe!" Lilina turned around to see Hyde walking up to her and give her a one armed hug. "How's the party?"

"Fantastic!" she said with delight as she pointed to the pile of presents. "Look at that stack! It's gonna be a sweet night tonight! But I do have to ask, why get the bounce house of all things?"

"I knew there were going to be kids around since your family is so large so I got this to entertain them."

Lilina smiled and pecked him on the cheek. "That's sweet of you Hyde. Are you sure you're not someone else? Cause you're acting way too nice right now."

"What can I say? You're the only girl in the world I'd do this for."

Meanwhile in the distance on a hill sat Rika looking at the party through a hand held telescope. She sat with a scowl as she glanced everywhere, looking at all her friends have fun. The insult to this injury was the fact that he even invited Shino and Emi, the two girls he disliked the most next to her, to the party but not her. Whether it had to do with this project that they were doing or the fact that he just wanted to spite her didn't matter. All that mattered was her getting her sweet, sweet revenge. And she had just the tools to get it done.

"Alright time for Operation: Spoiled Surprise…" Rika paused for a moment before sighing. "Damnit I wish Emi was here. She was always better at coming up with clever names." Reaching to her side in a bag, she pulled out the first instrument of her revenge. A small launcher gun and a huge amount of water balloons. "Might not be the most impacting first step but everyone starts out small. Now where to aim this thing?" The slightly revenge crazed Rika looked around at the party to scope out a victim. The present stand? No that would just be mean to Lilina, she needed to get to Hyde mostly. At him directly? A dangerous move if she ever thought of one. For the most part their friends held both of them back when they fought. Considering she would look like the bad guy in that situation she doubted Asuna or the others would bail her out. She looked around once more before her eyes fell on the perfect target.

The ice cream cake.

"If I can't have a bite of that no one can!" Placing one of the water balloons in the launcher, RIka took aim and fired at her target. Her eyes widened in horror as she saw the water balloon fly towards Lilina as she was going to grab a slice of the cake.

Lilina hummed a soft tune as she picked up the cake knife and grabbed herself a piece of ice cream cake. She really had to find a way to make up to Hyde for pulling out all the stops for her birthday. As she turned around to walk back to her boyfriend a wet splat sounded behind her and the back of her head got splashed with water. She turned around sharply to find the perpetrator of the action. Her eyes settled on some of her younger cousins playing with their friends with water balloons._ 'Oh one of them must've thrown too hard. I'll let it go this time'_. She then walked back to Hyde and continued to have her fun time.

Rika let out a huge sigh of relief at what transpired. "Okay, if that had hit her I would've been signing my death warrant right then and there." She reloaded her gun and took aim once more. "Alright, second time's the charm."

She fired off her second shot towards the sweet confection. But as if fate wanted to intervene again, her shot found its way to the back of Kazuto's head as he was making his way to the cake.

"Gah! What the hell!?" Kazuto looked around quickly to his surroundings, trying to find the culprit of the thrown water balloon.

"Kazuto what's wrong?" Asuna asked as she walked to her boyfriend.

Kazuto gave another look around before sighing. "Some prankster threw a water balloon at me. Can you hand me a towel Asuna?"

Rika watched as Asuna brought over a towel her boyfriend. Kazuto dried his hair with the towel and took off his shirt to let it dry a little.

'_Wow it's true. Guys really do look sexier when they're wet'_ Rika thought. _'But seriously, why can't I hit anything with this damn thing?! Sinon makes it look so easy!'_

Finally getting into full out serious mode, Rika loaded another water balloon onto her launcher. Once again, she set her sights on the ice cream cake. She fired it at the cake and the balloon flew towards its target. But as if God himself didn't want her to succeed, Shino went in for a slice of cake. The balloon splashed her in the back of the head.

"What?! Who the hell threw that?!" Shino yelled, scanning the area.

Rika quickly ducked under the hill to avoid being spotted. _'Crap, crap, crap! I am so dead if she saw me!'_

Shino looked around for the culprit of the water balloon attack. She took a moment to think. Based on the trajectory of the balloon and all the places to hide, where could the culprit be? Her sights became set on a hill not too far from the backyard. She looked as a brunette girl peeked her head out from the top of the hill before quickly ducking back down.

'_You should have thought before you decided to mess with a skilled sniper, punk'_ Shino silently thought. She walked over to Hyde and tapped him on the shoulder. "Hyde, I hate to be helpful to you. I mean I REALLY hate to be helpful to you. But there's somebody throwing water balloons at people from that hill over there."

Hyde felt his eye twitch a bit at the prospect of someone coming to ruin the party. "I'm sorry, I must have something stupid caught in my ear. I thought you just said someone was pelting people with water balloons?"

"I did."

Hyde let out a very deep breath as he clapped his hands together. "Okay I didn't want to have to kill someone today but looks like I'm gonna have to get my hands dirty."

Sinon raised an eyebrow at him. "Isn't that a little extreme even for you?"

"Hey, whoever is doing this is trying to ruin Lilina's party. I'm gonna kick this guy's ass so damn hard that his ancestors from his future AND past will feel it."

Meanwhile Rika was sweating bullets at the thought of Sinon seeing her. _'Damnit of all people in this world to hit I hit the one who could probably hit me right back with a water balloon! I gotta get out of here now before she finds me or worse.'_

As she started to gather all her pranking items back into her bag, two shadows cast over her. Rika slowly turned her head around to see the eerily smiling faces of Hyde and Sinon.

"Hey buuuuddy!" Hyde slowly started as he advanced towards her. "Whatcha doing here? I thought I said you weren't invited?"

"O-Oh just you know… hanging around?" Rika replied weakly, trying to hide her bag behind her.

"Throwing water balloons at people's heads?" Sinon asked as she approached her side.

"Ye- I mean no! No, no I wasn't doing that at all!"

Hyde quickly grabbed the bag from behind Rika and dangled it in her face. "So this is NOT a launcher and a bag of water balloons?"

"Umm…"

"Tell ya what. I'm gonna be nice and give you five seconds to run before I fill this launcher with rocks and hand it to Sinon over here to start firing at you." Hyde said as he started to pick up pebbles from the floor.

Not needing to be told twice, Rika bolted faster than any star member of their school's track team. Seemingly satisfied with his work, Hyde threw the bag to the ground and stomped the contents of them.

"Aren't you gonna go after her?" Sinon asked as she poked around the crushed bag with her foot.

"Nah, I'll just get my revenge Monday at school. Now let's go back, I'll get you a big piece of cake for your efforts."

"Really?"

"Pfft, no!"

Sinon growled as she followed her frenemy back to the party.

**A/N: So... that was a thing. Hope you guys liked the chapter. The outcome of the three kingdoms will all be decided next chapter. Stay tuned to find out what happens.**


	68. Playing to Win

**A/N: Hey guys. Time for the continuation of the student kingdoms. Who will come out on top and who will go down in defeat? These questions will be answered right now.**

**Also, I will be posting a Halloween chapter on October 31 as a special for the holiday. Make sure to keep an eye out for it.**

Rika groaned in frustration as school ended. The weekend plan turned out to be a failure, which was a huge blow to her confidence as a leader. She entered the room where Asuna, Emi and Keiko were waiting for her. "Hey girls..." she greeted glumly.

"Rika you look terrible." Asuna started as she got up from her seat. "You have bags under your eyes and your eyes are red and puffy."

"I-Its nothing..." she weakly defended.

"Were you... crying?" Keiko asked.

Rika abruptly turned away from the eyes of her friends as new tears threatened to spill from her. "Don't look at me! I'm a failure!"

"A-Are you okay Rika?" Emi asked.

"Oh yes Emi, everything is just fine! Everything is sunshine and kittens and NO I'M NOT FREAKING OKAY! I was just humiliated by Hyde of all people how do you think I feel!?" Rika yelled at the poor girl.

"Does this have to do with the birthday Saturday?" Asuna asked

If it was possible Rika sulked even harder than before as her posture slumped downwards. "I hate him. I hate him so much."

Keiko awkwardly patted the back of her superior in an attempt to comfort her. "...There, there… There's always next time to be invited to such a great party."

"Keiko I don't think that's helping." Asuna began as she saw her best friend's condition worsen. "You're just making it worse."

"Sorry. Pina activate maneuver C."

The cat meowed as she walked up to Rika's leg and started to rub against it affectionately. This brought a smile back to the President's face as she got back up from her slumped position and picked up the ball of fluff. "Aww thanks General Pina. I knew I could count on you to cheer me up." The brunette walked to her seat and sat down with renewed pride. "Alright everyone, I know I screwed up by choosing to strike at an inopportune time but now I can assure you that nothing will stop the USA from taking its rightful place as the champions of this conquest!"

The three other girls cheered with vigor as they were caught up in their leader's speech.

Soon enough however a knock was heard at their door that effectively derailed their hype. Asuna walked to the door and opened it to reveal a member of Hyde's USSR faction. He gave a mutual salute to the chestnut haired girl before showing her a letter. "Commissar Hyde Gekido wishes to speak with President Rika. Before she is to depart for the USSR, President Rika must read this letter written by the Commissar himself, no other eyes are meant to look at it other than her."

The boy handed the letter to Asuna and bid her farewell as he left them behind. Asuna, perplexed at this situation handed Rika the letter. The President tore open the letter and silently read its contents.

_Hello "President" Rika_

_This is Commissar Hyde Gekido of the USSR. Now I bet you're wondering what this letter is about. This has to do with you trying to wreck Lilina's birthday the other day. Now normally I would just get my revenge in an easier way but this is about satisfaction. Now I will give you ten minutes after reading this letter to meet me at my base of operations or I will show footage of you attacking people with water balloons to your entire nation, revealing you as the warmonger that you are._

_Like I said. Ten. Minutes._

_Tick tock, tick tock Rika._

_Not Sincerely, Commissar Hyde Gekido_

Rika paled a bit as she abruptly got up from her seatand walked to the door. "I gotta go!"

She ignored the other girl's frantic inquiries as to where she was going as she rushed to Hyde's faction

XXXXXXXXXXXX

"Hyde I don't really feel comfortable doing this." Kazuto confessed as he sat in a chair vertical to Hyde's head desk

Hyde laughed as he waved off his friend's worries. "Kazuto buddy relax! You are the head of the KGB meaning you might have to get your hands a bit dirty if things go south but as long as you're here, Rika won't dare make a move against me. Strategy buddy that's what wins a war."

"Wasn't Dan the head strategist in SAO? And since when did you become so underhandedly devious? I would expect this thing from Lilina not you Hyde." Kazuto confessed.

Hyde only gave a scary smile back to him. "Trust me, piss me off enough and I will make it my life's work to ruin you. This isn't the first time I've done it and I doubt it will be the last."

Hikari rolled her eyes at the youngest Gekido. "I still don't get how I got stuck with your psychotic ass. I'd much rather be in Renny-kins's faction than yours."

"What and deal with Alicia constantly one upping you?" Hyde reveled in the pissed face Hikari made as she ground her teeth in anger. "That's what I thought. Remember you work for me and I'll work for you. That's how Communism works. We're all equals here looking to tear down the wall of hypocrisy built by the Empire of Japan and the USA and bring them to our higher level."

"Easy there Stalin. Before you get any bright dictator-ish ideas, might I remind you that we still have to actually deal with Rika and Dan."

"You just leave that to me Comrade Kazuto."

"Can we please drop the whole Russian talk?"

"Nope."

Soon a loud banging was heard through the front door to Hyde's office. The ash haired teen smiled evilly to himself. "All according to plan… Hikari would you please let our guest in?"

Hikari once again rolled her eyes as she opened the door and immediately backed up as Rika burst through the doorway and slammed her palms into Hyde's desk. "Alright jackass, where are they!?"

"Kazuto, Hikari please leave us be for a bit." Hyde said as he addressed his two subordinates. "I got this under control, see if Lilina could use some company in the cafeteria."

The two workers quickly ran out of the room, not wanting to get involved with whatever storm that was about to happen. Hyde motioned to the see next to Rika. "Please take a seat after all we have so much to discuss."

"Cut the shit Gekido, and give me back those photos!" the President demanded

"Tut, tut Rika, I hardly think you're in a position to be making any demands." he then waved a pile of photos in a manila folder at her. "After all we wouldn't want the press getting a hold of these now would we?"

"How the hell did you even get those!?"

Hyde shrugged nonchalantly as his face twisted in his usual cocky smirk. "You know I have to thank my dad for getting that home security recording device for our home. Really comes in handy at preventing intruders, capturing film of incriminating events, able to display a person's face in hi resolution. Real top notch stuff, I bet Asuna's family uses it too."

While Hyde continued his rambling, Rika took this opportunity to snatch the manila folder from the Commissar and began to tear up the evidence. With a show of glee Rika threw the contents of shredded paper into the air, letting the scraps rain down on them. "Ha! Now your evidence is gon- Why are you smiling?"

Hyde only lifted out another manila folder with the exact same contents of the previous one. "Come on! You really think I'd be stupid enough to blackmail you so openly and NOT have extra copies? Now I do believe it's time to-"

The air left Hyde's lungs as Rika suddenly shoved him aside and began ripping through numerous manila folders that lay inside his desk. There were tons and tons of copies, so much so that Rika wondered how many trees Hyde killed just to torment her. As she reach the final one, Hyde grabbed her by the hand to stop her from continuing. "You tear up one more of those folders and I will send the photos by text to Lilina! She knows what to do with them in the event that I am forced to send them!"

Rika looked perplexed as she stared at the phone in his hands and the manila folder she was about to tear up. "Why the hell do you have all these physical photos AND photos on your phone!?"

"Well I was thinking of only showing off the photos on my phone, then there was the thought that you'd grab my phone and smash it and those aren't cheap to replace you know? So I made a bunch of physical copies but then I thought, 'Oh wait, what if she just tears though these? Then I'm screwed'. So I kept the ones on my phone and made a bunch of copies but then I wondered if you were bold enough to actually try something when I had the- Ugh whatever! I'm covering all my bases here! All the cards are in my favor here Rika and if you do one action or the other then you're screwed. I recommend you just accept defeat and NOT try to smash my phone because if you do I swear by all that is good in the world you will pay every single Yen for my newest phone. And trust me I will get the newest model just to spite you!" Hyde explained in great detail.

Rika was at a loss for words. This sort of mental manipulation was beyond Hyde's usual gimmicks and was borderline crazy in detail._ 'This guy is the BIGGEST scumbag I have ever met in my entire life and yet he is still finding new ways to mess with people! If this sort of mental effort was around in SAO maybe we may have had a faster time clearing floors. He might be a manipulator but… damnit even I have to admit he knows how to play this game well.' _Rika let out a defeated groan as she let go of the final folder. "...Damnit you manipulative bastard…"

"Is that a sign of defeat? Because if it isn't I think the staff of the school would like to see what 'President' Rika was doing yesterday. Attacking innocent party goers, some of whom were your own friends no less!" Hyde was really rubbing in her defeat hard. From the look of glee on his face you would think Hyde got off from this sort of thing.

Rika glared at the Gekido but heaved a heavy sigh. "...t're your demands…" she muttered,

Hyde cupped his ear as he moved closer to the US President. "I'm sorry what? You shouldn't mutter Rika. It isn't very lady like."

"What are your Goddamn demands!?" she yelled right in his ear.

Hyde yelled as he held his ear protectively as it rung painfully. "Gah! You damn bitch! Just for that I'm making these demands as painful as possible!"

'_Crap...'_

"Okay first off your faction is to surrender itself entirely to the USSR faction and drop out in defeat."

"… Fine"

"Second you must announce to the whole school that you suck and I am a much better person than you."

"The hell I will!"

Rika stopped her yelling as Hyde waved around his phone, his finger dangerously close to the Send button. "And third you must bow before me in front of your subjects and kiss my shoes saying that you aren't worthy to be in my presence. Either agree to all of these demands or be exposed as the hateful girl you are. No doubt not even Asuna will be able to defend your actions."

What Hyde was asking was if she wanted to be stabbed with a knife or be shot with a gun. Both options were unpleasant and unfavorable to her but she had to choose the lesser of two evils. Begrudgingly, she nodded her head as she accepted the terms of her surrender.

"Capital! Now if you'll excuse me for one moment." Hyde then scroll through his contacts and found Kazuto's number and dialed it. Soon after a few rings the Black Swordsman picked up. "Kazuto I have forced President Rika into submission. Inform the men and women of my victory and gather them all to the auditorium."

"Why there?" Kazuto questioned. He could practically feel the smirk coming from the other end of the line.

"Because we have a show to put on!"

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Rika was currently emotionally dead inside as the next day came. She let the teachers know that she was defeated in her conquest and was forced to resign her position as President to Hyde's regime. When pressed why, Rika simply said that she underestimated Hyde's underhandedness and left it at that. Bad enough that she was humiliated in front of her own faction as well as Hyde's but she would not let the teachers know and have Hyde release those pictures of her.

What was even worse was when Hyde somehow managed to convince members of her own faction to defect and join him under the argument of, 'Why not join the winning side'? She was grateful that Emi, Keiko and Asuna didn't join him but over 80% of her people defected and his own forces grew twice in size other the course of a few hours.

She didn't know if her reputation would ever recover but she knew one thing for sure. That if Dan couldn't pull out a miracle card soon than they would all be screwed in humiliation.

Meanwhile Hyde sat in his base of operations alone. School had just ended so the rest of his faction would be assembling soon. A knock was heard at the door. Hyde paused from his planning and looked towards the door. "Come in."

The door opened and Hikari walked in. The blonde girl had a grin on her face that Hyde wasn't sure how to take. It was the same grin he always had whenever he had a plan set up in his mind.

"Commissar Hyde, I have something I think can benefit us both very greatly."

"And what exactly would that be?" Hyde asked.

"I know you must be having a hard time trying to figure out how to take over Dan's faction. Defeating the perfect strategist is quite a daunting task."

Hyde raised an eyebrow at this. "You have a plan to defeat Japan? What would you be asking for in return?"

"Oh not much. Just let me add a few demands in the surrender treaty for when we win."

"Such as?"

"Forcing Renny-kins to go on a date with me"

Hyde scratched the bottom of his chin, pondering his options. He could take Hikari's offer and have Dan's faction in the palm of his hand. Trying to find a way to defeat the legendary tactician on his own would be very tricky.

"What kind of plan do you have in mind?" Hyde asked.

"Simple." Hikari said with a devilish grin. "We strike Dan at his most vulnerable point."

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Dan sat in the classroom being used as the Japanese faction's meeting room. Things lately had gotten way out of control from all the craziness that had ensued from Hyde and Rika's feud. He just found himself lucky that his faction hadn't gotten involved in the conflict. Alicia had gone out for a moment, saying that she was going to get a snack at the cafeteria.

"Hey there, boss" Argo said with a chipper smile as she walked into the room. "I got some updates on the info you had me look up"

"Thanks Argo" Dan told the blonde girl as he accepted the papers she handed over. "And you know you don't have to call me boss, right?"

Argo shrugged her shoulders. "It works for me. You're the one in charge, so calling you boss feels appropriate."

"Fine. Whatever" Dan said as he read through the report Argo had wrote out. "Nice job with the info gathering. This should work well."

"I aim to please" Argo grinned.

Dan turned to the other student he had on recon duty, Yaksha. "Have you found anything else out?"

"Not much I'm afraid. Hyde's faction has been keeping pretty quiet ever since they conquered Rika's group."

"I see. Well as long as Hyde doesn't do anything else, we should be-"

"Emperor Dan sir, we have a problem!" a student exclaimed, running into the room.

'_So much for that'_ Dan thought. "What is it?"

"Commissar Hyde is demanding you meet with him immediately! He says you better come to his meeting room right away if you want Alicia back safely"

Dan put his hand on his forehead and groaned in annoyance. "What the hell is that idiot trying to pull?"

"What do we do, boss?" Argo asked. "No doubt Hyde is going to force us to surrender to him."

"It's alright. We have a backup plan" Dan said. He looked over at Yaksha. "Before I leave, I need your help with something, Yaksha"

"What can I do for you?" he asked.

"Here's what you're going to have to do…"

XXXXXXXXXXX

Hyde leaned back against his chair with a relieved sigh. It had been a long hard battle, but he was finally close to being supreme against the other factions. Rika had been easy, but he had known Dan would be a challenge. He was the famous tactician from SAO after all. But thanks to Hikari, he had gotten the support he needed to hit him at his most vulnerable point.

"Mmph! Mmph!" a muffled voice came from behind him. He turned to see Alicia stuck to another chair, her arms fastened down by duct tape and her mouth silenced by the same thing. If it wasn't for that binding her to the chair, he would have a very big problem on his hands.

"Just chill there for a little longer, Alicia. Once your emperor surrenders to me and the USSR, you will be free to go." Hyde said with a grin.

"Are you sure it's ok to do this Hyde?" Kazuto asked from the side. He personally wanted to stop this right now, but knew he lacked the power. "If the teachers get word of this, we'll all be screwed."

"Except they won't hear about it. Once Japan surrenders to us, it'll be all over. Plus, think of the awesome grade we'll all get for conquering two factions." Hyde pointed out.

"Just remember your part of the deal" Hikari reminded him.

"Yeah, yeah, I know" Hyde told the blonde girl. "Don't worry about it. Your demands will be included in the surrender treaty."

A few minutes passed by before a knock was heard at the door. Hyde folded his hands together as he grinned that the time for his victory was at hand. "Let him in"

Lilina walked over to the door and opened it, letting Dan walk in. Dan quickly observed the situation, seeing Alicia duct taped to a chair and Hyde with a smug grin. He sighed in annoyance that a simple school-wide project had gone this far. "Hyde, let Alicia go."

"I'm afraid I can't do that Emperor Dan. She is a prisoner of war."

"Can you at least take the duct tape off her mouth?"

"Fine" Hyde said with a roll of his eyes. He snapped his fingers and one of his faction members peeled the tape off Alicia's mouth. The black haired girl glared at Hyde in anger.

"Hyde I am going to kill you for this you asshole!"

Dan looked at Hyde with a very annoyed expression. "Hyde, just let Alicia go and we can forget this happened."

"No can do. She attacked me while I was eating."

"I was going to a table to eat a snack!"

"You were holding a weapon!"

"It was a plastic knife!"

"My men were only doing their civic duty! I applaud them for being so diligent!" Hyde yelled back at his P.O.W before turning back to Dan. "Now as I was saying, I will let her go if my demands are met in full."

"I know I'm going to regret asking this, but what are your demands?" Dan asked.

"You have to give up your empire to me, declare that you give up your hand in this conquest." Hyde stated with finality.

"AHEM!" Hikari 'coughed' from her position.

Hyde rolled his eyes at the girl before adding his last demand. "And you kinda, sorta, gotta take Hikari out for a date."

The last demand caught Dan off guard. He put his hand on his forehead. "Hyde, you and I have been friends for a long time. Don't you think this is a bit of a betrayal to that friendship?"

Hyde scoffed at Dan's claim. "Oh come on, haven't I done so much worse shit than this?"

Dan thought about Hyde's words. _'Sad thing is, he's not exactly wrong'_.

"So? That surrender and meeting my demands?" Hyde asked with a winning smirk.

Dan sighed and looked at took a look at Alicia before turning his attention back to Hyde. "You've obviously done a lot of planning for this. You must be very proud."

"I am very much so."

"But there's one thing you forgot to factor in."

"And what is that?"

This time it was Dan's turn to have a winning smirk. Before he snapped of his fingers, he uttered one thing. "Yaksha"

Hyde turned around to Alicia only to see her freed from her restraints, thanks to the help of Yaksha who had appeared out of nowhere. "Tricky ninja bitch!" he yelled as he lunged at the two only for Yaksha to jump over him while carrying Alicia over to Dan's side.

Alicia wrapped her arms around her boyfriend, happy to be freed. She looked back at the teen that had freed her of her restraints. "Thanks Yaksha."

"Anything for the empire of Japan, my empress" Yaksha told her as he kneeled before her.

"Right…" Alicia said, a little weirded out by how seriously he was taking this whole faction thing. She turned to Dan. "Thanks for getting me out of that tight spot."

"Anytime. Now just give me a second to wrap this all up" Dan said as he gave her a peck on the cheek before turning to Hyde. "So, how are those demands of yours looking now?"

"Grr... I still have you outnumbered here Dan!" Hyde said as he looked to his subordinates.

"Nope." Hikari said simply as she began to walk away. "I was promised a date and you can't give that anymore. I'm out."

"Traitor!" Hyde sighed and turned to Kazuto. "Alright head of KGB, restrain Alicia!"

"Hell no! Have you ever heard the phrase, 'Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned'?! Alicia looks ready to punch someone right now and I am not pulling the pin on that grenade." Kazuto said as he stood down from the order.

"...Damnit…" Hyde growled.

"Here's my counter offer, Hyde" Dan said. "You surrender your faction entirely, admit defeat, and write a full apology to Alicia. Do this, and I will make sure Alicia doesn't kill you."

"Ha! And why should I? What leverage do you possibly have?" Hyde challenged

"Because I know your dark little secret"

Hyde once again scoffed at Dan's claim. "Oh please, what 'dark little secret'?"

Dan walked up to Hyde and whispered something into his ear. Hyde's eyes widened as he listened to this. "Where the hell did you hear about that?"

"Argo told me. I had her dig up some dirt on you in case a situation like this ever arose." Dan explained.

"...Fine but I get to have Rika as my slave for three weeks!"

"I can give you three days. Take it or leave it."

"One week!" Hyde pressed, clearly set on the idea of having his worst foe as a slave.

"Three. Days. Take it or leave it Hyde"

"...Five?"

Dan rolled his eyes. "I could just tell everyone about your dark secret, you know"

"FINE! I'LL TAKE THREE DAYS!" he yelled back at his friend.

"I'm glad we were able to come to an agreement" Dan said with a smile. "I'll expect that apology letter within a week."

Hyde growled in frustration that all his plans had blown up right in his face. At least on the bright side, he would get Rika as a slave for three days.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

The rest of the week went by quite smoothly. Now that Rika and Hyde were both defeated, there were very few conflicts occurring and life had somewhat gone back to normal. Once the week ended, the school-wide project was officially over. Things had been far more eventful than any of the teachers had expected. Without a doubt they had learned to never do something like this again.

Rika had been pissed that she was forced to become Hyde's slave for three days, but thankfully that time was now over. She was free of both him and his tyrannical faction.

Dan's faction members had all gotten an A for the project since they had taken down both faction groups entirely, even though all they had to do for the two weeks was run their factions smoothly. Hyde and Rika's grades were… less than satisfactory. They had both gone nuts in trying to conquer each other so they had both gotten a C-. Hyde and Rika both ranted and raved at the teachers for a higher grade but they wouldn't hear any of it because both students started problems. Some of the others, such as Asuna, Kazuto, and Lilina had gotten pretty good grades for their work.

With the project over, Dan and the gang sat together in the cafeteria to relax. Alicia was glaring at Hyde as he sat across from her, considering the last time the two of them were in the cafeteria together he practically kidnapped her. He had written out a full apology as Dan requested and the whole faction project was over so she was willing to somewhat forgive the ashy haired teen.

"I can't believe the teachers actually went through with this project" Emi said as she threw some chips in her mouth. "I mean look at all the stuff that happened because of it."

"Well they said they wanted to 'see how we handled stressful situations' but it's obvious they were just looking for an excuse to find students that were still suffering negatively from SAO." Dan pointed out.

"Well I don't care what their reason was. The suffering this project caused me was not worth it!" Hyde stated firmly.

Asuna looked at her friend skeptically. "The suffering it caused YOU?! What about the suffering you caused for everybody else?"

"Don't change the subject on me"

"I… you… You know what, forget it. I'm just glad this whole thing is over" Asuna said with a sigh.

"Seconded" Rika said.

"Well I decided to take the liberty of getting some sweet revenge on Ms. Kushinada for suggesting this whole thing in the first place." Hyde grinned, causing the entire group to look at him with narrowed eyes.

"What did you do this time, Hyde?" Dan groaned.

"We should be hearing it in about three... two… one"

"AHHHHHHHH!"

Everyone's heads turned towards outside the cafeteria where they could hear Ms. Kushinada screaming. Hyde was leaning back as he laughed hysterically. "Nothing like some cupcakes filled with a little horseradish to liven up the taste buds, am I right?"

"You did what?" Alicia questioned with widened eyes.

"I snuck a plate of cupcakes that I filled with some horseradish into the teacher's lounge. I placed a note saying they were for Ms. Kushinada from an anonymous sender and let curiosity do the rest."

"WHO DID THIS?!" the group heard Ms. Kushinada yell from down the hall.

"You do know if she finds out it was you, she's going to put you in detention for life, right?" Kazuto asked his friend.

"But she won't find out. My friends would never rat me out, right?"

"Ms. Kushi-"

"Before you go and do something stupid Rika, remember I still have those photos of you" Hyde pointed out.

Rika grumbled as she sat back down and sulked.

**A/N: So what did you guys think? Hope you all enjoyed it. Remember to check out the Halloween chapter for this fic when the holiday comes around.**


	69. Halloween Special

**A/N: Happy Halloween everyone! Here's the chapter I promised you all. I'm sure you'll enjoy it. Also, this story finally reached 100 reviews! (massive cheering in background). I'd like to thank everyone that has posted reviews for this story so far, especially the one who posted the 100th review, TichePotato, and I hope you all continue to review the coming chapters.**

"Just let me take one more picture of you"

"No"

"Pretty please!"

"No mom! You've taken a million pictures already! If you take any more, I won't have time for trick or treating!"

Clair and Mrs. Hiryo kept up their argument as the mother kept trying to get her daughter to pose for yet another picture in her Halloween costume. Clair was dressed up as a mummy and held a basket in her hands for trick or treating, whenever that was going to finally happen. Dan and Alicia watched from a distance. As badly as they wanted to help the poor girl, they both knew that the mother's attention would turn to them if they did. That was something they needed to keep from happening at all costs.

Alicia was dressed in a sexy she-devil costume with a tail at the end and a pitchfork in her hand. Dan's costume was that of a vampire. Emi was also with the group and decided to dress up as a witch this year. They were planning to meet up with their friends and go trick or treating once Dan's mother finished taking pictures. At the rate she was going however, it seemed it would take all night.

Dan finally decided to step in and save his sister. "Mom, we need to get going. We promised to meet up with everyone in half an hour."

"But-"

"Mom…"

"Fine" Mrs. Hiryo finally sighed in defeat. "Have fun kids"

'_Freedom at last'_ Clair thought to herself as she and the others walked out the door.

Dan and the three girls began their journey to Kazuto's house, where they promised they would meet up with everyone. They decided to swap stories about past Halloweens as they walked.

"The scariest Halloween experience I ever had, hmmm?" Alicia said as she thought about past years. "Probably when I went into this one haunted house when I was twelve. I got so scared, I had nightmares for three days in a row."

"I remember that. You came out of the house screaming" Emi laughed. "The look on your face was priceless"

"That's nothing" Clair said. "You wanna hear one of Dan's scariest ones?"

"Don't you dare" Dan told his sister, knowing where she was going with this.

"My mom wanted to really scare him this one year" Clair began. "So when we got back from trick or treating, she jumped out of nowhere wearing a crazy serial killer costume. He got so scared, he ran into his room and locked the door"

Alicia and Emi laughed as they listened to the story. Dan grumbled as he glared at his sister. "You would have been scared too if you hadn't been in on it"

"Good thing I was then" Clair giggled.

After a little more walking and a few more stories, the group finally arrived at the Kirigaya household. The front yard was decorated with cobwebs and tombstones of all kinds. As they walked towards the front door, a sudden figure popped up to spook them.

"Boo!"

"... Hey Suguha" Dan greeted, not even startled by the girl.

"Whaaaaaattt?! Nothing?! How did you not get scared from that?!" Suguha pouted.

"Cause it was obvious you were there" Alicia said. "We could see you from over there as we were walking over"

"Huh?!" Susguha gasped, looking over to where Alicia was pointing and realizing the fatal flaw in her plan. "No fair! I really wanted to scare you guys!"

"Maybe next year" Dan said with a mocking pat to the young Kirigaya girl's head. Suguha grumbled as she followed her friends inside her house.

Inside the Kirigaya house, Dan and the others saw that Keiko, Rika, and Shino had already arrived. Keiko and Rika were both dressed as cats, while Shino had a female Robin Hood costume on with a quiver attached to her back.

"Hey guys! You finally made it!" Rika greeted with a wave of her hand.

Alicia looked around the room and noticed two important people missing. "Where's Kazuto and Asuna?" The three girls looked at each other before bursting out laughing for some reason. Alicia grew confused. "What's so funny?"

"Well… the thing is-"

"Do I really have to go out dressed like this?"

Dan and the others heard two voices come from upstairs. From the sound of it, it seemed to be Kazuto and Asuna.

"Come on, Kazuto, you look great!"

"I look like a dork"

"Well too bad. Come on, let's go show everyone how you look."

Everyone watched as Asuna walked down in a pink princess dress. At her side was Kazuto dressed as her knight in shining armor. His cheeks were blushing scarlet from wearing the costume. The sight of the two made everyone there crack up laughing at the cheesy couple outfit.

"Oh my gosh, this is hilarious!" Emi said as she looked at the couple. She brought out her phone and took a picture. "This is so getting shown at school"

"Please Emi, for the love of god, don't tell anyone about this" Kazuto begged. "The same goes for all of you too"

Not long after everyone finally calmed down from their laughter, they heard a knock at the door. Suguha opened it to find Lilina dressed up like a thief.

"Hey guys! Who's ready to get some candy?!" Lilina cheered.

"Isn't Hyde with you?" Keiko asked the redhead.

"He said he had to take care of something, so we should meet him at his house." Lilina explained.

"Knowing Hyde, it's probably something stupid" Rika sighed with a roll of her eyes. "Well let's get going. The sooner we get there, the sooner we can start trick or treating"

XXXXXXXXXX

The group of teens so arrived at the Gekido residence to see the house completely dark and empty looking. Not a light was on in any of the windows and apparently Hyde's mother only left a bowl full of candy for kids to take from. Rika certainly wasn't complaining as she took a generous amount and put it into her bag.

"Really Rika? Really?" Asuna asked as she watched her best friend loot the bowl.

"What? I don't see anyone telling me not to. Besides where the hell is Hyde? The house looks like it's completely empty."

Emi looked at the door and found a note on it. "Hey guys check this out." she pulled the note from the door and began reading it aloud to everyone. "Hey guys bet you're wondering where I am? Well I'm in the house but I want to play a little game with you."

"Oh dear lord…" Alicia groaned. She knew where this was going.

"All you have to do is find me. I'm hiding somewhere in the house. You can all split up and cover more ground or travel as a group to get the job done, I don't care. But no turning on the lights as that would be cheating. And last thing you would want is for me to gloat constantly at how you were all too scared to play my game. Isn't that right Rika?"

Rika growled at the letter's statement. "Even in writing he's being a jackass."

"Now I'm not gonna be completely unfair. Inside at the table right to the door are flashlights but be careful as they only have a small amount of power in them. Gotta make this as fun as possible for me after all. So good luck to you all. First person to catch me gets all the candy in the bowl out front so if any of you bastards took some without reading the note first put it back now. That means you Rika. Signed Hyde Gekido."

"How the hell did he know I took some!?"

Alicia sighed and opened the door to Hyde's house. "I'll get him out here. Give me five minutes."

"Sure you don't want me to come with?" Dan asked as he put a hand on her shoulder. "Hyde's been doing this for years since we were younger and he always got me in the end. I can help since I know some of his more obvious tricks."

"Thanks Dan but I can handle a few cheesy scares from Hyde." She picked up a flashlight from the table and gave a smirk to her friends. "Be back in a few."

Alicia walked into the dark house and turned on the flashlight as she navigated herself around. Knowing Hyde he would probably be somewhere obvious like in his room trying to go for the reverse psychology method of thinking. Luckily for her Alicia saw through his little ruse and walked upstairs to where the bedrooms were located. As she walked past the doors she noticed there were signs that read various things like 'Don't go in there.' or 'Willing to try your luck?' even the classic 'A terrible fate awaits you past here.' and 'Turn back now.' She ignored the signs and came to the door that said Hyde on a wooden panel that was nailed to the door. The sign there read 'Really? This was your first guess Alicia?'

'_Okay… That's really unsettling…'_ Alicia thought with a mild shiver as she sucked in a breath of air and quickly opened the door. As she shined the light in the room, she saw that there was no one around. She began to look around for obvious hiding spots. The bed was too small to hide under, he didn't have any curtains to hide behind, so the only place that could be left was the closet right in front of his bed.

Alicia rolled her eyes as she walked to the closet and put her hand on the handle. "Really Hyde? This was the best you could come up with?" With a quick yank Alicia opened the door and flashed the light in the closet only to be greeted by not Hyde, but a terrifying face from the past.

"**RAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!**" The figure screamed right at her face as the creature jumped out at her.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!" Alicia screamed at the top of her lungs as she threw the flashlight at the figure and ran out in top speed out of the Gekido household.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Was that Alicia?" Emi wondered as the loud scream pierced the silence of the house around them.

Before Dan could even make a move to go after his girlfriend, Alicia soon bursted through the doorway and lunged at Dan, knocking them both to the ground as tears of fright were trailing down her face. "A-Alicia!? What's wrong? What happened!?"

"I-I-I-It's….. It's **HIM**…" She muttered as she clutched her boyfriend harder.

"Who's him? Hyde?"

"...Foxy…"

"Foxy?" Rika asked with a raised eyebrow.

Dan groaned as he pinched the bridge of his nose. Of course Hyde would pull this crap. "Hyde probably dressed up as Foxy from the Five Nights At Freddy's game and scared Alicia."

Rika burst out into laughter at Dan's claim. "Hahahaha! Oh my god really? That's what scared Alicia? That game isn't scary. It's just a jump scare fest that only little kids would find scary."

"To be fair Rika has a point." Shino admitted. "That game isn't scary at all. I'm starting to wonder Alicia's sense of fear if something like that scares her."

"Look we played the VR version of the game. You try telling me how getting jumpscared like that feels when the sounds are at max volume and there's nothing you can do to escape." Dan countered as he comforted Alicia. "If you two are so confident then why don't you go in after him?"

"Ha, watch us! Come on Shino! We have a jackass to catch." RIka said as she dragged the unwilling girl with her as she grabbed the both of them a pair of flashlights. "Alright I'll comb the upstairs and you get downstairs okay?"

"Fine if it means finally going trick or treating." Shino grumbled as she turned on her flashlight.

Rika stepped upwards to the upstairs rooms and turned on her flashlight. To the far right was Hyde's room with the door wide open. This was probably where Alicia checked for Hyde beforehand before she got spooked by the jackass. _'No point in him being there anymore, he isn't that stupid.' _she thought as she closed the door and found a sign hung up on the door.

'Watch your back Rika. Cause I'm gonna get ya!'

Rika stepped away from the sign thoroughly creeped out and looked at the door behind her to find another sign. 'Go on keep turning around like a frantic child searching for mommy. That just makes it more fun for me.' She tore off the sign and threw it to the ground as she walked to Hyde's brother's room with another sign on it.

'Now that isn't very nice throwing things Rika. You don't see me going to your house and wrecking things up.'

It was at this point that Rika needed some sanctuary from all the creepiness that was Hyde and his eerie note placement and ran into the upstairs bathroom and locked the door behind her, ignoring the note that was placed there. She turned on her flashlight once more as she tried to calm herself. This was disturbing even by Hyde's standards and no doubt he was going to push the envelope as much as he could before scaring her. Deciding that enough was enough Rika shouted to address her most hated frienemy. "Alright you asshole! You think you're scaring me!? Fat chance of that happening with those cheesy notes! Why don't you try to scare me yourself unless you're just a cheap coward!"

As soon as she was done yelling a small groaning sound was heard in the towel closet in front of the sink which made Rika jump a bit before smirking as she held her flashlight as she would her mace._ 'The moron just gave himself away. I'm gonna shove this flashlight deep where the sun doesn't shine for creeping me out like that!'_ With a ferocious battle cry Rika opened up the closet door to find not Hyde but a cute little brown bear plushy sporting a top hat and microphone in his right hand. Curiously she picked up the small doll and held it into her light. "Aw, it's actually kinda cute. Have you seen that ash haired jackass anywhere little guy?" she rhetorically asked the plush toy with a small laugh as she turned around. What greeted her this time was the same brown bear but in a life sized scale looking much more nightmarish than the toy in her hand. Sharp long claws with pointed demon like teeth where one thing that drew her attention but not as much as she second large mouth on the bear's stomach as it opened up slightly as the bear grabbed her and screamed in her face.

"**RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"**

Much like Alicia before her, Rika screamed at the top of her lungs as she kicked the nightmare bear away from her and quickly unlocked the door and made a break for the front door slamming into a terrified Shino in the process.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

-Five minutes earlier-

Shino sighed to herself as she looked around the kitchen with her flashlight. All she wanted was a nice and simple Halloween but noooooo! Hyde had to ruin that with his stupid horror hunt. Well no point in delaying this any further, if Shino wanted her Halloween night with her friends she had to play Hyde's stupid game. Noticing there was nothing out of the ordinary in the kitchen she made her way to where the door that lead to the garage was. It was there she found a note addressed to her and her alone.

'So glad you morons decided to split up, just makes my job much easier.' The note taunted. Shino growled as she tore off the note and crumbled it up into a wad and tossed it to the side. Underneath that note was another one, once again addressed to her. 'So you must think you're all courageous and brave and all that crap, so why not play a game of chicken? I might be in here but I might not be so why don't you roll the dice and test your luck?'

Shino once again crumbled up the note and tossed it away to find yet another note. 'Okay can you stop doing that? It's just wasteful.' Rinse and repeat. 'Alright now you're just pissing me off.' Second verse same as the first. 'I pay for this crap! Stop wasting my paper and come and get me coward? Or is the mighty Sinon too afraid of the big bad Skolas that took her title?'

"That's it! You're dead!" Shino yelled as she burst through the door and turned on her light once more. Out in the open was nothing strange but there were too many hiding spots to dismiss this as a simple taunt. She would have to go in to find the idiot. _'It's okay Shino, you've done much scarier things. You helped take down Death Gun. You can handle a childish asshole with a love of horror.'_

Shino walked down the steps from the doorway as she mentally girded herself to find Hyde and end his shenanigans. As she made her way to the garbage cans the door behind her slammed shut causing her to jump and flash her light at the door, barely missing a shadow run past the light. As she moved the light to follow the figure another sound from behind her caught her attention as an empty soda can fell to the ground and clattered loudly in the silence.

Shino cursed as she looked behind her to see nothing there before turning back around. But she wasn't prepared for the sight that greeted her as she turned. A long thin black figure that was inhumanly tall with lanky limbs that were closing in on her along with a marionette face with purple tear trails running down its eyes along with what appeared to be bloody hand prints were embedded on the mask as it closed in on Shino.

Dropping all pretense on the meaning of the word bravery the girl screamed as she ran past the figure just as it was about to grab her and launched herself through the door. As she ran to get back to the front yard she clashed with Rika who looked just as terrified as her. The two quickly picked themselves up and ran out of the house hiding behind their friends.

"THAT THING WASN'T HUMAN!" Shino yelled while pointing inside the house.

"THERE WAS A BEAR IN THE SHOWER! I DON'T KNOW HOW OR WHY BUT HE WAS THERE AND HE TRIED TO KILL ME!" Rika added just as loud.

"Ha! Can't make fun of me now can you?" Alicia semi-boasted as she held herself a bit higher than the two terrified girls.

Dan sighed and went inside the house. "Alright Hyde! Enough is enough! Come on out here already!"

Not a voice was heard.

Lilina sighed and grabbed a flashlight herself. "Alright I'm gonna go get him."

"Aren't you worried he'll get you too?" Suguha asked her friend.

Lilina smiled as she waved off the short haired girl. "No worries, Hyde isn't stupid enough to try to scare me. If he does then he isn't getting any sugar from me for a LONG time."

"Just please get him already, we're losing time here." Kazuto said as he tapped his foot.

"Alright keep your metal pants on, Kazuto. Hyde, I'm coming and you better not scare me or God help you~!" Lilina yelled sweetly as she started walking up the stairs.

Minutes passed by as nothing was heard from in the house, not a light turned on or a peep made as the shadow inside the house remained. Emi started to grow agitated as her candy hunting time was being wasted on the jackass of their group. "That's it! I'm not waiting anymore!" Emi yelled as she started stomping off down the walkway. "I'm getting candy with or without that idiot!"

Before Alicia or the others could stop Emi from leaving a scream erupted from the dark house. It was obviously Lilina who screamed but it wasn't like the screams before. The tone of the scream sounded like Lilina was face to face with something horrible.

"Lilina!" Asuna yelled as she started to run into the house before Kazuto grabbed her. "Kazuto what are you doing!? She could be in danger!"

"Asuna it's obviously a trick he's playing on her. It's not like she or Hyde are in any dang-"

"AHHHHH HELP ME!" Everyone looked into the house in surprise as it was not Lilina who screamed but Hyde himself as the light in the upstairs room turned on showing a male figure backing away from another figure with a knife.

Actually concerned for his friend's safety, Dan quickly rushed in upstairs to the room with the light on and tried to get in only to find it was locked. "Damnit! Hyde open up!"

The others piled in as they all tried to force the door open to help their friends from whoever was trying to get them. As they all pushed themselves against the door, the door suddenly gave way and opened causing them all to fall down and crumble onto the floor. A shadow overcast the group of teens as the flash of a knife shown with the light as the figure stood over them. Someone wearing a purple security guard outfit with a mask of the same color covering his face as it held a knife over them. The entire group screamed in horror as the figure stood over them ready to strike…

Only for it to never come as laughter began to come from the figure.

The entire group looked up in disbelief as the figure rolled on the floor with laughter as the mask fell off of it, revealing it to be Hyde all along as he struggled to breathe due to in copious amounts of laughter.

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! OH MY GOD! HAHAHA! YOU… YOU ACTUALLY BELIEVED, HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" He managed to choke out between breaths.

"YOU BASTARD!" Kazuto yelled at his friend as he got up from the pile of teenagers. "Do you know how scared we were that someone got you and Lilina!?"

Hyde wiped a tear of joy from his eye as he got up and smiled. "Then my Halloween scare went perfectly!" He started bowing to the group he so maliciously pranked. "Thank you, thank you, you're far too kind! And let's not forget my partner in crime, the wonderfully consummate actress Lilina!"

Lilina then emerged from the closet and took a bow as well as she started to laugh as well. "Oh man we got you all good!"

"Lilina! You were in on this!?" Rika screeched at the redhead.

"Are you really that surprised? Of course I'd help my Hyde scare you all, it was too good to resist!"

"The real challenge was making all those animatronic outfits." Hyde said as he went into his closet and grabbed the Foxy head from it. "Took a few weeks to get all the details right but the reactions were well worth the time and effort spent." He put of them mask and immediately jumped near Alicia causing her to jump back a bit in fear of the animatronic fox. "Hahahaha! So without any further delay let's go trick or-" A sudden pain burst in Hyde's stomach as Alicia delivered a deadly jump kick to the ash haired teen causing him to fall to the ground in pain.

"YOU COMPLETE ASSHOLE!" Alicia growled at him as she kicked him again in the stomach. "Do you have ANY idea what type of terror you put me through!?"

"Hahahaha… oh god that hurts." Hyde groaned as he got up only to be hit down in the stomach again by Rika as she drove her foot into him.

"You are a complete and utter bastard Gekido!" She yelled after her kick was delivered. Shino said nothing, rather she let her actions speak louder as she kicked him in the stomach as well.

Hyde slowly got up from the sucker kicks he suffered through and leaned against the wall, a smile still present on his face as he laughed a bit. "Hahaha… still worth it."

"Well karma being paid back can we now he to trick or treating?" Kazuto asked as he shifted a bit in his armor. "This armor is started to chafe at the wrong areas."

"Keep your panties on Kirigaya." Hyde said as he took off the purple outfit he was wearing. "Let me just get into my real costume and we can go."

The group went downstairs to the living room of the now lit house to wait for the last member of their group. Soon enough Hyde came down from the stairs wearing a long black gii with intricate red designs on it along with sandals and a pair of demon horns on his head. On his back was a studded bat that was clearly a plastic prop and not an actual weapon to give his costume some more authenticity.

"Really Hyde? An Oni that's what you're going as?" Dan asked with a shake of his head.

"What I think the theme of the outfit suits me nicely."

"That makes way too much damn sense…" Rika muttered. "He's a demon in real life so why not dress as himself for Halloween? It's not like he has to put much effort into acting like one."

Hyde rolled his eyes at the brunette and smirked at her. "Oh don't get all butthurt that I scared you so good that you had to hide in the bathroom."

Before things could escalate further Asuna held down her screaming best friend and dragged her out of the house. The rest of the group followed after Dan made sure that Hyde was going to be on his best behavior now that the scares were out of his system. He waved him off saying that he would and that at worst he'd probably just scare Rika again for giggles. A word of warning later and the group were off to rake in a lot of candy for the next coming weeks.

**A/N: Hope everyone liked the chapter and hope you all have a happy Halloween. Until next chapter everyone.**


	70. Pele

**A/N: Hey guys. Time for a new chapter. This one will feature a brand new character for everyone to enjoy. Who is it? You'll just have to read to find out.**

**Onto another topic, less than two weeks before I get Lost Song! The hype levels are through the roof!**

The final bell for the school day rang out as the students poured out of the rooms and buildings as the weekend started. Many students rushed out of the school to spend the rest of their days doing whatever it was they had planned.

"So what are you guys gonna do today?" Dan asked as their usual group sat at some of the benches in the park. "I was thinking we could hit ALO and clear some field bosses."

Kazuto shook his head. "Sorry guys but me and Asuna are going out on a date today."

This got Rika's attention as she gave a teasing grin at the group's most famous couple. "Oh really? Gonna go woo darling little Asuna here on a romantic evening?"

Asuna blushed hard as she looked away from her friend as Kazuto shook his head. "It's nothing special. Just dinner."

"Oh how cruel Kazuto. You have to spice up the dates every now and again." Rika continued with her teasing. "You can't let your love live become dull."

"This coming from the girl who has NEVER had a date before?" Hyde mocked from his side.

The brown haired girl glared at the ash haired teen as she cracked her knuckles. "Watch it Gekido! You just might find yourself waking up in the hospital if you say that again!"

"Oh did I hit a nerve? Oh I am soooooo sorry! I forgot about the pain of being single. Truly it must be devastating to be single as long as you have."

Before Rika could jump over the table and tear Hyde a new one, Alicia held the girl back by her collar. "No Rika, we are not committing murder no matter how much he is asking for it. And you Hyde should stop making fun of Rika. After all if Lilina didn't exist, no girl would fall for someone like you."

Hyde scoffed at her claims. "Oh please, my charms are beyond a common wallflower like yourself. Only the truly competent can understand the Gekido charm and Lilina is one of those girls."

Lilina smiled as she held her boyfriend's hand. "That's right and no one is taking him from me."

"Like anyone would…" Rika muttered with a shake of her head. "Well I can't join in on your plans guys. Been way too backed up on my orders and I have to catch up."

"Me neither. I've been real busy with homework that I haven't been spending enough time with Pina." Keiko said. "I promised her that I'd catch up on lost time."

"Well Lilina and I are in." Hyde said. "Kicking some ass would be a great way to start off the weekend."

Emi and Alicia agreed as well promising to meet up at Floor 37 of New Aincrad to make some progress.

The group soon dispersed to their respective homes so they could log on immediately. As Hyde walked to his home he felt a shiver go down his spine as though someone was watching him. Turning around he gave a quick glance to his surroundings. Nothing. Giving a shrug Hyde turned around and continued to his home.

Little did he know that a girl was hiding behind a fence near Hyde's position. The short haired girl smiled to herself as she gripped a small box in her hands.

"Soon Hyde, you'll be all mine."

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

Ren walked towards the town gate of Floor 37. Alice, Mai, and Himiko walked with their guild leader. It had been a couple weeks since the floor had been unlocked. Most of the fields were fully explored, leaving a few dungeons as possible locations for the boss room. It had been a while since Wyvern Inferno had been in a floor boss fight. If they found the room, it would be a fun chance for them. They would definitely need a full raid group before challenging it though.

As the group walked into the entry area to the fields, they were greeted with a shouting match as Helios argued with a Salamander player. A female one.

"I'm just asking for one measly date!"

"How many times do I have to tell you?! I have a girlfriend!"

The group looked on this scene with morbid curiosity as they soaked in this new girl. She had fiery red hair as Salamander's normally do that was cut short to the middle of her neck in a tomboyish style. Her armor consisted of a red and black armored chestplate and armored legs that had a flame motif over the left breastplate. Along with it were a pair of black fingerless gloves and a white cape with red trim and the sigil of the Salamander army with a horned headdress on top of her head. Her face was serious as she pried at Helios for a date. While her face was serious, they could tell the girl was almost pleading at this point.

"Come on! It'll be my treat!" she begged as she tried to hold his hand.

The male Salamander yanked his hands free from the girl and glared at her. "For the last time no! My girlfriend would kill both me AND you if I said yes!"

The girl had the grace to squirm under the glare of the taller Salamander. But she still stood her ground as she gave him a sultry look. "Are you sure the mighty Helios doesn't want to go on a date with the mighty-"

It was at this time that Ren decided to make their presence known to stop a potential PK at Helios's hands. "Yo Helios! Get here early?"

"What are you doing?" Alice whispered in her boyfriend's ear.

"Just play along."

Helios turned away from the girl and moved to his guildmates. "Hey I just got here a while ago!"

"Who's that girl?" Mai asked as they walked forward.

Helios groaned as he moved away from her more. "I don't know! She just ran up to me out of nowhere and started demanding a date from me!"

"You know it's rude to talk about someone when they're right in front of you!" The girl yelled at Mai making the younger girl flinch back. It was almost like that girl was a female Helios. That itself sent shivers down Mai's spine.

"Don't you yell at my sister!" Alice yelled back at the girl. "Who are you anyway?"

The girl puffed her chest up in pride as she drew out her weapon in a dramatic fashion. The weapon that formed was a mighty looking golden and crimson two handed axe. Her strength stat must have been maxed out as she held it out with one hand. "I am Pele! Second-in-Command of the Salamander forces under General Eugene and Lord Mortimer! You may all bow at your earliest convenience!"

"... Wow…" Was the only thing Ren could say in this situation. "Just... wow…"

"I know right? I AM pretty amazing." Pele gloated as she spun her axe around.

"Not to mention modest." Alice said dryly.

"Well now that I've introduced myself you can all shoo now" she said with a dismissive wave. "I'm trying to get a date here with this handsome Salamander over here."

Helios jumped away from the girl and landed right next to his friends. "Okay I am going to tell you this one last time so make sure you listen. I. Are you still with me? Will. Never. Go. Out. With. You!" He yelled at Pele.

The girl laughed a bit at Helios's yell. "Oh Helios playing hard to get isn't a very attractive quality. Good thing you have so many more to make up for that."

'_I can't tell if Liz would revel in Helios's situation or fall into despair that he has another person that likes him while she has none.' _Ren thought with a shake of his head. "Okay Pele while it's been nice meeting you, Wyvern's Inferno has some field clearing to do so we're going to have to take Helios off your hands."

At this the distance between the two Salamander's closed as Pele jumped at him and hugged his waist. "No! He hasn't accepted my date request yet!"

"Hey guys! Sorry I'm late!" A voice behind them yelled. Helios felt his blood run cold as Dagger came into view. "A bunch of gullible suckers were just lined up for me and my merchant instincts couldn't help themselves. So what's going-" She stopped in her tracks as she saw that a girl was hugging HER Helios. Calmly, the girl brought out her weapon in a casual manner but Helios knew better than to assume she was calm. No she was pissed, she was just good at not showing it. "Helios who is this… girl holding on to you." Helios knew she wanted to use a different word to describe her but it seemed she was being polite… for now.

"And who is this Helios?" Pele questioned, still holding on to his side. If anything she was holding on tighter than before.

"I told you she is my girlfriend!" Helios yelled at her as he tried to pry the girl off. "Dagger this isn't what it looks like, I swear!"

"No it's totally what it looks like." Mai lied with a grin.

"I WILL FREAKING MURDER YOU!" Helios yelled at the Sylph.

"Alright ignoring Mai and… her." that last word was just drenched in malice. "I am going to hear you out."

"Look what happened was that I got here first and decided to kill some monsters to waste time before the others got here. Then out of nowhere this girl shows up and tackles me to the ground demanding a date! And no matter how many times I said no she kept on insisting!" Helios said in one breath.

Dagger seemed to process this news slowly, letting it sink before she grabbed her boyfriend by the hand. "Alright I believe you. Now let's get this harpy away from you."

"Excuse me? If anything you're the harpy keeping Helios all to yourself. He shouldn't be tied down to someone like that. He should be treated like the prince he is and have a girlfriend and loves and respects him!"

It was at that point that the whole group of Wyvern's Inferno could have heard a loud snapping noise come from Dagger. The guild took a huge collective step back when they saw her left eye start to twitch. Slowly and very creepily she turned to face Pele with a terrifying smile on her face. "Care to repeat that? I could've sworn you just signed your death warrant with those words."

Pele let out a humorous laugh at Dagger's threat. Clearly she wasn't going to let the black haired Spriggan intimidate her. "Do you know who you're talking to? I'm the second in command for the Salamanders! A lowly Spriggan like yourself would only get squashed under my heel."

'_Well she's dead...'_ Ren thought.

"Oh that is freakin' it! I am going to kick your ass!" Dagger seethed as she drew her weapon.

"Oh really? Then why don't we make this interesting? In three days' time we'll fight at the Salamander capital of Gattan. Winner gets Helios all to herself. Loser gets humiliated in front of the whole Salamander army." Pele said as she stood over Dagger with a vicious smile on her face.

Dagger didn't back down as she glared right back at the girl. "Deal. Get ready to have your armor shattered in front of everyone. By the end of the day you'll go from second in command to naked laughingstock."

Pele brought out her axe and hefted it on her shoulder. "And you should be careful my beautiful axe Armads doesn't cut you in half! Would hate for you to be known as half the girl you used to be."

"Do I get a say in this?" Helios asked.

"NO!" Both yelled at the same time making the Salamander shrink back.

"See you at the Salamander capital Dagger. Be sure to have the paramedics standing by for when I chop you in half." Pele said as she passed Dagger by, purposely slamming into her shoulder in the process.

It took the whole guild to hold Dagger back to prevent her from attacking Pele from behind. The Salamander girl smiled to herself as she walked away from Wyvern's Inferno.

'_Soon he'll be all mine and I'll be the best girlfriend ever.' _

"Alright guys! For the next three days we are going to be in all-out training mode so I can wipe that Pele bitch into the dirt!" Dagger yelled at her friends.

"But that's the whole weekend!" Mai complained.

"DO I GIVE A DAMN!?" she yelled back before giving a sigh. "Sorry you didn't deserve that. I'm just so damn livid right now."

"You don't have to do this Dagger." Helios said as he wrapped his girlfriend in a hug. "No matter what happens you're the only girl for me."

Dagger smiled as she gave a quick peck to his cheek. "Thanks but this is about pride. And I'm not gonna let that girl just waltz on over here and let her think she can take you from me. I'm gonna teach her a lesson about respect, about how no woman should go around trying to steal another's man."

"Maybe you should give that lesson to Liz and the other girls that are after Kazuto." Mai said with a humored smile. "Something tells me that Asuna would reward you handsomely for that."

Dagger felt herself drool at the thought of the possible rewards she could have gotten from the Yuuki heiress but shook her head in order to concentrate. "Money can wait for later. Right now I'm gonna train like I've never trained before!"

"Isn't this the only time you've ever trained seriously?" Alice asked.

"Irrelevant! Now come on! We have some monster ass to kick." Dagger shouted as she raised her fist into the air. Hesitantly, the guild followed after their female Spriggan friend.

The rest of that day was dedicated to grinding against monsters in the field as Dagger tried to get as much xp as she could. She may have not been the best at 1v1 fights against skilled players, but there was no way she was going to let Pele win this. The next day, the guild met together in ALO again to help Dagger with her fighting skills. The female Spriggan sparred against each of her friends in the hopes that she would be ready for her fight the next day. She was raring to go the entire day, not giving into her fatigue for even a moment. Ren and the others couldn't say the same as they felt like they had run a marathon by the end of the day. Ren especially couldn't help but feel that the way Dagger was now, she might have been able to give Yuuki a run for her money in a fight.

Finally it was Sunday, the day of the fight between Dagger and Pele. The guild teleported themselves to the city of Gattan. When they arrived, they could feel the crushing weight of the stares from the Salamander players around the city. They walked to the square as they tried to avoid the whispers going around.

"So that Spriggan chick is supposed to fight Pele? She must not have a lot of brains"

"Yeah, I know. Pele is almost on par with General Eugene in terms of skill."

"Well it should make for a good laugh at the very least"

Ren and the others were scared from the words being shot between players. Dagger could go berserk at any moment from hearing them. Surprisingly though, the merchant made no move to attack the players around the guild. Her mind was solely focused on one Salamander in particular. She was going to teach Pele a lesson she'd never forget.

Finally the guild arrived at the square. Salamander players dressed in crimson red armor stood around the open area. In the center, Pele stood with a smug grin on her face, ready for the fight that was about to happen. She motioned for Dagger to follow her as she spread her wings and took off into the sky. Dagger flew after her and the two landed on the roof of one of the buildings in the city. Ren's guild and the Salamander players got a front row seat as they stood on the roofs of other nearby buildings, looking down at the two players about to fight.

'_You can do this Dagger. I believe in you'_ Helios silently thought.

"Look who decided to show up?" Pele said as she brought out her weapon Armads. "I was thinking you wouldn't bother to show with this huge crowd waiting to see you ripped apart."

Dagger scoffed and brought out her weapon. "Oh no. I was excited at the thought of publically humiliating you by breaking off your armor and clothes piece by piece."

"Ha! Just remember by the end of this battle I'll be smooching with my prince Helios both in here… and in real life."

"What are you talking about? How would you even know who Helios is IRL?"

"You mean Hyde Gekido? That's right Lilina. I know all about both of you. All the way back from SAO"

Dagger's eyes widened as those words were uttered. "No… You're an SAO survivor!? That means you go to our school!"

"That I am and that I do. And I had the pleasure of knowing Helios during the events of that death game. Ah he was a white knight that came from the heavens when I needed him most. It was after that event that I swore to become a strong enough girl to become his girlfriend and we would rule all of ALO!" Pele's face then turned into a grimace. "But then you show up out of nowhere and ruin my romantic plans!"

"Oh get over yourself! There's no way in hell I'm losing to a hopeless romantic like yourself! Helios is mine and he'll always stay by my side!"

"Oh really? And have you ever asked him what he wanted? Do you ever think that one day he will get tired of you and move on to someone more deserving of him? Someone who doesn't put him second to money?"

Dagger held her blade in a vice grip. "Alright that's it! I was going to be nice! I was going to be civil and to the point about this! But you do NOT even try to get me to question my feelings to the man I love!" She sent the duel request to the Salamander girl and she accepted it immediately. "Get ready to get a painful lesson smashed into your head you bitch!

The crowd looked in excitement as the two girls charged at each other with blinding speed, sparks flying in the air as their weapons clashed. Dagger grunted as she blocked an upwards swing from Pele. She grinned madly as she forced her weapon down on the shortsword. Dagger's eyes widened as she felt her defenses crumble at the attack and Armads hacked into her side, causing her to crash into the roof of a weapon's shop.

After she got up from the attack Dagger looked at her HP to see that a fifth of it had been chopped away from just one hit. "What the hell was that!?" Dagger yelled at the girl. Pele smiled as she didn't answer but charged once again at the Spriggan.

"That girl is wasting no time with winning this fight. She's using that axe's skill right from the get go." Eugene said at Wyvern's Inferno's side.

Ren turned to the General of the Salamander's with a curious look. "Wait, what do you mean? Are you saying that axe is a legendary weapon?"

"Pele's axe Armads has a special skill like my Demonic Sword Gram. Her axe can crush defenses if her enemy guards too often. It forces a player out of their defensive stance and gives her a huge opening for a counterstrike."

"So you're saying that Dagger can't keep a solid defense in this fight?" Alice asked in disbelief.

Eugene nodded his head as he looked to his right hand player. "She's truly one of the strongest players I've ever met. She has such a single minded drive to her that makes her such a great warrior."

Helios grimaced at this. He knew he couldn't interfere in this fight but Dagger was at such a disadvantage. _'Come on babe you can do this...'_

"Hey! What did I miss?" A voice from behind them asked. The group turned around to see Kirito, Asuna, Lizbeth, Silica, Leafa and Sinon all fly to the guild.

"You guys? What're you doing here?" Ren asked.

Kirito pointed to the sky to Dagger. "We had heard rumors that the infamous 'Ripoff Merchant' was going to fight the 'Volcanic Princess' Pele. And sure enough we were right."

"Ah if it isn't Kirito" Eugene said with a laugh as he approached the Spriggan. "How about we have a fight after these two girls are done with their duel. I think we're a bit overdue for a rematch."

The swordsman smiled at the taller man. "I'd be glad to take you on anytime you want Eugene but I have to cheer on my friend Dagger."

"Why is Dagger even fighting Pele anyway?" Liz asked as she watched the merchant parry blow after blow. "What reason does she have to fight the Salamander's second in command?"

"Well… it turns out that Pele has the hots for Helios and tried to steal him from Dagger. Needless to say she didn't take it well." Alice said with a sigh.

If it was physically possible for Liz's jaw to hit the floor, it would have pierced the very earth upon contact. "I… But…. how… WHAT?"

"So I have two people who are interested in me. Now how many did you have Liz? Oh that's right, a grand whooping total of zero!" Helios taunted. "Looks like I'm more desirable than a plain old blacksmith like you."

Liz didn't even react to that. She was still trying to process the fact that there was another sensible human being had taken a romantic interest in Helios of all people.

"Wow Helios of all people has gotten the affections of another girl?" Sinon asked as she looked at Pele. "Are we sure this isn't a sign of the end of the world?"

"No I think the world would've ended when he and Dagger started dating." Leafa said.

"Ignoring the girl's that are hating me for my relationship, I know that Dagger can take this chick. She'll show her who's boss." Helios told his friends.

Dagger grunted as she parried another attack from the relentless Pele. There was hardly any time to react to her moves as she followed each swing with an even harder swing. She had only taken only two hits but her health was already in the yellow and Pele was sporting a green health bar with only a small fraction taken out of it. In this battle of speed vs power it seemed that power was going to dominate her.

'_Damnit! This isn't good! Just a few more hits and I'm done for!'_ She hated the smirk that was on Pele's face as they floated at eye level.

"What's wrong Dagger? Feeling the pressure of my beloved Armads?" Pele asked as she swung around her axe in a cocky show of power.

Dagger glared at the girl as she gripped her blade with both hands. "Don't count me out just yet! I'm gonna wipe that smirk off your face!"

"I'd like to see you try!"

Dagger quickly ducked under the blade of the axe as Pele quickly closed the distance between them. Dagger let off a burst of speed as she saw the incandescent glow envelop Pele's axe to avoid the sword skill that activated. She kept on the avoidance as she flew away from the lethal Salamander, trying to come up with a plan. Being a Spriggan only really gave her access to Illusion magic but they had their limits on what they could do in a duel.

'_Wait… I think I have an idea!' _she thought as she turned around mid-flight and smirked at Pele.

The girl seemed to take the taunt as she once again activated a sword skill and charged like a mad bull at the merchant. Dagger chanted the runic words of Spriggan magic and launched forward a black smokescreen around Pele. When the Salamander had swung her axe, she didn't feel it make contact with anything. Growling at the Spriggan's cowardice, Pele began yelling into the darkness. "Come on out you coward! Are you that afraid of me taking Helios from you?"

"Okay if you insist!" she heard Dagger's voice call.

Soon the smoke around them vanished and Pele's eyes widened at what she saw break through the smog. A giant black dragon roared as it charged at her intent on swallowing the short haired girl. Pele grunted as she charged forward and slashed the dragon in half, revealing it as just an illusion. Another roar erupted from behind her as another dragon charged behind her and rammed her. Pele was growing rather pissed as she beheaded the illusion and started barking at the air. "Is that all you got!? I'm still waiting for something actually threatening!"

"Then I hope you're ready for a showstopper!" she heard a voice from above her yell.

All eyes looked up to see one more dragon charge at Pele from above. Pele sighed as she once again slashed the beast in half but wasn't expecting a huge blast of smog to cover her vision. Coughing, the girl began swinging around wildly to avoid a sneak attack from the tricky Spriggan.

"Showtime!"

Pele could only see a faint light before a slight amount of pain shot through her chest as a blade slashed her quickly. Turning the the direction the slash came from, Pele swung Armads towards it but hit nothing as another slash cut her neck. Pele grew more and more frustrated as she swung with reckless abandon, clearly too angry to think clearly as more and more cuts slashed as her armor and exposed areas. Finally done with swinging blindly the Salamander flew into the area out of the fog and gave a look to her surroundings as she tried to locate the tricky Dagger. Soon enough a black shadow covered her from above making Pele look up far too late as Dagger charged forward with her blade pointed right at her head.

"TAKE THIS!" Dagger yelled as her blade made contact on the Salamander.

Pele felt the blade cut through her entire body as it cleaved right through her armor like it was paper. The impact from the hit sent the girl falling into the ground of the city, causing a large crater to be formed from the impact of her landing. Groaning, Pele forced herself up from the hit and looked upwards. "Ha! You call that a showstopper!? What a damn joke!"

Dagger snickered as she gave a point to her surroundings. "You might want to check your adoring fans and how they're looking at you."

Looking around, Pele saw many male and shockingly a few female Salamanders blushing red with some of them having rather aggressive nosebleeds. A sinking feeling of dread overtook Pele as she looked down to see her chest armor was destroyed, leaving her only in a red bra causing everyone to see her bouncy chest. Crying out in embarrassment, Pele covered herself as she flew away to get away from the prying eyes and flew out of the duel area causing her to forfeit and lose the duel.

"The winner by… unorthodox forfeit is Dagger!" A Salamander yelled as Dagger started cheering.

"Let this be a lesson to every female in ALO!" she started as she brandished her blade threateningly. "Anyone, male or female who tries to steal my man from me isn't getting out of it without their pride shattered!"

"God I love that woman." Helios said with pride as he flew up to his girlfriend.

"... Well this was a thing." Asuna started as they all saw Helios and Dagger make out in the sky.

Ren groaned as he turned around and began to walk away. "I'm just gonna forget today and log out. This was by far my weirdest weekend ever."

Sinon gave a look to Liz and saw that she was still dazed. "I don't think Liz will be forgetting it anytime soon either."

"Is she okay?" Himiko asked as she poked Liz's face a few times. "She's either lagging or she mentally broke."

Asuna sighed at her best friend. "I think the latter sounds more likely. After all, Helios having two girls that like him for who he is? Sounds like something that would come from that old American tv show. I think it was called the Twilight Zone?"

"Let's… just get her back to her shop until she recovers." Kirito suggested.

Nodding her head, Asuna hefted the blacksmith over her shoulder and teleported to her friend's shop. The rest of Wyvern's Inferno disbanded for the night, allowing the crazy couple of Helios and Dagger to smooch in the sky.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The next day at school was an interesting one. Hyde walked in the school with his head held high alongside Lilina who had a smug amount of pride guiding her steps, giving a threatening look to any girl who was caught staring at her boyfriend.

Rika on the other hand was acting borderline depressed as she slugged her way through all of her classes, becoming worst if she came into Hyde contact with Hyde and if he decided to throw in a smug grin to the mix.

Although at the end of the day was the true highlight of the day. When Dan and his friends were putting stuff away in their lockers Hyde had called them over to his.

"What is it dude?" Dan asked as him and the others crowded to him.

"Found this in my locker." Hyde said as he pointed to a box.

Hyde slowly and carefully opened it. Considering this was the first time something like this had happened he wasn't sure if this was a gift from a secret admirer or a prank done by Rika. Considering their track record it wouldn't be all that unlikely. He quickly threw the lid open and backed up quickly just in case there was some sort of prank explosive in it. After waiting a few seconds Hyde brought his face back near the box and checked its contents.

"So what is it? Asuna asked as she tried to peek over his shoulder.

"...Well… I don't know how to feel about this…" Hyde said as he brought out a letter from the box.

Rika quickly snatched the letter out from the ash haired teen's hands and began to read it aloud. Hopefully there was something in this letter to give her some much needed gratification.

"Ahem… Dear Hyde/Helios. If this is you reading this please continue. If you are not Hyde/Helios then put the letter back in the box, place the box back where you found it or else I will find you and you will not escape with anything less than a broken limb." Rika paused for a moment letting a small shiver run down her spine. "Anyway Hyde/Helios I know you may not remember me but I remember you in our multiple encounters in SAO. You saving me from that mob of Lizardmen on Floor 7 is what drove me to become a stronger player in the front lines. If you remembered we fought alongside each other in many boss raids as we were a few of the only players who used axes. Fighting with you made me stronger, braver and more confident. And as we fought together the more my feelings for you grew. I was going to wait till after Floor 50 to tell you how I felt but I never saw you again. I held out hope to find you but before I knew it someone cleared the game. I was so frustrated that I never made my feelings known but imagine my surprise when I found out you were not only alive but you were also going to the same school as me. Ever since then I wanted to confront you on how I felt but I could never get you alone. You were always surrounded by your friends. So hopefully this letter reaches you by this Monday or I find you in ALO. I'm a Salamander by the name of… Pele!?"

Lilina grimaced as she tightened her grip on her schoolbag. "Pele huh!?"

Rika once again shuttered before continuing. "If I come off as strong when asking you out on a date just know that it's because my feelings have been pent up for too long. I hope you'll accept my feelings as I would love nothing more than to be your girlfriend.

Love, Pele/Kaia Minazuki"

A silence fell over the group as Rika finished the letter. No one dared to make a comment in danger of pissing off Lilina. Hyde rummaged around in the box and found one more item, a photo. He tried to quickly shove it back into the box but Lilina saw that a snatched the box from him. Pulling out the photo in question she brought it up for everyone to see. It was a picture of a girl hugging Hyde in SAO. The girl had short brunette hair and wore red light armor along with an axe holstered on her back. Hyde himself looked rather surprised that someone was hugging him but from the look of the picture it didn't look like he was fighting it. Slowly Lilina lowered the photo and turned around to face her boyfriend.

Only to find that he wasn't there anymore.

Seeing the nearby door close, Lilina gave chase to her boyfriend, intent on finding answers about this Kaia or Pele girl. Meanwhile with Dan and the other's they were busy consoling a crying Rika, with her babbling about how it wasn't fair that Hyde of all people had two people who loved him while she had nobody.

"It's. Not. FAIR!" Rika cried out.

"I know Rika. Let it out. Cry all you want" Asuna said as she gave her friend a comforting tap on the back.

**A/N: So what did you guys think of Pele/Kaia? A friend of mine had suggested someone like her awhile ago, but I was busy with the whole Yggdrasil Foretress arc so it took some time before I was able to add her in. Please review and tell me if you like her character or not. I might add her in every now and then depending on your responses.**


	71. Dark Past

**A/N: Well this has been a busy week. Had to choose classes for next semester, which was basically like choosing the least painful way to kill myself mentally. But anyway, you guys probably don't want to hear all that. Let's get on with the chapter.**

**Also to the person who sent the suggestion guest review last week (I think the name was king or something like that), I did not delete your review because I disliked it. I actually really liked the idea and will most likely incorporate it somewhere in the story. I just didn't want people to read it and then know what will happen later on. Thanks for the awesome idea.**

Dan let out a yawn as he took a seat at his desk for homeroom. Mondays were always annoying to deal with. It didn't help that he had a date with Alicia last night, making him go to sleep even later than usual. As he tried to wake himself up, he noticed Asuna come in to the classroom as well. She looked even more tired than him.

"You look dead today. You go on a date last night too?" Dan asked.

"I wish" Asuna groaned. "My mom set me up with another suitor."

"Well that sucks"

"You should have seen the guy. Brought me onto his private yacht and everything. Probably thought he was going to get me in bed. The nerve!"

"Wow. That bad, huh?"

"I just want to forget the whole thing. Good thing I get to be with Kazuto later or I might lose it."

As the two teens chatted, the teacher entered the room. Everyone fell silent and the class went through the usual morning routine.

"Before we get started, I have an announcement" the teacher told the class. "Tomorrow, the entire school will be taking a special trip." The heads of the students rose at the mention of a trip, but the teacher held his hand up to tell them to let him finish. "Each student will be going to the school they originally went to prior to SAO. This trip is to help you all reconnect with your past classmates. Before any of you ask, it is mandatory."

There were mixed reactions around the classroom. Asuna was one of the ones groaning at having to return to her old school, even if it was just for one day. The school she had gone to before SAO was filled with snobby rich kids that were focused entirely on studying and flaunting about their social status. Meeting her 'friends' from that school would be much less than pleasant. Looking over at Dan however, she saw something much worse than sulking. His face was grim, almost as if he heard news that another SAO incident had occurred.

"You ok, Dan?" Asuna whispered.

"... Yeah. Just peachy" Dan replied in an annoyed voice.

Asuna seemed a bit worried, but decided to let it go. Whatever was bothering her friend right now, it was clear he didn't want to talk about it.

The school day went by slowly. Talk and gossip about students going to their old schools flooded the halls. Alicia and Emi didn't mind too much. They liked their old school. The only annoying part was that Noboru would be tagging along with Alicia, since they both went to the same school before SAO. Mai would be going to the middle school though, while Alicia and Noboru would be at the high school. Lilina thought the idea of going back to her old school for a day would be fun, as it would give her a chance to catch up with some old friends and perhaps scam a few suckers that were ignorant to her skillset.

After school was over, Alicia walked over to the usual hangout to meet up with her friends. When she arrived, she noticed Dan sitting at the bench. She walked over to her boyfriend with a smile on her face. "Hey Dan. Rare to see you here before me." No response came from him. Alicia waved her hand in front of the teen. "Hello? Earth to Dan?"

The waving hand got Dan's attention as he seemed to be snapped out of a daydream. "Oh, hey Alicia. What's up?"

"Are you alright? You don't seem like yourself"

"It's nothing. Don't worry about it"

"Yo guys! How's it going?" a new voice called out. Alicia and Dan turned to see Hyde walking over to them. "Geez, can you believe this whole trip thing? What a drag"

"It's not that bad" Alicia shrugged. "Gives us a chance to catch up with friends"

"Hey um… Alicia" Dan started. "I gotta go. I'll text you later"

Alicia raised an eyebrow as she watched her boyfriend get up and walk away. "Dan? Are you alri-"

"I just need some time alone" Dan said.

Alicia was about to go after him, until Hyde put a hand on her shoulder. The black haired girl turned to him. "What the heck are you doing?! You saw how he was acting! Something's wrong"

"Alicia… just give him some space. Trust me, he needs it" Hyde told her.

"What are you talking about?" Alicia questioned.

"The school he and I went to… let's just say it wasn't a fun place"

"What do you mean?"

Hyde sighed and took a seat at the bench. Alicia took a seat next to him as her friend began explaining.

"The school Dan and I went to before SAO was filled with assholes. They'd treat you like shit for no reason. You were either one of the assholes that bullied people nonstop or you were one of the victims that had to go through that torture every day."

"No offense, but you seem like the type that would be one of those assholes" Alicia pointed out.

"Don't you dare compare me to them!" Hyde shouted. Alicia flinched back, never seeing her friend act like this. Hyde went on with his explanation. "Anyway as I said, our school mostly consisted of those two groups. Dan was different however."

"Different how?"

"Dan became cold as ice. He walked the halls, not socializing with anyone. Every day he would leave school the second the last bell rung. He was a lone wolf, not befriending anyone and not trusting anyone. I don't even want to know what kind of crap he went through before becoming like that."

"Really? Dan? I… I never knew that about him." Alicia said with her head down.

"I'm not surprised. He probably didn't want to talk about it. He was like that all the way up to middle school"

"Wait, middle school? But Dan was in his freshman year of high school when SAO happened."

Hyde sighed and looked up towards the sky. He seemed to be reminiscing about something. "It all happened back in middle school. The day Dan and I first met."

XXXXXXXXXXX

-Six years ago-

Hyde walked into the arcade in town. It had been an annoying day at school with all the obnoxious kids running around. Coming here was the only way to get his mind off of the jerks running around his school. The other thing games here distracted him from was his mother.

"Yo Hyde, what's up?!" a friend of his said as he greeted the ashy haired kid. "You're not gonna believe this!"

"What? Did the manager set up a new game?" Hyde asked.

"No. Someone's close to beating your high score at House of the Dead!"

Hyde gave a laugh as if he had just heard a joke. "Yeah right. Nobody's got my skills at that game. I've had the highest score for the past year and a half."

"Well there's a kid that's getting really close to beating it!"

Hearing that someone was getting close to his high score at one of his best games at the arcade peaked Hyde's interest. "Alright then. Let's go see this wanabe."

Hyde walked through the arcade with his friends over to where House of the Dead was set up. Looking over at the game, Hyde could see a kid wearing a hooded jacket playing the game. While he couldn't see the kid's face, his size suggested he was around the same age as Hyde. On the screen, zombies were blowing up into pieces one after another.

'_This guy's pretty good'_ Hyde thought as he watched him play. _'I've never seen anybody as skilled at that game other than me'_

Finally, the game finished and the score was tallied up. The score the hooded kid received took first place, pushing Hyde's name down to second. Gasps and whispers of gossip spread along the people watching. Hyde walked up to the kid that had just beaten his score, making everyone fall silent to see what would happen next. Most people would simply tap a person on the shoulder to get their attention, but Hyde grabbed the kid's hood and took it off his head. The face revealed showed a kid with blue eyes and short brown hair. As Hyde had assumed, he seemed to be the same age as him.

"What do you want?" the kid asked. His eyes didn't show the excited feeling most would show at dethroning the high score of a popular arcade game. Instead they seemed empty, not caring about anything else and viewing everything around him as a nuisance.

"That person you just knocked down to second place on that game happens to be me" Hyde stated.

"You have a problem with that?"

"I've had the top score for over a year! Nobody's even gotten close to it!"

"That so? Well if it troubles you that much, then get better and beat my score" the kid shrugged.

"I think I'll take you up on that offer" Hyde grinned, grabbing the gun for the game. He inserted a quarter into the machine and the game began. Everyone watched as all of Hyde's focus became directed towards reclaiming his position at the top.

Time passed by as the game continued. Hyde was playing better than he had ever played before, perhaps with his pride being at stake in this particular playthrough. The crowd watching gradually became bigger and bigger. Hyde could feel the sweat running down his face. Finally he finished the game. He had beaten his previous score with all the focus he had put into the game this time around, but it was still lower than the mystery kid's score.

"No way. Hyde lost?"

"I can't believe it. That was the best I've ever seen him play and it still wasn't enough."

"Who is this guy?"

Hyde fell to his knees, feeling utterly defeated. The kid that had him feeling this way simply put his hood back on and began to walk away. Hyde turned back to him as he watched him leave. "You're just leaving like that?! Where's the trash talking and everything?!"

"Is there really any need for that? You just proved that even your absolute best isn't enough to beat me. I don't kick someone when they're already down."

Hyde clenched his fists at hearing the hidden insult in those words. "Hold it! If you want to prove you're the best, then there's still one game you have to beat me at!"

"And what would that be?"

Hyde motioned for the hooded boy to follow him. He led the mystery kid to another arcade game, a 2-D fighting game called Tekken. "Beat me in a fight at this and then you can call yourself the best!"

"Fine. I still have some time to kill."

Hyde mumbled something under his breath as the two of them each inserted a quarter. The crowd fell silent as the fight between the two of them began. The pure skill being shown by the both of them was so incredible that it looked like the final battle in an anime. Neither one of them seemed to be giving an inch as the fight went on. Hyde and the mystery kid shut out everything around them, focusing entirely on the game. It was the final round of the game and both of their avatars were below half health. Finally Hyde found the opening he was looking for as he unleashed a devastating combo. He went in for the last shot, but it missed by a hair's length. Hyde cursed under his breath, knowing what was about to happen. His opponent took advantage of the opportunity and unleashed a relentless assault on Hyde, taking out the rest of his avatar's health and clinching the game.

For a moment, everything was silent. Then, cheers were heard all around the crowd that had gathered. Hyde stared at the screen in shock. Tekken had been his absolute best game. Nobody had ever beaten him at it.

The hooded kid clearly had to give it his all to win the game. That much was obvious from the fast pace his heart seemed to be beating at. When it finally slowed back down to normal, he turned around and put his hood over his head once again. "Good game."

Hyde stood there for a few moments as the boy walked away. Finally he took off after the kid. He exited the arcade and spotted him walking away. "Wait!"

The hooded kid turned around as Hyde ran over to him. "What do you want? Don't tell me you want another rematch?"

"No, that's not it" Hyde said with a shake of his head. "I just wanted to know your name"

The kid stayed silent for a moment before finally responding. "It's Dan. Dan Hiryo"

"Alright then Dan. You can call me Hyde" the ashy haired boy said, reaching out for a handshake.

Dan stared at Hyde, as if contemplating what to do. Finally he turned around and began to walk away, ignoring Hyde's handshake offer. Hyde soon ran after him. "What's your problem man?! I'm just trying to be friendly!"

"I don't have friends" Dan said coldly.

"Why? You gotta have at least a couple friends" Hyde said.

"I don't need them. I rely only on myself, got it?"

"Well too bad" Hyde said with a grin. "You and I are both gamers, plus we're around the same age. We might as well be friends"

"Think whatever you want. I don't care" Dan said as he walked away. He soon stopped in his tracks for a moment. "Hey Hyde"

"What is it?"

"... That was a fun match. We should do it again sometime."

And with that, Dan walked away from the ashy haired teen.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

-Present day-

"And here we are now. Ah... where did the time go? It took a little bit of time, but he and I soon became best buds" Hyde said as he got a bit wistful near the end there before returning his focus on Alicia. "Look the point remains that until I came along, Dan was a solid loner who had to deal with unbearable assholes. Not to mention me having to beat some faces in for talking shit, so needless to say I have a few enemies waiting for me back there."

Alicia looked down at the ground, not knowing what to say. "I never knew Dan used to be like that."

"Like I said, he probably doesn't want to talk about it" Hyde told her. "Just give him some time alone."

Alicia didn't want to admit it, but Hyde was probably right. He had known Dan longer than she had after all. She just hoped he would be back to his old self before long.

-The next day-

The trip for the school came by quickly. After the first half of the school day ended, buses and shuttles brought the students of the SAO Survivor School to their old schools. Alicia and Emi sat together on their bus as they headed for their old school area. Emi would be dropped off at the middle school, while Alicia, Noboru, and a couple others that went to their school before SAO would be brought to the high school. If only she was a year older, Emi would be joining them. However, she was still the age of someone in their last year of junior high, something she was reminded of constantly from Hyde's remarks.

Once they arrived at the school, Alicia disembarked and looked at the building. It brought a bit of nostalgia to her as she remembered the few months she had spent here before she was trapped in SAO. Her friends from here were all seniors now. She had talked to them every now and then after her rehabilitation when the death game ended, but they had definitely grown apart. She was much closer to all her friends from her current school now. Only they were able to understand what she went through. As they walked in, Alicia couldn't help but worry about Dan. She knew Hyde would be looking out for him today, but what he said yesterday still troubled her.

The few hours Alicia spent back at her former school slowly dragged on. As she first walked inside, she could hear the quiet whispers of students in the halls talking about them. They were first brought to the auditorium where some students gave speeches to the survivors of the death game, talking about how this would always be their home and their hearts would go with them. It was at that point that Alicia realized it. These people were pitying them. They felt bad and acted like the SAO survivors wasted their lives in the first place by logging into SAO on that fateful day. True, they had lost two years of their lives in the real world due to SAO. But even still Alicia never regretted it. She had learned a lot during her two years in that death game, not to mention she had made some of the best friends she ever had there. They hadn't wasted their lives away in there.

When the speeches ended, the principal looked towards the group of SAO survivors and asked if any of them would like to say a few words. After a few moments of silence from them, Alicia got out of her seat and walked up, causing a few whispers of gossip to go around. She walked up to the podium and leaned in towards the microphone. She took a deep breath and began.

"This school was always such a kind warm place. I made so many friends here throughout my childhood. Two of them in particular logged in with me and my sister Emi on the first day of SAO. As I'm sure some of you know, they died within the first few weeks of the game. I became lost in despair and agony from watching them die before my very eyes." Alicia took a moment to compose herself and not cry in front of the entire audience. "Sword Art Online was a nightmare in so many ways. I fought on the front lines, trying to clear the game with everyone. In those many terrifying fights I was in, innocent people died one after another. But even still, I don't regret logging in that day." At those words, she saw that she had grabbed the attention of every single person there. "I met so many wonderful people in there that I'm proud to call my friends. I discovered so many things about myself in there, and even found love. So I ask you not to pity me or any of us SAO survivors, because I don't regret SAO for a moment. If you wish to pity anyone, pity the ones that couldn't make it back to the real world."

With her speech done, Alicia stepped off the stage and walked back to her seat. The students and even a few of the teachers had all been stunned into silence. The principal took the stage once again and tried to compose himself from Alicia's speech, going on with the assembly.

After the assembly was over, Alicia and the others were given some free time to talk with friends they had at the school. Alicia met up with some of her old friends and chatted the time away with small talk. At least her friends understood how she felt. They had pitied her originally when Alicia first got out of SAO, but it didn't take long for her to show them that she didn't need it. Seeing Dan and all her new friends from the game had been all the proof she needed to show them.

Finally the time came to leave and head back. Alicia boarded the bus and was driven back to the SAO Survivors School. She expected Dan and Hyde to be back by the time she returned since their school was closer. As she got off, she quickly grabbed her things from her locker and went towards the usual meeting place. When she arrived, Alicia saw Hyde sitting at the bench. The black haired girl walked up to her friend. "Hey Hyde. How was-… are you ok?"

Looking at Hyde's face, Alicia saw a grim expression, like someone had just died. Hyde growled in frustration. "Goddamn those bastards…"

"Hyde… what happened? Where's Dan?"

"..."

"Hyde answer me!"

"... It was pretty bad" Hyde began. "Those damn assholes. The way they acted is still driving me nuts. They snickered at us, making comment after comment. Some of them even got physical when the teachers weren't looking."

"What about Dan?"

"He didn't take it so well. It was like all the torment he suffered came rushing back into him. He was silent the entire trip back home. I couldn't get a word out of him."

Alicia's face grew grim as she listened to this. It was like everyone was out to get them just because they were a part of the SAO incident. They had suffered enough because of the incident. Random people would act differently towards them the second they realized they were SAO survivors. Even the national government kept a watchful eye on them, seeing the survivors of the death game as nothing more than criminals in training. Alicia hated it. They all did.

"Hyde… where's Dan?"

"No clue" Hyde replied. "The second we got back, he left. I've got no clue where he is."

"And you just let him leave?!"

"Alicia… it's complicated"

"Is it?! Cause it seems to me like you just abandoned your friend and left him all alone like a-"

"SHUT UP!" Hyde's sudden yell mad Alicia flinch back a little. She looked at Hyde who was glaring at her in anger. "You have no idea what both he and I went through there! Don't go acting like you do! It's not like Dan was the only one who got shitted on!"

Alicia turned around and began to walk away. As she left Hyde called out to her. "Where are you going?"

"I'm going to find Dan."

XXXXXXXXXXX

Alicia ran through the city, trying to find her boyfriend. She sent a quick text to Clair, asking the young girl if he had gone home. When she responded with a no, Alicia became even more worried. She checked all of his usual favorite places, but couldn't find him anywhere.

'_Come on. Where is he?'_ Alicia wondered. _'Think. Maybe there's a clue in something Hyde said. Where did he usually go to get his mind off school… of course!'_

Alicia hurried through the city streets. She didn't know the exact name of the place where she was going but that HAD to be where Dan was. Finally she arrived at the place, an old arcade. Hyde had never told her where the arcade he had first met Dan was, but this had to be it. It was the only running arcade in the city. Every other one had been out of business for years.

Alicia walked into the building. It had a slightly rotten smell, but Alicia had gotten used to it from some of the other big gaming places Dan had taken her. She scanned the place, looking for her boyfriend. Finally she found him, playing through the game House of the Dead. She walked up toward the game and watched from the back. Dan blasted zombie after zombie with the gun he was holding. Obviously his skills were a little rusty from the way he was playing. When he finally beat it, the high score list was shown. He hadn't gotten up to the list, but his name still held the high score. Alicia walked up to the brown haired teen and tapped him on the shoulder. Dan turned around, startled by the girl's sudden arrival.

"Alicia?! When did you get-" Dan didn't get to finish, as he felt Alicia wrap her arms around him. "A-Alicia?"

"Hyde told me what happened." Alicia told him as she hugged him. "I figured this was where you were."

"… Sorry if I worried you" Dan told her.

"Are you alright?" she asked.

"I'm fine. It's just… I got reminded of something."

"What was it?"

"How pathetic I am." Dan muttered grimly.

Alicia held her boyfriend by his shoulders and forced him to look at her. "Dan, you aren't pathetic. You're the greatest person ever to me."

"But that's only in the virtual world! In the real world I'm worthless! I have nothing!"

At this point, Alicia took her hand and slapped Dan across the face. Dan held his cheek in pain from the slap. "Ow! Damn, that hurt!"

"You have NOTHING?!" Alicia asked. "You have a sister that loves you! You have tons of friends! You have people that look up to you! You have ME goddamn it! Am I nothing?!"

Dan stared at his girlfriend in shock. "No… I didn't mean it like-"

Alicia wrapped herself around her boyfriend once again, hugging him tightly. "You aren't worthless Dan. Not to me or any of us. I love you, don't ever forget that"

Dan was at a loss for words. He felt so stupid that he had forgot something so simple. He took his arms and hugged Alicia back. "I love you too. Thanks Alicia, I needed that."

"Anything for you" Alicia said. "Now why don't you let me have a go at this game?"

Dan looked at her curiously. "You want to play House of the Dead?"

"Why not? It sounds like fun" Alicia said.

"But you hate horror stuff"

"That's why you'll be here to protect me"

Dan chuckled as he grabbed the second gun and handed it to his girlfriend. "Alright, but you better not hold me back."

"Oh really? Try not to fall behind, Dan." Alicia said with a teasing smile. The two of them both inserted a quarter and the game began. Dan smiled as he played the game with Alicia. She was right. He wasn't the same person he was before SAO. He wasn't worthless. He had friends who cared about him and that was all he needed.

**A/N: So how did you guys like the chapter? I figured I put the question off of "how the hell did Hyde and Dan ever become friends?" long enough. Also I saw that a lot of you liked Pele from the last chapter, so I will try to incorporate her here and there in the story. Next chapter will have a really big surprise for everyone and I'm sure you will all love it so keep an eye out for it.**


	72. A Ring

**A/N: Hey guys. Early chapter time, yay! I was able to get this one out quickly since its shorter than usual. Don't worry, the next chapter is on schedule for it's usual weekly date, so its two chapter this week! As I said last chapter, this one will contain a big surprise. Hope you all like it.**

Asuna walked through the mall, her hands filled with shopping bags. The mall was crowded with people, but the chestnut haired girl skillfully maneuvered her way through it as if she was trying to find the quickest path through a dungeon floor. She would have brought someone along with her but most of her friends were busy with other things and Kazuto had a lot of homework piled up. Besides, bringing him along would defeat the purpose of this shopping spree. The school trip to Kyoto was coming up and she wanted to surprise her boyfriend with a few new outfits.

'_Where to go next?'_ Asuna asked herself as she looked around. Suddenly her eyes locked onto a jewelry store. She was more used to receiving jewelry from Kazuto, but it wasn't like she couldn't buy a cute bracelet or some other cute accessory for herself.

Asuna entered the store and began browsing the shelves, looking at various things. As she browsed around, she looked back up and saw someone looking around a different department in the store. She quickly ducked under the cover of a nearby shelf as he turned her way.

'_There's no way'_ Asuna thought as she peaked her head out from the cover. _'What would he be doing here of all places?'_ She wanted to tell herself that she must be mistaking him for someone else. But there was no mistake. That HAD to be him. Unless there was someone that looked exactly like him in every way.

Tired of pondering whether it was really him or not, Asuna walked over to the teen and tapped him on the shoulder. The second he turned towards her, Asuna knew it was definitely him.

"Asuna?!" Hyde exclaimed as he looked at her in surprise. "Wh-What are you doing here?!"

"I could ask you the same question" Asuna said. "Jewelry stores aren't exactly your usual hangout place."

"Well it isn't your business so run along!" he said dismissively at her.

Asuna frowned at her friend. She just spent the better part of ten minutes stalking him to make sure she wasn't seeing things and she was going to make for damned sure she got an answer. "Oh no, not this time Hyde. Tell me why you're here or else."

"Or else what? What is little Asuna Yuuki gonna do to the imposing and more powerful Hyde?" he questioned with a sarcastic eyebrow.

She knew the trying to force the answer out of Hyde through physical means was an effort in futility. Was this a VRMMO they were in Asuna would clearly have the advantage in a situation like that but in the real world she couldn't get much push if Hyde got physical. Not that he would with a friend but there were times where Asuna had put into question Hyde's stability towards his anger issues. So she opted to do the smart thing and use her words to open his mouth.

"Oh I don't know about physically forcing you to do anything but what would Rika think and say if she heard the 'mighty' Hyde Gekido was spotted at a jewelry store of all places? Wouldn't that just be devastating for you to have to endure her ridicule in front of all of our friends?" she blackmailed with a smile.

"… I hate you so damn much right now Asuna." he said with a sigh of defeat. "Fine… Just follow me cause I don't want you to make a huge scene."

Asuna nodded her head as she followed Hyde out of the store and into a nearby park. The two of them sat on the bench that sat across from a children's playground. Asuna took out a bottle of water and drank a sip before looking at her friend.

"So… that explanation?"

"Alright, alright. Just… promise not to laugh"

Now Asuna was really interested in what he had to say. "Fine, I promise."

"... I was looking for a ring to use to propose to Lilina"

Asuna spat out the water in her mouth as she heard those words. After recovering from the coughing that soon followed, she looked at Hyde in shock. "What?! Y-You're PROPOSING?!"

"Shhh! Keep it down!" Hyde said with a loud whisper as he put his hands over her mouth. "I told you not to make a huge scene dammit!"

Asuna shoved Hyde's hands back and composed herself once more. "So why exactly are you proposing to her? We aren't even out of school yet."

"Well let's see here. In the span of only two months we had to deal with a worldwide tournament that was a front for illegal brainwashing operations, had to deal with people trying to kill us, and to top it all off had to stop a maniac from taking over the world and unleashing his brainwashed super soldiers on us within a small amount of time because some dumbass government agent had to rely on a bunch of teens to do his job for him. I feel like my whole damn life is spinning out of control and I need something to root me back to reality." Hyde said with a heavy sigh. "Look I was going to propose to her but if she said yes then we wouldn't get married right away. It's just something I need to help calm things down for me."

"Wow…. That's actually kinda romantic of you Hyde." Asuna said as she took another sip of her water.

"Ugh don't say that crap to me!" Hyde groaned as he placed his face in his palms. "Look just promise me you won't tell the others. And for the love of God, if Rika gets hold of this knowledge, a certain someone might find themselves buried under three feet of dirt."

Asuna coughed a bit at his threat but shook it off. Hyde talked big a lot of the time but rarely ever went through with the threats he made. "Look I won't tell anyone about this alright? Just calm down and relax."

"Ugh the thing is though the the cheapest ring there is gonna cost me me over 60000 yen!" Hyde groaned as he pulled out a measly 10000 yen from his wallet. "After the whole birthday party I threw for Lilina I've been tapped out for money and my mom is being stingier than usual. At this rate I'm gonna have to wait till next year to do it."

"Hold on Hyde, why don't I help you?" Asuna said as she brought out her purse. Before she could hold out the money to him Hyde pushed her hand down and shook his head.

"I didn't bring that up to have you buy it for me Asuna. I appreciate what you're doing but I'm not gonna have you waste your money on me."

Asuna rolled her eyes and pulled out the money anyway. "It's no problem, I have plenty of money saved up. Besides my mother has been practically begging me to spend more so I seem 'high class' and whatnot. I'll help you out Hyde, after all it isn't everyday where I see you being romantic to Lilina like this."

Hyde scoffed a bit. "Oh it must be so nice being a cute rich girl! Always having the money to do whatever you want and buy what you please."

"Hey don't you make fun of me. I'm trying to help. Plus don't assume that you know what it's like being me. My mom has been doing everything in her power to try to set me up with suitor after suitor." she said back to him with a glare.

Hyde glared right back at the Yuuki heiress. "Oh I'm sorry I forgot that your mom tries to play matchmaker with really shitty suitors. Really you think she would have learned after Sugou that she has HORRIBLE taste in men."

"I know, right!?"

"But your mom doesn't even compare to my mom. Try having a mom who constantly tries to put you down for trying to be independent."

"Oh I can assure you that my mom does so much more meddling in my life than yours does." Asuna challenged. "There was this one time where she tried to get me to transfer back to my old school of rich preppy jerks who were so full of themselves that it would make you seem bashful in comparison."

"Oh yeah? Try having a mom who goes out of her way to make you feel like shit for the smallest mistakes you make!"

The two of them continued their argument of who had the worst mother for around an hour or so until both of them ran out of arguments on which one had the worse parental track record.

"Wow… I think I've run out of bad things to say about my mom." Hyde admitted.

"Same here."

"Well can we just agree that we both have horrible mothers?"

Asuna nodded. "Now that I can agree on. Huh strange, it's almost like we're… bonding or something."

Hyde shivered a bit at that notion. "Please don't let Lilina hear you say that. If she hears that I'm bonding with another girl then all hell is gonna break loose."

"Fair point" Asuna nodded in agreement. "Ok, so back to the original point, I'm willing to help pay for the ring. I have more than enough, and this seems really important to you."

Hyde was about to deny Asuna's request, but the more he thought about it the more he knew he needed her help. He didn't have anywhere near enough money to pay for a suitable engagement ring and he was dead set on doing this. He needed this to get his life to slow down a little and he wanted to prove to Lilina that he loved her above anything else. As much as he hated the thought of being in someone else's debt, he knew he had no other choice.

"... Fine. If you're really serious about helping me pay for the ring, then I'll accept." Hyde finally said.

"Great. Now let's get shopping" Asuna said with an eager smile.

Both teens returned to the jewelry store at the mall. Hyde and Asuna browsed the many rings that were in stock as Hyde tried to find the one that would be perfect for Lilina. Asuna watched as all of Hyde's focus became put into choosing the right one. She had never seen him this serious about anything outside of the virtual world.

'_He really does love you, Lilina'_ Asuna thought to herself. _'You're pretty lucky'_

Hyde's eyes scanned from ring to ring. Finally his eyes became fixated on one in particular. The ring was a small band with a rectangular shaped gemstone in the middle. The gem shone with a brilliant garnet coloring against the light that complimented the silver coloring of the ring band. Looking at the price tag Hyde saw that it was only slightly over 60000 yen. Combined with Asuna's money, he could afford the piece of jewelry for Lilina. "Excuse me clerk!"

"Yes sir?" a middle aged woman asked as she turned to the teenagers.

"I would like to purchase this ring please." he said pointing at the object of his purchase.

"Certainly but sir a word of advice. Don't have your girlfriend next to you as you shop for a gift."

"Ew! He isn't my boyfriend!" Asuna yelled with disgust. "I'm just a friend helping him buy the ring!"

Hyde shivered at the thought of being with another girl other than Lilina. "Look Asuna over here is great and all but she isn't anything compared to my girlfriend!"

The clerk chuckled as she brought out the ring. "Relax no need to get hot under the collar. I assume you have the money in full?"

Hyde nodded his head as he handed the clerk the money in full.

"Excellent here you are sir." the clerk said as she gave Hyde the ring in a velvet box as she confirmed the purchase on the register. "Need anything else?" she asked after she pulled out the receipt and handed the ash haired teen his change.

"No thanks"

The two teens left the store with Hyde's item in a small bag and walked down the street together. Asuna noticed the sincere smile on Hyde's face and couldn't help but smile as well. She had never seen the ashy haired teen act this romantic. "Lilina's going to love it"

Hyde nodded his head. "I hope so, considering how much it cost. Thanks for helping me pay by the way"

"No problem, Hyde" Asuna told him. "You can pay me back by helping me carry these back to my house." Without warning, Asuna handed all of the bags she was carrying to her friend. The weight of them made Hyde feel like his arms were going to drop.

"The hell?! How much stuff did you buy?!" Hyde asked.

"Let me think… I got five shirts, one of which had the cutest skirt ever at the end, three pairs of jeans, and four pairs of shoes."

"And why do I have to carry all this?"

"Because I just helped you pay for your engagement ring, remember?"

"... You planned this from the beginning, didn't you?"

"Maybe" Asuna grinned. "Oh by the way, how are you planning to propose?"

"Not telling" Hyde sternly said.

"Oh come on! Pretty please!" Asuna begged.

"No"

"Please"

"No"

"Please"

"No"

"Please"

"Fine"

"Really?!"

"No"

**A/N: Bet you guys weren't expecting that, huh? What did you all think? Excited for how this will play out? Also I'm looking for a HeliosXDagger ship name since, as usual, I can't think of anything good. If anyone has an idea, feel free to post it on a review or PM me your idea. I'll just go with whatever you guys seem to like.**


	73. Dan and Alicia

**A/N: What's up everyone? Got SAO: Lost Song on Tuesday and it is AWESOME! I've only had it for a couple days and I already love it! I highly recommend it to any of you SAO fans.**

**On another note, I've gotten a lot of responses to the ship name for Helios and Dagger. The main ones I am hearing are Dalios and Hylina. I'm happy to see so many readers are getting involved and I hope this story continues to live up to your expectations. I know many of you are looking forward to Helios proposing, but I'm afraid that won't be for another few chapters. Can't have it happen too quickly now can I?**

**Anyways, I'll stop talking and let you guys get on with the chapter.**

Alfheim's skies were always so beautiful, and today that fact was truer than ever. The skies were blue, the sun was shining, and everything seemed so peaceful. Ren and Alice gazed at the virtual outdoors as they sat together on a rocking chair on the porch of their home in ALO.

Alice leaned on her boyfriend's shoulder with the refreshing breeze lightly blowing against her face. Ren had his arm around his in-game wife and held her close. He wished they could stay like this forever. Just forget school and all their troubles in the real world and live here. It felt somewhat strange thinking that, considering they spent two full years trapped in the virtual world.

Oddly enough, Ren almost missed that world. It was the world where he had made countless friends and where he had first fallen in love with the most beautiful and wonderful girl he could ever ask for. He still hadn't forgave Kayaba for trapping him and everyone else in SAO, and he doubted that he or any other former SAO player ever would. But he was still somewhat happy that he put on the Nerve Gear that day.

Alice looked at her in-game husband and watched him distracted in his train of thought. "What's wrong Ren?"

Ren snapped out of his daydream and looked at Alice smiling at him. "Oh nothing. Just reminiscing about stuff"

"I hope you weren't thinking about other girls" Alice said teasingly.

"As if. There's no way in hell I'd ever leave you"

Alice let out a small yet cute giggle as she snuggled up next to her boyfriend. "I love you. I love you more than anything else in the world"

"Even more than strawberry milkshakes?"

"Hmm… maybe. That's a tough decision"

Ren laughed as he nuzzled against Alice. The two were trapped in a moment of pure happiness that neither one of them wanted to end. As luck would have it however, the two of them got a message on their windows of somebody shaking their bodies in the real world.

"I guess my mom finished making lunch" Ren assumed. "We should probably log out"

"Do we have to? I don't mind skipping a meal and staying like this"

"The same goes for me, but if we don't my mom's only going to tease us even more."

"Fair point" Alice said with a small sigh. The two of them opened their menus and hit the log out button. Both of their consciousness faded from the world of Alfheim and returned to the real world.

Dan opened his eyes as his vision slowly returned to him. Alicia was lying next to him as she began to regain her senses too. Clair was looking over them at the side of her brother's bed.

"Mom made lunch and told me to bring you two downstairs." Clair told them.

"What does she have planned for me this time?" Dan asked, knowing that his mother must have had something planned to embarrass him and Alicia.

"Not telling. Mom's paying me to keep silent on the matter" Clair said with a grin.

Dan sighed in annoyance as Clair skipped out of her brother's room and headed downstairs. "So much for siblings being there for each other"

Alicia giggled as she got up from the bed along with Dan. The two of them walked downstairs together into the kitchen where Mrs. Hiryo was waiting. Clair had already taken her seat at the table and was currently eating one of the tuna sandwiches laid out for lunch.

Mrs. Hiryo gave an innocent smile at her son and his girlfriend. "Hello you two. Sleep well?"

"We were on ALO mom, not napping"

"I do hope you two weren't doing anything dirty in there. I know you're a young man now and all but-"

"Mom!" Dan exclaimed with his face blushing, along with Alicia's. Clair couldn't help but laugh at the sight of the couple.

"Alright I'll stop for now" the middle aged woman told her son. "Sit down and enjoy your lunch"

Relieved to have his mother's antics paused, Dan took a seat at the kitchen table along with Alicia. The couple began eating some of the tuna sandwiches along with Clair. His mother was annoying when it came to her love for embarrassing her son, but Dan had to admit she was an excellent cook.

Alicia took a bite of her sandwich and smiled. "Mmmmm. This is really good"

"I'm glad you like them Alicia" Mrs. Hiryo said with a smile. "I've tried teaching Dan, but he seems to be hopeless in the kitchen."

As much as Dan hated to admit it, his mother was right. Cooking was not his forte in the slightest. The highest extent of his skills in the kitchen was heating something up in the microwave or cooking pasta.

Alicia giggled at her boyfriend's sulking head. "Come on Dan. Sure you're not a wiz as a cook, but you're good at other things"

"Like making out?" Clair said from her seat. "Tell us Alicia, was my brother a good or bad kisser when you two first met?"

"Clair…" Dan grumbled with a glare, which only earned a laugh from her instead.

Alicia giggled at the feuding siblings. It reminded her of whenever she had them with Emi. "For your information Clair, he was a great kisser right from the start"

Dan showed a prideful grin at the compliment. Clair simply rolled her eyes at the sight. "Don't let it go to your head bro"

"Have you ever kissed someone Clair?" Dan countered.

"Well no, but… look don't change the subject!" Clair argued.

"He gets that good kisser trait from me" Mrs. Hiryo stated, to which Dan rolled his eyes in response.

Once lunch was finished, Dan brought the dishes over to the sink and quickly washed them. Once that was out of the way, both Dan and Alicia went over to the living room to relax. Before he could sit down with his girlfriend however, his mother called over to him.

"Dan, can you be a dear and grab the chairs in the basement. I forgot we're having company over in a few days and I'd like to have everything ready sooner rather than later."

"Alright" Dan said as he hid a sigh. He'd much rather spend more time with Alicia, but how long could it really take to bring up a few chairs? He walked over to the door to the basement and headed downstairs.

"I'll help too" Alicia offered.

"Oh no, I couldn't ask you to do that. You're a guest" Mrs. Hiryo told her. "Instead, could you do me a favor and wait right there for a minute?"

"Sure" Alicia responded somewhat hesitantly as she watched Dan's mom quickly rush upstairs. No doubt she was up to something, but what was it?

The answer to Alicia's question was soon answered as Mrs. Hiryo soon came back down, carrying a rather large book in her hands. She walked over to Alicia and took a seat next to her. "Dan should be busy for a few minutes getting those chairs. I put them in a hard to reach place."

"Ok… Why?"

"To give us time to chat of course!" she said with a bright smile. "I know I may tease the two of you quite often, but I'm truly grateful that you're a part of my son's life"

"Th-Thank you" Alicia replied with a small blush.

"Dan used to be so distant and quiet. He hardly talked to anyone at all outside of the family" Mrs. Hiryo explained with a somewhat sad smile. "But ever since he came back from SAO, he's changed. Whenever I see him now, he's always so bright and cheerful. I think that has to do with him meeting you and all of his friends from Sword Art Online"

Alicia gave a soft smile at the compliment from her boyfriend's mother. She had never really seen Dan's quiet and lonely side, but she was glad he wasn't that way anymore. Hearing that the reason may have been her only made her even happier.

"Thanks Mrs. Hiryo-"

"Oh please dear, call me Juna" she said. "There's no need to be so formal. As far as I'm concerned, you're already part of this family"

"Thanks… Juna" Alicia smiled. She pointed to the book on her lap. "What is that anyway?"

"Oh this is an album of pictures. I thought I'd show you what Dan was like when he was little since he's a bit distracted right now."

Suddenly, a large crashing sound was heard from downstairs, almost like an avalanche had occurred.

"Are you sure he doesn't need any help?" Alicia asked.

"Oh he'll be fine. That was probably just some of the stuff I piled up on top of the chairs falling down. It's just a few boxes, nothing to worry about."

Alicia wasn't sure to be surprised or scared of her boyfriend's mother's attitude towards that sound just now, but decided to shrug it off. Dan had been through much tougher things than bringing up a few chairs. He'd be fine.

Juna opened up the book on her lap to the first page. It was filled with pictures of Dan when he had just been born. He had a pudgy yet somewhat adorable face as a baby. A few pages later, the pictures began to show Dan when he was a few years old.

"If there's one word to describe my son when he was little, it was adventurous" Juna said. "He was always making an adventure out of everything. When Clair was born, he practically made it his job to watch over her like a guardian angel, even though he still needed plenty of watching over himself."

Alicia giggled at hearing this. She looked at the many pictures of the younger Dan with a smile on her face. There was one of him spilling his bowl of food all over himself, covering his face with it. She couldn't help but find humor in some of them. Even as a little kid, she found him adorable.

"Oh, then we've got one for when he first tried kendo right here" Mrs. Hiryo said as she turned the page.

Alicia looked at the older woman with widened eyes. "Time out! Dan tried kendo when he was little?!"

"Well… it was more of a one-time thing" Dan's mother explained with a nervous smile. She turned the page to show Alicia the picture. Dan was lying on the floor groaning while Clair stood next to him with a big grin on her face and making a victory sign with her hand.

"The two of them decided to have a sparring match to see if they liked kendo. Let's just say Clair had a… unique fighting style for her first try."

Alicia nearly burst out laughing as she looked at the picture. "What did Clair do?"

Before the woman could respond, they heard the sound of some heavy lifting being done. They watched as Dan re-entered the kitchen. "Alright mom, here's the chairs" Dan grunted as he placed the three chairs on the floor. "You really need to make these easier to-… What are you doing?!"

"Oh nothing. Just showing Alicia here some of your highlighting moments."

"Please don't tell me you showed her the kendo incident"

"We just got to that one" Alicia giggled.

Dan fell over onto the ground sulking, as if he was a lifeless corpse. "Why me?"

"So back to the question at hand, what did Clair do to beat Dan?"

"She fought dirty!" Dan exclaimed as he pointed an accusing finger at his sister. "She played little miss innocent, and told me not to be too rough with her. Then when my guard was down, she went berserk and swung her shinai around wildly"

"I have NO idea what you're talking about" Clair innocently said with a girn. "I'm just innocent little Clair. I could never hurt my big brother"

"To be fair, it's your own fault for letting her mess with your head" his mother pointed out.

"Not helping mom!"

Juna laughed as she reminisced about old times. "Oh, here's some pictures of Clair when she was little."

Clair immediately raised her head at the mention of baby pictures of her. She got out of her seat at the table and sprinted over to her mother to pry the book from her hands. "Ok, I think we've seen enough for today."

"Not so fast" Dan said as he grabbed Clair by the back of her shirt and held her back. "Let's see some of YOUR childhood highlights sis"

"Let me go!" Clair begged." There are things in there that should never be shown to the outside world!"

Curious as to what Clair wanted to be kept hidden, Alicia turned the page. The first image she saw that caught her attention was one of her with a bowl of food on top of her head. Her entire body was covered in the contents of food. Alicia couldn't help laughing at the adorable sight.

Clair finally gave up as she sulked with her head down. "I give up. Just kill me now"

Alicia laughed at Clair's expense. "Thanks for showing me those Mrs. Hir- I mean Juna"

Dan raised an eyebrow at this. "When did you start calling my mom by her first name?"

"Well if Alicia's going to become part of the family, she'll have to stop calling me Mrs. Hiryo at some point" his mother told him.

"Mom! Do you really have to say stuff like that?"

"Oh please. As if you two aren't going to get married" Clair said with a roll of her eyes. "I mean you got married in ALO so-"

"Wait, what's this?" Juna asked. "The two of you got married?!"

Dan shot a glare towards his sister, who gave a nervous laugh knowing she was going to pay for letting that information slip from her mouth. He looked back towards his mother, not telling if the look on her face was one of shock or one of excitement.

Knowing she wasn't going to get much information out of her son, Juna turned her gaze towards Alicia. "Is this true? Did the two of you really get married?"

"W-Well… in a sense yes" Alicia explained. "It's only in-game so it's not like it's official or anything. But our marriage in Alfheim was sort of like a promise between us to always be together and eventually get married in the real world"

Juna looked at Alicia and Dan for a minute before squealing in delight. "Oh you two are just so romantic! I wish I could be young like that again!"

Dan and Alicia blushed a little, but both of them agreed it was nice to have Dan's mother ok with their relationship.

Deciding he didn't want Alicia looking at even more baby pictures of him, Dan suggested he and Alicia go upstairs to his room. He did his best to ignore the teasing comment his mother made about them not doing anything dirty as he led Alicia upstairs and closed the door to his room. Dan let out an exhausted sigh as he collapsed onto his bed.

"I swear my mother is going to drive me nuts"

Alicia giggled as she laid next to her boyfriend and nuzzled against him. "She's not THAT bad"

"Try living with her for eighteen years and you might change your mind"

"Well if it means anything, I thought you were very adorable in your baby pictures"

"Please don't bring that up again" Dan groaned.

Alicia decided to cheer up her boyfriend as she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him. After their lips separated, the two of them cuddled together in bed. Soon Dan heard a soft humming coming from Alicia's mouth. Dan was instantly able to recognize the tune.

"The BGM for Lunet is that catchy huh?"

"Huh?"

"The tune you were just humming. It's the BGM for Floor 17."

Alicia's eyes widened before she began laughing to herself. "I didn't even realize it. I guess the music's just stuck in my head."

"Well we have spent a lot of time there" Dan pointed out. "And it's also where we had that wedding ceremony"

Alicia smiled as she remembered the memory of when she and Dan had their wedding in ALO. They had technically gotten married in-game long before that, but it was still a special day to her.

"Hey Dan… do you ever think about the future?" Alicia suddenly asked.

"The future? You mean like what I want to be?"

"No I meant our future. Like where we'll be after school's done and everything."

Dan thought about it for a bit before answering. "I don't know really. All I know for sure is that I want to be with you."

Alicia nodded with a smile on her face. "Yeah. Maybe it'll be more than just us though."

Dan smiled at the thought of him and Alicia starting a family later on in life. "If my mom hears us talking about kids, she's never gonna shut up"

"I know. I've just always been jealous of how Kazuto and Asuna have Yui. Those three always seem so happy together that it makes me want to have the same thing."

"Me too. But that'll have to wait for a while. We'd both be screwed if you ended up pregnant while we were still in school."

"God, my mother would probably kill me" Alicia said with a somewhat nervous laugh. "But having kids might be nice one day"

"Yeah. One day" Dan agreed as he nuzzled his face against Alicia's, the two of them blocking out everything else in the world except for the two of them.

**A/N: I've been reading reviews and PMs and I'm hearing a lot of Relice love, so I felt a simple "hanging out" chapter was necessary, since the next few chapters will be more focussed towards Hylina (or Dalios, whichever you guys like) fans. Please review and tell me what you guys think about the story. I really appreciate the great feedback.**


	74. Eloping

**A/N: Hey guys. Finally time for the new chapter. This idea just came to me out of nowhere and I just knew I had to do it. Enjoy.**

"It's been far too long since we've chatted like this hasn't it?" a woman asked the other woman in front of her.

The other woman nodded as she took a sip of her tea. Both women were currently in a diner after bumping into each other on the streets and decided to catch up. "I agree it's been a while. The last time we talked was when your husband came by to discuss business with mine. Around two months if I remember correctly?"

"That sounds about right. It's a shame we had to be cut off mid conversation last time but now we have the time to talk about the matter of discussion from our last meeting."

The woman nodded her head with a small smile. "Ah yes, the marriage meeting of your son and my daughter Asuna."

"That's right Kyouko, I do believe my son is the right fit for her. He's handsome, well-educated and is going to be studying for a degree in business studies to inherit his father's business. Not to mention him being quite the gentleman as well."

Kyouko Yuuki nodded her head and placed her tea cup down. "He certainly fits the bill for Asuna's ideal husband. Why don't we have them meet tomorrow at around 3:00 p.m at my home?"

The other woman clapped her hands in delight at this news. "Oh thank you I can assure you my son won't disappoint."

"Come to think of it didn't you mention you having two sons?" Kyouko asked as she took another sip of her drink.

The woman gave a nervous scratch to the back of her head and chuckled. "Hahaha… Yeah I don't think my other son would be the right fit for Asuna. He's rather brash."

"I see. But I think it would be within my best interest to cover all of my bases as the saying goes. Invite your other son as well. That way there's more of a chance to get Asuna to see the options in front of her instead of being with that monkey she's currently dating." Kyouko finished her drink and wiped her mouth with the napkin in front of her.

"Very well Kyouko, I'll see to it that he is there to meet your daughter. I assure you at least one of them will leave a positive impression on you."

"I expect nothing less. Well then Nohime, I shall see you tomorrow. Have a nice day."

"As do you." Paying her half of the bill Nohime gave a small bow to Kyouko Yuuki and made her way back to her home. She pulled out her phone and quickly dialed the number for her house. After a few rings the phone picked up on the other end.

"Gekido residence. Shu speaking."

"Shu I have great news for you and your brother. Tomorrow you and Hyde will have a meeting with Asuna Yuuki to try to get our families to become closer."

"Asuna Yuuki? From the wealthy Yuuki family?"

"The very same. Be sure to let your brother know about this and for him to be on his best behavior unless he wants his Amusphere to be smashed and tossed in the garbage come next morning."

"That seems a bit harsh but I'll be sure to let him know."

"Good I'll be home in about an hour or so. I just remembered that there's some business I need to take care of. See you soon."

"See you mom." Shu hung up on his end and sighed as he placed the phone back on the wall unit. "Oh boy, Hyde isn't going to like this."

The older Gekido made his way up to his brother's room and knocked on the door. "Hey Hyde! Got some news for you."

After waiting a few seconds he heard the lock switch open from behind the door as it opened up to reveal a groggy looking Hyde with messy hair rubbing his eyes. "What the hell man? I was taking a nap."

"At 2 in the afternoon?"

"Hey I don't tell you how to manage your sleep schedule, you don't tell me how to manage mine." he said as he let out a big yawn. "So what is it?"

"Mom set up a meeting between us and Asuna Yuuki. Apparently this will make our families closer or so she said." Shu explained.

Soon all sleep that lazed within Hyde's body was jolted awake as he stared at his brother. "Wait. Asuna Yuuki? As in chestnut long hair, delicate face, knows her way with a kitchen knife?"

"Yeah why?"

Hyde let out a groan of frustration as he turned around. "Alright I understand Shu. Just go back to whatever it is that you were doing. I need to make a personal call."

Shu raised an eyebrow at his brother but decided not to push the issue as he went back to his studies. After making sure his brother was downstairs, Hyde closed his door and picked up his cellphone. Going to his quick contacts, he found Asuna's number and dialed it. After a few rings she picked up on her end.

"Hyde? Why are you calling me? This is the first time you've ever used my number."

"Asuna… you wouldn't happen to be meeting any suitors tomorrow, are you?"

Asuna groaned in annoyance. "Don't make me remember stuff like that."

"Are you or aren't you?"

"If you must know, I am. Why do you ask?"

"Two suitors?"

"Yeah… Hyde, how do you know this?"

"I was afraid of this" Hyde sighed. "Look Asuna, I need to tell you something and I need you to bear with me and not freak out. One of the suitors you're meeting… is me"

Hyde thought he heard something shatter on the other end of the phone. It took a bit before Asuna finally said something. "I'm sorry. I REALLY want to believe I just misheard what you said. Could you repeat that?"

"I'm one of the suitors you're meeting tomorrow. The other one is my brother"

A few moments of silence passed by, ending with Asuna groaning as if she was experiencing a headache. Considering the situation, she probably was. "I am going to kill my mother for this. She's gone too far this time"

"Hold on a second there" Hyde told her. "Why don't we use this opportunity to our advantage? A chance at revenge on our parents"

"... I'm listening"

"Ok so here's what we're going to do…"

XXXXXXXXXX

-Later at the Dicey Cafe-

"Time out! You guys are going to do WHAT?!" Kazuto exclaimed as he looked at Hyde and Asuna in disbelief.

"We're going to make our parents think we've fallen in love at first sight" Hyde explained. "We're going to do a fake elope and hide out somewhere for a few days to teach our parents a lesson."

Hyde and Asuna had called Kazuto and Lilina, along with the rest of their friends, to the Dicey Cafe after planning out their revenge over the phone.

"So you think that we're just gonna accept this Hyde?" Lilina asked with her hands on her hips. "I don't want another woman's hands on my boyfriend."

Asuna gave a dry retch at that statement and shook her head feverishly at Lilina. "Gross! There is no way I'm cheating on Kazuto! And even if I did I could get a MUCH better guy than Hyde to do it with!"

"All we're doing is just staying somewhere out of town. Platonically nothing else involved."

"You do realize your folks are going to kill you when they find out you were pulling their legs right?" Dan pointed out as he listened to this.

"My mother has been trying to set me up with a bunch of stuck up idiots one after another" Asuna told her friend. "Maybe this is what it'll take to teach her a lesson"

"Heh didn't think we'd ever agree on something Asuna but our moms need this lesson." Hyde smiled as he brought out a notepad. "Alright so we have to plan out our lines for when we meet. We have to more or less memorize these to the dot."

Asuna nodded her head in agreement. "Right, we have to make this as convincing as possible and we can't sound too eager or cheesy or else we'll blow our cover."

"This seems so stupid." Alicia groaned as she slowly face-palmed herself. "I expect this from Hyde but not you Asuna."

"When you have a mother who pretty much treats your opinions like garbage tell me. Then I'll buy you the biggest horse in all of Japan and you can ride it off into the sunset. Until then though let me have a bit of much needed payback" Asuna said back as she and Hyde started writing out their lines on the notepad.

To the normal onlooker it would just seem that the Gekido boy and Yuuki girl were just studying together. But since they were not familiar with the friend group they were involved with they had no idea they were planning on causing grief to their parents. Dan and the others decided to leave them be as they didn't want to be caught in their web of lies.

"Oh by the way Dan, we need a favor" Hyde added.

Dan felt a nervous sweat go down his back, wondering where his friend was going with this. "What kind of favor?"

"Well Asuna and I are gonna need a place to crash for about a day or two, so I was wondering…"

"You want me to convince my mother to let the two of you stay at my place?" Dan asked.

"Pretty much" Asuna said with a nod.

Dan groaned as he heard this. "Fine. I will ASK her if it's alright. But I am not promising anything else. And if your parents come looking for you at my place, I'm not getting caught in the middle of it"

"Oh please, my mother doesn't even know half of the friends I have from SAO. We'll be safe" Asuna assured her friend.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Ugh I hate wearing this monkey suit!" Hyde groaned as struggled with the tie around his neck.

Mrs. Gekido sighed as she properly tied the neckwear on her youngest son's neck. "I swear Hyde you couldn't put on a tie if your life depended on it. Now remember to be on your best behavior"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. I won't break anything."

"Or steal stuff, or assault anyone, or insult the family in anyway."

"Geez can't I have any fun!?" A quick glare from his mother made him roll his eyes. "Alright fine. I'll be a perfect little angel."

"That mocking tone is going as well when we reach the Yuuki's home Hyde." She said as the Gekido family entered their car and drove off to the Yuuki estate.

Within a few minutes of driving they had reached the grand home of the Yuuki family. After finding a parking spot for the car the family walked through the entrance of the estate. It was a large open area but not overly so, making it feel more like a bigger mansion than a true manor. Waiting for them at the front of the main staircase was Asuna and her mother Kyouko with the younger Yuuki wearing a light pink kimono and the older one wearing her usual business attire.

"Hello Kyouko." Mrs. Gekido said with a bow. "I am delighted and honored to be here today." She lifted herself and gestured to her sons. "This is my eldest son Shu and my youngest son Hyde."

"It's a pleasure to meet you both" they both said with bow.

"I see they are well behaved gentlemen." Kyouko mused as she looked at the two boys. "Much better than that other boy Asuna insists on seeing."

'_Don't you talk crap about Kazuto!'_ Asuna growled internally.

"Well now Asuna please introduce yourself to our guests."

Asuna nodded her head and gave a small bow to the Gekido boys. "My name is Asuna Yuuki. It is a pleasure to meet-" as she lifted her head her eyes came into contact with Hyde's. A small nod from him signaled what was to come. _'It's show time'_ Asuna thought as she got up from her bow.

The heir to Yuuki family directly looked Hyde in the eyes and began to slowly walk towards him. "Um… Hello there." she said softly with a soft smile.

'_Impressive. Even got the tone right and everything.' _Hyde thought as he had the grace to give a nervous scratch to the back of his head. "H-Hello there Asuna. I'm Hyde Gekido, it's a pleasure to meet you."

"As it is to me." Asuna turned to her mother with a smile on her face. "Mother may I talk to him alone for a few moments? I wish to get to know Hyde better."

Kyouko and Nohime both gave looks of surprise at the chestnut haired girl's request. The surprise gave way to relief as Kyouko thought her daughter was finally getting over that Kazuto boy. "Very well take him upstairs and discuss. I will keep Mrs. Gekido and Shu entertained in the meantime."

Asuna thanked her mother as she took Hyde's hand and lead him upstairs.

Mrs. Gekido gave a small frown at this scene. There was something fishy going on with Hyde. Normally he would never be interested in the more soft spoken and well-mannered type of girl. He would have more of an attraction to the loud and obnoxious type that she would see walking around the city. Overall this whole meeting was for Shu to gain the Yuuki girl's affection not for Hyde to steal her from him. But she supposed if this could help change her son's overall attitude she wouldn't interfere with their relationship.

Meanwhile upstairs Asuna and Hyde closed the door behind them and locked it. After making sure there was nothing amiss in the room they both sat at either ends of the table.

"Alright you're doing great so far Asuna." Hyde nodded his head. "Real convincing acting. Almost had me fooled for a second there."

"Quit joking around, this is serious." Asuna frowned as she brought out the notepad. "Alright knowing my mother she will give us around half an hour to chat before she comes back to check on us. When she does we will have to act like we are in absolute love with each other."

"Ugh I'll try my hardest but I can't make any promises at me being at my 100% best acting work. I mean you're no Lilina, that's for sure."

"And you aren't exactly Kazuto's spitting image but we have to try. Let's take this time to practice how we will act when they come back. Just imagine me as Lilina and do your best." Asuna said as she looked Hyde in the eyes. "I'll try my best to imagine Kazuto's face on you so I can stomach all the lovey dovey stuff."

"Yeah whatever. So is Dan ready at his end?"

Asuna nodded her head. "Yeah. He said his mother is alright with us coming over for a day or so. She doesn't know anything about the plan though so we have to be careful while we're there."

Soon enough half an hour passed as she and Hyde practiced their acting skills for the moment of truth. True to Asuna's word once the time frame she said passed Kyouko opened the door with Shu and Nohime Gekido in tow.

"I believe you and Hyde have had quite an ample amount of time to get acquainted. I believe Shu would like to speak with you as well Asuna." Kyouko said as she gestured to the older teen.

Asuna shook her head at that suggestion. "No I would much rather keep talking to Hyde. I have never connected with a person so well before." Hyde had to commend her acting skills as she somehow had the ability to blush on command. Asuna was doing everything she could to keep up the act, despite how hard it was to act like she was in love with Hyde of all people. _'Ugh I feel like I have to vomit...'_

"I'd like to stay longer too. She's so radiant unlike any girl I've ever met before." Hyde smiled as well. _'Why do I feel as though Lilina is going to kill me or Asuna by the end of this?'_

Kyouko shook her head at her youngest child. "Asuna you have to give Shu a chance to talk as well. Nohime brought both of her sons and it's only fair to give him a chance as well."

Asuna frowned as she reached across the table and grabbed Hyde's hand. "Well I don't care, I found the man I want to spend my life with. And I will be glad to become Asuna Yuuki Gekido."

"Asuna don't you believe you're rushing this a bit?" Nohime asked a bit baffled that the Yuuki girl well in love with Hyde of all people. "You can't just say you want to spend your life with someone after just one conversation."

"Haven't you ever heard of love at first sight?"

"Asuna enough!" Kyouko said firmly as she led Shu forward. "You will now speak to Shu for a while as Mrs. Gekido and Hyde join me for a while. Understand?"

"...Yes mother…" Asuna muttered as she let go of Hyde's hand.

Hyde himself never let his eyes break contact with the Yuuki girl's as he left. She gave him one last longing look before the door shut behind them leaving her with Shu. After a few moments of silence Shu decided to speak up.

"Okay before we get to know each other I have to ask. What is going on between you and my brother?"

"Whatever do you mean?" Asuna asked as she feigned ignorance.

Shu shook his head at her query. "I know my brother and his tastes and no offense Asuna, you are not his dream girl."

Asuna gave an intimidating look as she placed her hands on the table. "I'm sorry but this doesn't concern you. I'm sure you're a nice guy and all but my heart is already taken."

"And who is that and what does it have to do with Hyde?"

"That's for me and Hyde to know and for you to find out." she said simply.

Shu sighed and held his hands up in resignation. "Fine just know that I want nothing to do with what you're planning. When it happens do not mention my name."

"Now that I can promise. Now shall we talk?"

Time passed as they talked the time away. As it would turn out Shu wasn't a bad guy compared to all the suitors she's met before. He didn't talk about money or anything related to finances. If anything he'd probably be a good friend at the very least. Soon enough Kyouko along with the other Gekidos.

"Well Asuna, what are you opinions of Shu?" the Gekido mother asked with an expectant smile.

"He's a kind man with a nice heart. But my heart still longs for Hyde." Standing up, Asuna walked up to the younger Gekido and held both of his hands. "I love him mother! I want to marry him right now!"

Kyouko looked rather shell shocked as she witnessed this complete 180 in her personality. Normally she would encourage Asuna being so willing to marry another man but this was just too out of character for her to accept. "Asuna don't you think you're rushing things a bit? You both just met. You can't marry on such short notice."

Asuna herself looked as though she had taken a bullet to the chest. "Mother I'm hurt! You didn't accept my relationship with Kazuto and now that I am willing to move on from him you won't let me have the pleasure of marrying the man I've fallen for! How can you be so heartless!?"

"Mrs. Yuuki I'm in love with Asuna as well." Hyde said from the woman's side, making his mother go wide eyed. "I swear to treat her like a goddess if you bless our marriage!"

"Enough!" Kyouko yelled, silencing the two teens. "It is clear that you two are not thinking clearly. I think we need to cool off and eat something to get our wits about us. Come you two I want no complaining at the dinner table understood?"

"Yes mother"

"Yes ma'am"

Lunch was a silent affair as the only sounds were of utensils occasionally scraping against the plates as they ate a European dish prepared by Akiyo, the Yuuki's housekeeper. Soon Asuna pushed herself from her seat and gave a small bow. "I'm sorry but I need to excuse myself. I will return shortly."

Kyouko nodded her head as she gave her daughter permission to leave. Around ten minutes had passed before Hyde started finished his meal and gave a small feel into his pocket before his eyes widened. Nervously he got up from his seat and gave an apologetic bow. "I am sorry Mrs. Yuuki but I had forgotten my phone in the room where I had spoken to Asuna may I get it back?"

"Hyde you are being rude to the Yuuki's hospitality!" his mother chided as she turned to her friend. "I am sorry for his rudeness Kyouko."

"No it's fine go get your phone and come straight back. I want to have a talk about this whole situation involving my daughter with you when you return. Hopefully Asuna will be back as well when you return."

Hyde bowed once again as he left the dining room to retrieve his device. Several minutes had passed as Kyouko grew suspicious of Hyde and Asuna's absence. Fearing that the two teens may have been doing something indecent in her own home, Kyouko, Mrs. Gekido and Shu all rushed to find the two teens. They searched through numerous rooms before they arrived at the room where Hyde and Asuna chatted for the first time. Opening the room they saw nothing there except for one lone letter sitting upon the table. Fearing the absolute worst, Kyouko tore open the letter and read its contents to her two guests after reading it quickly herself.

_Dear mother,_

_I am sorry it had to come to this but you left me no choice. You had denied me the one thing I have ever truly wanted from you, a blessed marriage and me riding off into the sunset with my beloved. So to be together with the one I love, Hyde and I have decided to elope. Don't bother looking for us as we will only return after our honeymoon is over. I want only my happiness to be my top priority with Hyde._

_Farewell for now Mother._

_Love Asuna Yuuki._

Kyouko stared at the letter in shock. She had known Asuna had been impulsive with Kazuto, but she had never been this bad. What had her daughter become?

"They couldn't have gotten far. We need to search for them" Hyde's mother said.

Kyouko nodded her head. "Y-You're right. We need to find those two before they do anything foolish."

XXXXXXXXXXX

"So how long are your friends staying over?" Dan's mother asked.

"Just a day or two" Dan told her.

"And why do they have to sleep over again?"

"Their parents are going away for the weekend, and neither of their parents trust them to be home alone. Asuna's mom is afraid she'll invite Kazuto to spend the night and Hyde's mom is… not very trusting of him."

"Considering how he acts, I'm not surprised" Mrs. Hiryo sighed. "Just make sure he doesn't do anything stupid while he's here."

"Don't worry. He promised to be very well behaved." Dan assured his mother. _'He better be, considering what I'm doing for him'_

It wasn't long before the doorbell rang. Dan went to answer it and found the two guests he was expecting standing at the door. He made sure his mother was out of earshot before talking. "So how'd it go?"

"Perfect. They're probably panicking like crazy right now."

"And there's no chance they'll look for you here?"

"Not a chance… I think" Hyde said, muttering that last part under his breath.

"It wasn't easy sneaking our way over here. We couldn't take the chance of our parents spotting us on the streets." Asuna said. "But… this is just so exciting! I've never done something this rebellious before."

"Welcome to the dark side Asuna" Hyde grinned. "Take a load off and help yourself to some bad habits.

"Alright you two just settle your stuff in the guest room and plan what you're going to do for now." Dan said as he ushered the two inside. _'Something tells me this is going to be a long few days.'_

And boy was Dan right about that.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

"Now Clair if a bully ever tries to take your lunch money here is what you do." Hyde started as he held the younger girl's arm. "If it's a boy you punch them under the belt."

"What does that mean?" she asked.

Hyde smiled. "Well it means the area where men-"

"HYDE!"

At that point Dan had burst into the room and socked Hyde across the face in order to silence him. Clair gasped in shock as the older teen fell to the ground. "Dan why did you do that?"

"That was so unnecessary!" Hyde complained as he got up. "I was just teaching her how to stand up for herself!"

"By teaching her where to aim at a guy's most weak area!? Hell! To! The! No! I don't need you corrupting my sister!"

Hyde rolled his eyes as rubbed his cheek. "Screw this I'm gonna go on ALO." Pushing Dan aside he went into the guest room.

The next day after that Dan found Asuna in the kitchen with his mother chatting at the table with a red book in front of them. Alarm bells started ringing in his head as that was the book used for family pictures and memories, something he didn't want any of his friends to see. God knows what Hyde would do with that information. "Mom! What are you doing!?"

Dan's mom looked up from the album and smiled. "Oh I'm just showing Asuna here some photos of when you were in elementary school." She turned back to Asuna and pointed at another photo. "Oh this one was cute, when he was in his second year he entered the school's talent competition where-"

"Alright enough!" he yelled as he grabbed the book from the two females. "No showing my past to anyone outside of the family! No showing my past to anyone period! That time you showed it to Alicia was bad enough!"

"Oh why do you have to be such a spoil sport Dan?" his mother pouted.

Asuna nodded her head while giggling. "Yeah some of those pictures she showed were funny."

"Please do not breathe a word about this to Hyde." he begged. "He'd never let me live it down!"

After much begging on his part, Dan got the two women to agree to keep this matter between them and no one else. He was just glad that this nightmare of a sleepover would be ending soon.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Alright I texted Shu. He should be tell my mom and your mom to meet us at your house." Hyde said as he put away his phone.

"Good, I hope she's learned her lesson about trying to decide my life for me." Asuna said and she finished packing up her things. "You know I never thought I'd say this but thanks Hyde. This was a lot of fun to get some much needed vindication."

"Don't mention it. I have to admit I like rebel Asuna a lot more than regular Asuna. She's a lot more fun."

Asuna puffed her cheeks in mock anger. "Hey I am so fun!"

Hyde playfully held up his arms in surrender. "Oh my mistake, I forgot how exciting playing kissy face with Kazuto is. Oh and cooking meals for him and Yui must be such a rush!"

"Oh shut up you!" she said as she shoved her ashy haired teen on the side. As the both of them left Dan's house to reach Asuna's place the two of them passed the time by trading stories about each other's mother. Hard as it was to believe, it seemed that the Lightning Flash Asuna and the Unrelenting Psychopath Hyde were actually becoming good friends. If anyone back in the SAO days were to say that, they'd be deemed a mental patient. Soon enough they reached the Yuuki estate to find both of their mothers glaring angrily at them. Yep they were confirmed pissed.

'_Meh worth it.'_ Hyde thought with his usual smart-alecky grin.

"Asuna, words cannot begin to describe how FURIOUS I am with you right now!" Kyouko yelled at her daughter. "I can't believe you would do something so foolish!"

"Mother I can explain-"

"I don't want to hear it young lady! While I am happy you picked a more suitable man than that monkey Kazuto, eloping was not the correct choice."

"We didn't really elope actually" Hyde admitted. "The truth was, the elope was all a ruse"

Both mothers looked at their children in shock. Hyde's mother was the first to break the silence. "Hyde, of all the stupid things you've done, this has to be the worst. And you even forced an innocent girl to participate in your plan."

"Hyde didn't force me to do anything. I chose to do this of my own free will"

Kyouko scowled at her daughter. "You what?!"

"It's true mother. We did all this to teach you two a lesson about interfering in our lives so much"

"Asuna! All I've done for you is try to give you a better future! I thought you were beginning to understand that!"

"If you want me to have a better future, then let me marry the man I love! Let me be with Kazuto!"

"Nonsense! That monkey can't give you happiness! He isn't worthy of you!"

At this point, Hyde took a step forward. "Oh yes, let's talk about all the horrible things Kazuto has done. He's saved your daughter's life multiple times in SAO. He's the reason we all left SAO when we did. He saved Asuna from a psychotic pervert that held her captive and tried to molest her, who you chose as a suitable man to marry her while she was trapped in a coma by the way. Very good parenting on your part there. Great decision. Oh and let's not forget the fact that Kazuto's also helped save people's lives on multiple other occasions too. Yeah, that's some really horrible stuff he's done. Seriously Asuna is your mom an idiot? Cause I'm starting to think she's an idiot."

Kyouko stood there, baffled by Hyde's outburst. Asuna was also shocked by the ashy haired teen's comment. She had always wondered how Dan saw him as loyal by how he acted. Perhaps this is what he meant.

Mrs. Gekido looked at her son with a furious glare. "Hyde Gekido! How dare you say such things about Mrs. Yuuki?!"

"Oh, I have plenty of stuff to say about you too!" Hyde said, pointing an accusing finger at his mother. "You were alright with what Asuna's mom was doing and even went so far as to try and set me up with her when I already have someone I love!"

"And who would that be? Some tramp you pay money to sleep with?"

"Her name is Lilina and she is not a tramp!" Asuna shouted as she stepped forward to defend her friend. "She's more human than either of you two have been! She loves Hyde for who he is!"

"Asuna, this has nothing to do with you. You don't even realize what a trouble maker that Hyde truly is" Mrs. Gekido told her.

"Excuse me?! I don't realize what kind of person he is?! I've known him for years! That's right! We both met in Sword Art Online! And while I admit he has some bad qualities, there's plenty of good ones too!"

"One of those kids that spent two years killing each other?! No wonder he acts like a wild animal" Kyouko huffed. "I should have done a background check on him. At least Shu is well mannered and behaved."

"Oh like you have a damn right to say shit like that after thousands died trying their best to escape that damn death game! By saying that you've just proven to me just how stupid you are, woman. People like you make me sick!" To emphasize his point Hyde spat near the ground at Kyouko's feet. "Seriously Asuna, I don't know how a smart girl like you came from someone so morally and mentally bankrupt."

Asuna, while a bit shocked from Hyde's sudden outburst stepped forward to her mother. "Also Kazuto is well mannered and behaved too! You'd see that if you'd just look past his damn financial status!"

"But he won't be able to support you! Do you really want to live in poverty with that monkey?!"

"I wouldn't care if I was homeless if it meant being with Kazuto!"

"But why? When you've lived in a house like this and experienced all the fine things wealth has to offer, why would you not want to live like this?"

"IT'S A LITTLE SOMETHING CALLED LOVE! YOU SHOULD TRY IT SOME TIME!" Asuna screamed. "All you've done is try and keep me from the man I love! You don't care who it is or what he's like as long as he has money! For crying out loud, you tried to set me up with Hyde Gekido of all people!" She looked back at her friend adding "No offense"

"None taken. I know I'm an asshole" Hyde shrugged with a grin.

"Asuna" Kyouko glared. "We will discuss this later! For now, I believe it was time Mrs. Gekido and her animal of a son left"

"Would rather be an animal than a parent who spits on their kid's simple desires." he bit back.

"Enough! Come Asuna!"

Asuna clenched her fists but nodded. She wasn't willing to back down on this after coming this far, but this wasn't the place to do it. She followed her mother back into her house, but not before turning to Hyde. She gave a smile to her friend. "Thanks Hyde. For everything"

"Don't mention it. Just make sure you give her hell" Hyde replied with a thumbs up. He watched as Asuna went into her house. His mother was glaring hell at him.

"I hope you're happy young man! You've just ruined Shu's chances at marrying that wonderful girl" she said.

"Mother, I don't think it would have worked anyway" Shu said, stepping in between the two. "Asuna was clearly in love with someone else. I doubt she would have agreed to marry me even if Hyde hadn't done this."

The Gekido mother held a hand to her head and sighed. "Hyde we will talk about your actions and this 'Lilina' later. For now, we are going home."

Hyde shrugged and walked over to the car. Shu got into the car with him, along with their mother. Mrs. Gekido started up the car and the three of them drove away from the Yuuki mansion.

**A/N: So what did you guys think of the chapter? Next one will be the start of the school trip. Many surprises are in store for you guys. Till next week.**


	75. Field Trip

**A/N: Hey guys. Finally time for the school trip that's been hinted at for awhile. Hope you all enjoy it. Also, I'm sorry for all of you that have been patiently waiting for the next chapters for my other fics. Schoolwork has kept me really busy so the pace is pretty slow at the moment. I should be able to write a lot more once winter break arrives in a couple weeks for me.**

"Alright students. Pile in" a teacher said, motioning the students of the SAO Survivor School to get on the busses parked outside. "Single file. No pushing"

Students got on the busses one by one with excited grins on their faces. Finally it was time for the two day school trip to Kyoto and needless to say they were all excited.

"Yeah baby! Finally we get to do something fun for a change!" Hyde exclaimed as he took his seat on the bus with Lilina sitting next to him. "Kyoto here we come!"

"I've never seen you this excited before, Hyde" Alicia said as she and Dan took their seat as well. "You're looking forward to this trip that much?"

"Of course! For once, school isn't going to be boring! We can go see the sights, buy some nice souvenirs, and a bunch of other stuff"

What Hyde said was half true. He was excited for the two day trip and getting to spend some fun time with Lilina. However the main reason he was excited had to do with the small box he had in his pocket. The square box that contained the ring he had bought with Asuna's help. Kyoto would be the perfect place to propose and ask Lilina to marry him.

"You probably just want to shoplift some of the stores there, don't you?" Rika said as she leaned over from her seat.

Hyde showed a sarcastic look of hurt. "How can you say something like that about me? How could you possibly think I would do something so devious?"

"I wouldn't put it past you" Emi muttered with a roll of her eyes. A quick kick to the back of her seat from Hyde's foot soon shut her up though.

"Guys come on. Can you at least try to not be at each other's throats for this trip?" Asuna asked from her and Kazuto's seat.

"Good luck with that" Dan sighed. He looked over towards Alicia seated next to him. "So Alicia, you excited for this?"

"Of course!" Alicia exclaimed. "I've never been to Kyoto before! This is gonna be great!"

"I heard the hotel we're staying at has a hot spring" Rika said with a teasing smile towards the couple. "But it's not co-ed. Too bad for you"

Dan blushed at the comment. "R-Rika! What are you implying?!"

"The same goes for you Kazuto" Rika added as she turned her attention to the raven haired teen. "Although we might leave the door open a little just for you"

Now it was Kazuto's turn to blush as he heard the brunette. Asuna shot a glare towards her friend. "Rika, do I need to have another talk with you about trying to seduce Kazuto?"

"Hey, it's his choice whether to take a look or not" Rika innocently said.

"I-I would never do something like that!" Kazuto argued. "Asuna is the only girl I love"

"Aww you" Asuna smiled as she leaned on his shoulder before shooting a warning glare to Rika.

The group spent the rest of the trip talking about what they were going to do in Kyoto. The first day was dedicated to touring around the city as directed by the teachers. Their chance to travel around the city as they wished would have to wait for the second day of the trip. Dan and Alicia were looking at the travel guide they had gotten to find the best places to visit. Hyde had already gone ahead and picked out the perfect location to propose to Lilina at. He just needed to discreetly lead her there and then pray that everything would go smoothly.

Hours passed by one after another as the busses drove to the city of Kyoto. When they finally arrived, students walked off the vehicles and looked around them. Trees and buildings covered the land as students stood in awe of the city's beauty.

"Alright students, we're staying at the Sakura Springs Inn a few blocks from the station here" one of the teachers explained. "Please make sure your tour groups arrive at the inn by seven."

The students soon split up into several groups, each one supervised by a teacher. Dan and the rest of his friends from his guild formed a group together. The teacher in their group was relieved to have Dan along, since nobody else was as good at keeping Hyde's anger fits in check. At least it made drawing the short straw less horrible.

As they walked through the city, Alicia and Dan were hand in hand, as well as Hyde and Lilina. Emi groaned at the fact that she was the only one out of the five of them that wasn't in a relationship and didn't have someone to hold hands romantically with. _'Geez, now I know what Rika and the others feel like'_

Dan and the group spent the next few hours walking throughout the streets of Kyoto. They made stops at several tourist attractions. One of the areas they stopped at was showing a street performance of a samurai battle. Dan and the others watched as the highly trained actors battled each other with their blades. They had their fair share of fights in ALO, but it was nice to watch one in the real world. One actor that played the hero skillfully fought against several enemies at once. If they didn't know better, the group would have mistaken it for a real sword fight with the incredible moves the actors were making.

"This is so cool!" Alicia exclaimed as she watched the performance. She turned to her boyfriend and smiled. "But I know you'd wipe the floor with him, Dan"

"Maybe if this was ALO. I've had more than enough dangerous fights in the real world." Dan said.

After watching the performance for a little while longer, Dan's group left and continued their tour around Kyoto. A few more hours passed as they walked around the city. Dan made a mental note of any special places he saw that Alicia might like when they had their free day tomorrow. Hyde noticed the place he planned to propose to Lilina at and made sure he remembered the path there for later.

Eventually the time came for the group to head to the Sakura Springs Inn for the night. Needless to say, the boys and the girls were separated by floor. Dan, Hyde, and Kazuto were in the same room together. The three male teens sighed in annoyance that they couldn't be in the same room as their girlfriends, but what could they do?

"God this sucks." Hyde groaned. "I wish I could be with Lilina."

"Well it's almost the guy's time for the hot springs so I guess we could do that later" Dan shrugged.

"I wonder if the girls are still bathing there" Kazuto wondered.

XXXXXXXXXX

"Ahh, the water feels so nice" Asuna said as she let her body soak in the hot springs.

"It's so soothing. I feel like I could stay here forever" Alicia nodded in agreement.

"I've never been in a real hot spring before. Who knew it was this nice?" Lilina added.

The three girls soaked in the hot springs together, along with Rika, Emi, and Keiko. The space given for the spring was surprisingly wide. It almost felt like a swimming pool. Most of the other girls at their school, which was already few in number, had turned in for the night.

"You know, I actually heard there were a few hidden areas in the old Aincrad that had hot springs" Rika said as she let the water wash over her skin. "I always wished I could have experienced what they were like."

The five girls continued chatting together as the time passed along. Their conversation paused as they heard the door to the bath open. All heads turned to see Kaia make her way in. She didn't even notice the other girls until she stepped into the water. Almost immediately after she made eye contact with Lilina the two of them started glaring at each other menacingly.

"Well if it isn't little miss man-stealer" Lilina growled.

"Get over yourself. We both know it's only a matter of time before Hyde realizes I'm the better girlfriend."

Asuna coughed a bit into her hand at that statement. When all eyes turned to her she only smiled back. "Sorry, air came up the wrong pipe." And they believed it.

Kaia rolled her eyes as she sat down in the water. "Well I'm not gonna let your presence ruin my dip. Just keep quiet and don't talk about my Hyde."

"YOUR HYDE!?"

"Lilina calm down!" Alicia yelled as she held back the raging redhead. "She isn't worth it!"

"You're lucky that Alicia was here to save you, snake!" Lilina yelled as all of her friends minus Rika dragged her to a different part of the hot spring

Kaia raised her eyebrow as she saw Rika stare at her blankly. "Can you stop staring at me!? It's creepy!"

"Just why...?"

"Why?"

Kaia jumped a bit in shock as Rika suddenly jumped forward and grabbed her by the shoulders as her eyes threatened to spill tears. "Why do you love Hyde of all people!? Is he really more desirable than me!?"

"Whoa! Look I'm flattered but I don't swing that way!" Kaia yelled as she backed up from the brunette girl.

"That's not what I meant! What I mean is that how does someone as horrible as Hyde have two people interested in him while me, a normal and nice looking girl, has no one looking at her! It isn't fair!"

"Whatever I don't care about problems that don't revolve around me or my Hyde so I'm not gonna play therapist. Go on and shoo now." Kaia said with a wave.

Rika, now in a depressed funk, wadded her way back into the deeper waters where her friends were at. Lilina seemed to be calming down but anyone could tell she was still irritated about what happened. Alicia looked at Rika and sighed. "Let me guess, she said something to you?"

"No but I still hate the fact that no one is interested in me." Rika groaned as she sunk herself deeper into the water until only her head was afloat. "I mean that isn't too much to ask from the world is it? For one guy that likes me for me and not for being another cute face?"

Alicia and Emi looked at each other for a moment before giggling to themselves. Rika got annoyed, thinking that they were laughing at her expense. "Hey what's so funny!?"

"Oh it's just that maybe if you stopped fawning over Kazuto and hoping to steal him away from Asuna, the same goes for any other girls present here" Keiko merely looked away and whistled to herself. "Then maybe you would see that there is one guy that you know of that looks at you."

"Wait what!? Who!?" Rika demanded as she stood up.

"It's Yuya!" Emi blurted out.

Rika's eyes widened as she recoiled back a bit in shock at the mention of Yuya. He was an SAO survivor like her and they were in the same homeroom together. There weren't many moments she could recount where she and him actually had extended conversation. But from what she could remember they had a few things in common.

"Yu-Yuya…? Really?" Rika gasped, completely at a loss for words.

"You should see your face right now" Alicia giggled. "But I have seen him looking at you every now and then"

Rika thought to herself for a moment. Was there really someone who liked her? Were the girls just messing with her right now? And if they weren't, what could this mean for her life? But at the same time, could she just abandon the feelings she had for Kazuto? She had tried to ignore the love she felt for the raven haired teen since she didn't want to betray Asuna. Sure she teased the couple every now and then, but deep down she knew Kazuto would always truly love Asuna more than her.

Asuna giggled as she looked at her best friend. "Oh my god Rika, you're blushing so much right now!"

Rika snapped out of her thoughts and realized Asuna was right. She did her best to hide her red cheeks, but the attempt only resulted in her blushing even more.

"Aww, this is so CUTE" Emi laughed. "You like Yuya, don't you Rika?"

"No! Wait I mean… I don't know. I never really thought about me and him being… together"

"Well now's a good chance to think about it." Alicia pointed out. "So, what do you think of him?"

"I mean he's nice and all. It's just… I never knew he felt that way about me. I don't know what to think"

"Imagine if Hyde heard about this." Keiko said.

"You guys can NOT tell him about this, got it?!" Rika glared.

"I don't know… this is pretty juicy" Emi giggled.

"GOT?! IT?!"

"Ok, ok."" Emi said, waving her arms in defense. "My lips are sealed"

"The same goes for all of you too" Rika said as she looked at the rest of her friends.

"So… does this mean you're gonna get together with him?" Asuna asked, silently begging Rika would say yes so she would have one less member of her boyfriend's harem to deal with and so she could go into her matchmaker persona once again.

"I don't know" Rika sighed as she sank her body into the water. "I need time to think about how I feel about him"

Asuna and the other girls decided to drop the conversation and give Rika her time to think. Keiko decided to change the topic of conversation. "So, what are you all doing tomorrow since we have a free day to ourselves?"

"Dan and I are going to see the sights. We're not going anywhere specific I think" Alicia said.

"Kazuto's taking me to some cool shops around Kyoto. I'm gonna see if I can find a cool souvenir for my brother and my dad"

"What about your mother?" Emi asked.

"What about my mother?" Asuna muttered back in a low groan. She turned to the redhead of the group. "What about you Lilina? Hyde taking you anywhere specific?"

"He said he had a big surprise for me tomorrow" Lilina shrugged. "I tried getting him to spill what it was, but he wouldn't talk"

'_Of course he wouldn't'_ Asuna silently thought, wondering about what tomorrow would bring for Hyde and Lilina. One thing was for sure, she had to go see and find out when tomorrow came.

Another half hour or so passed by before the girls decided to turn in for the night. They exited the hot springs wrapped in towels and went indoors to get re-dressed. Asuna, Lilina, and Alicia were all in a room together. They wished they could have shared rooms with their boyfriends but there was no way the school would allow it.

Asuna laid in her futon, not able to sleep at all. She knew it wasn't really any of her business, but she just HAD to know what tomorrow would be like when Hyde proposed. The romantic in her couldn't sit still. Finally she decided to at the very least get a clue at what might happen. She looked over to the redhead lying in the futon next to her.

"Lilina? You still awake?"

"Yeah" Lilina said. "What's up? You need something?"

"I'm just curious about something. Where do you see yourself and Hyde in the future?"

Alicia heard the chestnut haired girl's comment and looked up from her bed. "Is everything alright Asuna? Why would you ask her that in the middle of the night?"

"J-Just curiosity" Asuna said. She knew that she couldn't tell Lilina what Hyde was planning. Not only would it spoil the moment, but Hyde would never forgive her if she blabbed about it.

Lilina stared at her friend, trying to figure out her motive for asking such a random question out of the blue. Finally she gave up and decided to just answer her. "I don't know really to be honest"

"Really? Why do you say that?" Asuna asked.

"Hyde and me have been a little… distant lately. He's been really busy this past week and he won't say a word. I'm starting to feel like he's avoiding me on purpose"

"Come on, you've got to be overreacting" Alicia argued. "Hyde loves you. I know he does"

"Then why?! Why has he been avoiding me?! I just wish he would explain?!" Lilina exclaimed, tears starting to form in her eyes.

"Lilina, calm down" Asuna told her friend. "Trust me, Hyde loves you a lot. I'm sure there's a valid reason for him being distant lately"

"I hope so" Lilina sighed. She looked over towards Alicia. "Have you ever felt like that with Dan?"

Alicia thought back and nodded. "Yeah. After the first time we fought Morrigan, Dan and I were really distant for awhile. He stopped talking to me in the hall and we hung out a lot less frequent. But then we did that Blessing Ceremony quest and I realized how much he loved me." Alicia smiled as she thought back on the memory. It was one of her most treasured moments.

Before the girls could continue their conversation further, they heard the sound of footsteps from outside, most likely belonging to one of the teachers to make sure they were all asleep. The three of them quickly ducked into their futons and went to bed. As she closed her eyes, Lilina thought about her relationship with Hyde.

'_Hyde loves me… doesn't he?'_

**A/N: I hope all you Hylina fans out there are looking forward to the next chapter. Plenty of romance is on the way.**


	76. Popping the Question

**A/N: Hey everybody. Time for the moment all you Hylina fans have been waiting for. Enjoy.**

The second day of the school trip had beautiful weather, just like the day before. The sun was shining in the sky. The breeze outside wasn't too cold. Everything was perfect.

Dan and Alicia walked through the streets of Kyoto while holding hands. The couple was fully enjoying their day together and wished it would never end. As they continued walking, the two of them came up to a full garden of sakura trees. Alicia gasped in awe of the beautiful sight and led her boyfriend into the area. Pink petals danced in the wind as Alicia looked at the scenery.

"This is so beautiful" Alicia said with a smile.

"Not as beautiful as you" Dan told her as he gave her a peck on the cheek, an action that caused Alicia to blush.

"D-Dan! There's people around here"

"Are there? I didn't notice them with you here"

Alicia's cheeks became even redder as she heard this. "Why are you always trying to make me blush?!"

"Cause you're so adorable when you're embarrassed"

"I am not!" Alicia tried to seem intimidating by puffing her cheeks, but all it earned was a laugh from her boyfriend. Tired of being embarrassed, Alicia tackled Dan onto the grass while she let out a gleeful laugh of her own.

Dan wrapped his arms around Alicia's waist as she laid on top of him. The couple pressed their lips against each other and enjoyed their moment of happiness under one of the sakura trees. After their quick make out session, Alicia laid on top of him and the couple stayed cuddled together while the bright petals of the trees flew with the breeze. Other people walking by smiled at the sight of the peaceful couple.

Dan stared into Alicia's sparkling scarlet eyes. She was all he could ever want and need. Alicia felt the same way about him. It was moments like this that they loved the most.

"How did I ever get lucky enough to get such a perfect girlfriend like you?" Dan asked.

"By being the most amazing guy ever" Alicia said with a smile as she leaned in and kissed him.

"Only because I have an angel at my side."

"I thought you saw me as a princess."

"You're that and so much more. You're everything to me"

"And you're everything to me too"

Time passed by as the couple relaxed together under the sakura trees. Dan and Alicia stayed wrapped in each other's arms. At one point, Dan looked over and saw Hyde and Lilina walking together. The couple held hands as they walked past the sakura trees. Alicia noticed too and smiled as she saw Lilina and Hyde having fun together.

Now that she thought about it, Lilina said Hyde had a surprise for her today. What could it be? Despite her curiosity nagging at her, Alicia decided to shrug it off. Lilina would probably tell her and the others what it was later anyway.

"I think they went this way" a familiar voice said. Alicia's ears perked up as she listened to more voices talk in whispers. Looking over towards the entranceway to the sakura trees, Alicia saw Rika, Keiko, and Emi sneaking around together. From what it looked like, the three girls seemed to be following Hyde and Lilina. Knowing this was not going to end well if it continued, Alicia and Dan got up and walked over to their friends.

As she approached the girls, Alicia tapped Rika on the shoulder. The short haired brunette jumped from the surprise as she turned to find Alicia staring her and the other two girls down. "What are you doing?"

"N-Nothing" Rika replied. "We're just… sightseeing"

"You mean stalking"

"Wh-What makes you say that?"

"So you weren't following Hyde and Lilina?"

Rika showed a poorly acted shocked expression. "Wh-What? Hyde and Lilina went this way? I had no idea. What a coincidence."

"Rika…"

"Oh fine, but come on! This is a perfect opportunity to get some blackmail material on him!"

Alicia sighed in annoyance. "Look Rika, I get that you want to have an advantage over Hyde, but-"

"Quick Kazuto! This way!"

Everyone turned to see Asuna dragging Kazuto by the arm as they rushed into the sakura trees area. It was obvious to see by Kazuto's exhausted state that he had most likely been more or less forced to follow his girlfriend's lead.

"Asuna?" Dan questioned. "What are you doing here?"

"You guys are here too?!" Asuna gasped as she looked at the crowd. "Did Hyde and Lilina come this way?"

Dan nodded and pointed behind him. "They just walked by about a minute ago"

"What are we standing around for then?! We can't lose sight of them!" Asuna exclaimed. She quickly started running again as she yanked Kazuto by the arm. Dan and the others ran after her, curious as to what the chestnut haired girl was after.

"So why are you following them?" Emi asked. "You don't seem like the type to care about another couple's date"

"This isn't just any other date you guys! Hyde's gonna do something big!"

"Like what?" Alicia asked.

"There's no time to explain! Right now, we have to catch up to them!"

"Asuna can I please get an explanation?" Kazuto asked as he was beginning to lose feeling in his arm as his girlfriend dragged him around like a ragdoll.

"I told you there isn't any time to explain! Just trust me that it will be worth the effort to sneak on them." Asuna justified as the group hid behind a set of trees deep in the garden.

"Something tells me this is just gonna be some crazy stunt by Hyde to make sure he leaves his mark on Kyoto." Rika said with a frown as she watched the couple go deeper in the pink colored area.

'_Oh Rika, you have no idea how big this stunt is'_

"So Hyde where are we going?" Lilina asked as they continued their trek into the sakura garden. She wasn't complaining, after all this was the most time she spent with Hyde personally in a while but he was acting far stranger than the norm.

Hyde just smiled to her as he pointed to a small stone table underneath two large sakura trees. "I was bringing us here. I saw it during the first day and I thought it'd be a great place just to be alone together for a while."

Lilina smiled as they both sat down in the chairs opposite from each other. The young couple looked into each other's eyes as they locked hands across the tables once more. No words needed to be said as their actions spoke much louder than either of them could convey vocally.

"Ahhh! This is so romantic!" Asuna squealed quietly as she looked at the couple.

Dan sighed as he started to turn around. "Really Asuna? You just wanted to see Hyde and Lilina act all lovey dovey to each other? I know you're a romantic but still there was no need to drag us into it if it wasn't important."

"Wait!" Rika said in a sharp yet soft voice. "Hyde is doing something!"

The group watched as Hyde got up from his seat and walked to where Lilina was sitting and clasped both of her hands with his. "Lilina I know I don't say it often enough but I am so glad I met you in SAO. You were the greatest thing to happen to me in that entire death game and if I had never met you, I don't think my life would be as great as it is now. We've been through so much together, so much more than any normal couple could say they have. Hell we even saved the freaking world, how many couples can have the satisfaction of saying that?"

"Dan, Alicia, Kazuto, and Asuna could." Lilina said with an amused giggle.

Hyde smiled at her laughter and brought her hands closer to him. "God I can't even begin to imagine what life would be like if you weren't here. I'd probably be an even bigger asshole than I am now. Lilina Yoake I know deep down inside me that you are the only woman I will ever love. Nobody else can even compare with the amount of happiness you give me just by being next to me. It's a feeling I want to feel forever until the day I die."

"H-Hyde…" Lilina felt like swooning at the passionate and heartfelt words coming from her boyfriend.

"That's why there is a question I want to ask you, and if God really does exist, hopefully you'll say yes." Without further ado, Hyde reached into his pocket and brought out a small black box as he released Lilina's hands and kneeled down before her causing her eyes to widen as her hands came to her mouth.

"Lilina Yoake. Will you marry me?"

'_WHAT THE HELL!?'_ Were the collective thoughts of everyone spying on the couple with the exception of Asuna, who started tearing up at the beauty of this scene.

'_That ring I helped him buy was worth every yen just to see this beautiful moment.'_ she thought as she looked at Lilina to see what her response would be.

Hyde looked as Lilina made no effort to respond to his offer. He started to get nervous as he began babbling. "I-I-I mean we don't have to get married right a-away! We could wait until we b-both graduate then tie the knot! I-I mea-" he was cut off as Lilina grabbed his face and kissed him full-on on the lips with love and passion. After about a minute of them locking lips Lilina separated from him with tears of joy in her eyes as she hugged him.

"Oh yes! Yes yes yes yes yes! A million times yes! Nothing would make me happier than to be Lilina Gekido!" she yelled in delight as she continuously pecked at Hyde's cheek.

Hyde laughed as he lifted up Lilina and spun her around with joy before holding her tight in a loving embrace. "Lilina you don't know how happy you've made me by saying yes!"

"Not as happy you made me by proposing! I was so worried that you were losing interest in me when you became so distant! I thought I was losing you."

"Don't ever think that Lilina." Hyde said as he kissed her forehead. "I'd sooner die than break your heart. It took a lot of planning and effort to make sure this went just right. Glad nobody else was around to see this. This is a moment just between us, one that we'll share forever."

"Oh Hyde, that was beautiful." Lilina smiled as she shed a tear.

"Congratulations you two!" a sudden gleeful voice yelled. Hyde and Lilina turned their heads to see Asuna appear from a bush and run over to them.

"Asuna, wait! Come back!" another person yelled from behind the bush.

Hyde glared at where he could hear the voice coming from. "Alright, all of you guys come out now!"

Somewhat reluctantly, the entire group emerged from the bush where they had been spying on the couple. Hyde growled in annoyance at his friends, especially Rika. "Why am I not surprised you were in on this, blacksmith?"

"Oh shut up jackass!" Rika bit back. "How were we supposed to know you were planning on proposing?"

Asuna coughed from where she was standing, trying to repress the fact that she was the one who knew what the couple was planning ahead of time and practically dragged everyone to watch.

Hyde groaned as he pinched the bridge of his nose. "I am going to kill you guys for this. This was supposed to be a PRIVATE moment"

"We get that and we're sorry" Alicia said with an understanding nod. "But… this is just so romantic! I can't believe you guys are engaged now!"

"I know right!" Lilina squealed. The redhead held out her hand to show off the ring to the girls, causing all of them to bounce around like little kids.

Dan put his hand on his friend's shoulder and grinned. "Congrats man. I'm happy for you"

"How did you afford a ring like that anyway Hyde?" Kazuto asked as he took a look at the piece of jewelry.

Hyde felt a cold sweat run down his neck. There was no way he was admitting he needed Asuna's help to buy the ring. "I uhh… I came into some money recently. Plus my dad helped pay for a portion of it." Asuna hid the quiet laugh that came from her. She didn't mind Hyde lying about where he got the money. It was probably for the best anyway. Hyde returned to his stern glare soon after. "I'm still pissed about you guys spying on us, you know"

"Look, how about we make it up to you for spying on your special moment?" Alicia suggested.

"What exactly do you have in mind?" Kazuto asked.

"Well, they did just get engaged, so why don't we help set up a special night just for them?"

"And just how are we supposed to get the teachers to be ok with that?" Rika asked. "They're gonna check to make sure we're all in our rooms before we go to sleep."

"Which is why we're going to sneak them into a room together AFTER that" Alicia explained. "It shouldn't be too hard if we all help"

"And what about in the morning?" Kazuto asked.

"We'll make sure everyone's back in their own room before the teachers are awake" Asuna said. "We have to do this! It's perfect!"

'_I have a bad feeling about this'_ Dan thought to himself.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Night time came quick for the group as both genders retired to their rooms for the night. Once 10 P.M hit the teachers began going from room to room to make sure that no one was out of place and the proper genders were all together and not mixed. After around 30 minutes of this the teachers themselves went to sleep. Kazuto opened the door slightly to see the lights off in the teacher's room and gave a quick thumbs up to Hyde and the others. "Alright the coast is clear."

"You sure you wanna do this Hyde?" Dan asked his friend as he gathered a small bag of personal items. "This is a huge step you're taking."

"I know it is and that's why I'm doing it. I want to show Lilina just how much I love her."

"Just don't tell us the details okay? I don't need those thoughts going around in my head." Kazuto joked as he opened the door for the ash haired teen.

Hyde quietly tip toed through the halls as he made his way to the girl's side without being caught by the teachers or staff. Once he reached the door where his friends were at he knocked three times on the door with a second between each knock to let them know it was him.

Rika opened the door to see Hyde waiting there before her face set into a scowl. "Oh great, you're here."

"Is that jealousy I hear in your voice Rika? Mad that you don't have someone to spend the night with?" Hyde taunted at the brunette making her face go red with rage.

Before she could do anything however, Asuna came and put a hand over her mouth as she dragged Rika back. "Okay you two, no killing each other. This is supposed to be a night of romance."

"Hey she was the one starting crap." Hyde defended smiling as he saw Rika rage even harder.

Alicia appeared in the doorway and let Hyde in. "Lilina is in the bathroom getting ready. Just make sure there isn't a mess to clean up when you're done."

"Yes mom, I swear to pick up after myself." Hyde said with a roll of his eyes.

Asuna guided the teen to the bed the engaged couple would share for the night and made him sit down on it. "Remember to be as romantic as possible. A night like this can't be spoiled by lack of attention."

"And you of all people know this well eh Asuna?"

Asuna blushed red as she then started to push the other girls out of the room with her. "Comeongirlslet'sgetoutofhere!" she half yelled half whispered quickly as she shoved them out.

"Ouch!"

"Hey stop that!"

"Why do they have to use my bed!?"

Then the door was shut as they left.

'_Oh man I am so freaking nervous!'_ Hyde thought as his mind buzzed like a beehive._ 'If this goes wrong then our relationship could be over! What if I'm not good enough? What if-!'_

The rest of those thoughts died as he saw the door to the bathroom open to reveal Lilina in a light pink form-fitting nightgown that accentuated her curves, a smile adorning her graceful face. Hyde's face grew as red as a fire as his fiancee approached him with a slight sway to her hips, entrancing him so. "Like what you see Hyde?"

"I… uh… guh…" was his intelligent response to her question.

She giggled as she joined him on the bed and moved the both of them so they both were laying down on the bed with her on top of him. "Now Hyde are you gonna make me do all the work? That doesn't sound like the man I'm gonna marry."

Snapping out of his daze, Hyde smirked as he flipped the two of them around so that he was on top. "Trust me when I say that I'm gonna make this pleasurable for the both of us." he then proceeded to kiss her neck as he pressed himself closer to her.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The rest of the group had joined the boys in their room for the night. Alicia and Asuna cuddled up with their boyfriends, leaving Rika, Emi, and Keiko feeling a little left out as an aura of depression washed over them, Rika especially since she knew what sort of heinous acts were being done on her bed.

"Remind me again why they had to use MY bed" Rika asked.

"Oh let it go Rika" Asuna said. "We're all leaving in the morning anyway. It's not like you'll be sleeping on there tomorrow night"

Rika sighed as she laid down on the futon. "Lilina owes me for this big time"

"As if she'd pay you back" Dan chuckled with a roll of his eyes. He turned his gaze back towards Alicia. "I'm just glad we get to spend a night together"

"Diddo" Alicia said with a smile.

"Just keep your make out session to a dull roar" Emi said. "The same goes for you too, Kazuto and Asuna"

The two couples rolled their eyes as they cuddled together and drifted off to sleep.

XXXXXXXXXX

"Hurry up! We need to move quickly!" Asuna whispered to the girls. After checking to make sure the halls were clear, Dan motioned for the girls to get moving. They quickly tiptoes down the hall and up the stairs to the floor their room was at. They quickly made their way to their room and did the signal knock. After a minute or so the door opened with Hyde on the other side, wearing nothing but a set of boxers. Rika couldn't help but gag a little at the sight.

"You couldn't give us five more minutes?" he complained.

"We're already risking a lot as it is!" Alicia reminded him in a hushed voice. "Now hurry up and get back to your room before we're all caught!" As she said this, the group could hear sound coming from a room down the hall. All of them were filled with a sudden sense of dread.

"Shit! The teachers are waking up to do their morning check!" Asuna gasped. She looked towards Hyde. "You need to leave and get back to your room NOW!"

"Hey! Not so rough!" Hyde bit back as the girls rushed in and shoved him out the door. Hyde was about to walk back to his room, when he noticed the lack of clothing he had on. "Can I at least have my clothes back?!"

Not long after he said that, the door quickly open and shut as the girls tossed his pajamas to him. Hyde quickly made his way back to his room while trying not to get noticed. He made it to the floor his room was at and made a beeline for his room. He only made it about halfway before he heard a door down the hall open.

'_Crap!'_ Hyde thought as he felt a cold shiver run down his neck. _'Come on Hyde, think of something fast!'_

The teen's eyes quickly caught sight of the nearby bathroom door. He rushed in before the teacher on the floor could walk into the hall and breathed a sigh of relief. After quickly changing into the pajamas he had been carrying in his arms up till this point, Hyde walked casually out into the hall, saying "Good morning" to the teacher that was checking to make sure none of the students were in anyone else's rooms to make it seem like he had just gone to the bathroom for a leak. Once Hyde made it back to his room, he let out a gigantic sigh of relief. _'That was WAY too close'_

"Sup man" Dan said with a wave as he noticed Hyde come in. "Have a fun night?"

"You have NO idea" Hyde said with a carefree smile.

After the morning checks were done, the students went to the main lobby to get some food. Once the students had a quick breakfast they made their way to the station. Getting on the bus, Dan and the others peered out the window to look at Kyoto. This trip had given them all fond memories, especially for Hyde and Lilina.

"Best field trip EVER" Lilina smiled as she looked at her engagement ring. Alicia and the other girls were all gazing at the beautiful piece of jewelry.

"That ring is so beautiful Lilina!" Keiko squealed. "You're so lucky!"

"By the way, who's gonna be the maid of honor?" Rika questioned.

"Obviously me" Alicia and Asuna said simultaneously. Both girls looked at each other after those words.

Asuna was the first to talk. "Um, you do realize I'm the perfect choice. I'm the best romantic out of all of us"

"So? I'm Lilina's best friend" Alicia argued.

Both Alicia and Asuna looked towards Lilina with their eyes begging for the redhead to settle this argument. Lilina waved her arms in defense. "Do I really have to decide this now? I mean, the wedding's not gonna happen for years."

"Yes! Tell Asuna that I'm gonna be the maid of honor"

"I think Alicia means tell her that I'M gonna be the maid of honor"

"Alright students, settle down" one of the teachers said. "We're about to head back to school"

Alicia and Asuna grumbled as they took their seats and prepared for the long trip back home.

**A/N: So what did you guys think? Good? Bad? I really hope I did a good job with it, but I'm not sure. Please review.**

**Also with Christmas coming up, I will be doing a couple chapters for the holiday season for this story. Hope you guys look forward to it.**


	77. Holiday Shopping

**A/N: Hey everyone. You'll all be glad to know that I am finally free from finals and am now enjoying winter break. To bring the holiday spirit to everyone, this chapter and the next one will both be Christmas based.**

**Also, I would like to give a shout out to three authors that are starting their very first SAO fics, all of whom are fans of this story. The first two are OC based stories, like I Will Not Bow. These are the stories:**

**Sword Art Online: A Story Retold (Metal Flash)**

**To the Sunset We Go (The-Wondering-Warrior)**

**The third author I am giving a shout out to is not writing a story with their own OCs. Instead, he/she is using mine (before any of you ask, I did give him/her permission). It is called Parallel Romance by Cocytus Ace and I HIGHLY recommend this one. It is a series of stories for what-if couples, for example Helios X Liz (no joke, that is the first one). All of the pairings act as if the original ones never happened. For any of you that wonder what might happen if certain couples in the world of Blazing Revolution happened, I think you will enjoy it.**

"Come on girls, hurry up!" Lilina said as she called out to her friends. "I want to snag some good stuff before someone else does."

"Take it easy Lilina. The mall isn't gonna run out of stuff" Asuna assured her as she and the others ran to catch up with the red haired girl.

The group of Alicia, Asuna, Lilina, Rika, and Shino all walked through the doors of the mall, cheering with glee at the full day of shopping they had in store. Christmas was fast approaching so now was a good time to go shopping for presents. After that, they could do a little personal shopping for themselves.

The mall was packed with people of all ages scrambling from store to store since it was the weekend, not to mention the holiday season. The group of girls usually would have invited Dan, Kazuto, and Hyde to tag along, but they didn't want to give away any surprises as to what they were planning to give them for Christmas.

"I love Christmas time" Alicia smiled. "Everyone's so cheerful and upbeat. It's so nice"

Asuna nodded in agreement. "Yeah. Plus I got my dad to convince mom to let me stay home for New Year's instead of going to that stupid Yuuki family gathering. I swear all everybody does there is flaunt about their…" Asuna trailed off, realizing how much she was ranting. "Sorry about that. I shouldn't be talking about depressing stuff like that. It's the holiday season after all."

"Must be tough being a rich girl" Rika sneered.

"Let's just get on with the shopping" Shino suggested as they came to the directory. A few minutes passed by as the girls mapped out their shopping trip through the mall for the day.

"If Dan and the guys were with us, they'd probably be whining about how we'll be taking up all day for this" Alicia stated.

Lilina giggled in agreement. "That's for sure. Hyde hates shopping"

"I bet he didn't hate shopping for that piece of jewelry on your finger though" Asuna pointed out.

Lilina smiled as she looked at the ring on her finger that Asuna was referring to. She definitely hadn't expected Hyde to propose to her on their school trip. She hadn't expected it for years to come after they were both out of school. But that made it all the more romantic in Lilina's eyes.

"So what are you getting Hyde for Christmas, Lilina?" Alicia asked.

"Please tell me it's a better personality" Shino said from the side.

Lilina giggled to herself at the question. "I already took care of his present. It's going to be a big surprise for him"

Asuna's eyes gleamed with interest. "What is it?"

"Not telling. I know you'd spoil it"

"I would not!" Asuna said with her cheeks puffed.

The girls laughed as the Lilina and Asuna bickered. Finally Rika decided to break it up. "Alright you two. If we don't hurry, we'll have to maneuverer through who knows how many people."

With their friendly banter over, the group of five began walking through the mall. Their first stop was a clothing store to see if they could find anything for some of their friends.

Each of the girls looked around the store as they tried to find clothes that would make good presents. Alicia looked at some nice outfits that she thought would look good on Emi. Lilina was shopping for some clothes to give her multitude of look-alike cousins. Rika was scanning for something to give Keiko when her eyes locked onto something. She grinned and picked up a pair of cat ears and held them up for her friends to see.

"I found Keiko's gift"

Alicia looked at Rika with narrowed eyes. "Really Rika?"

"Oh come on, you have to admit these are just _purrfect_, right?" Rika watched her friends faces for a reaction, but all she saw was them groaning and face palming themselves. "Hey, it wasn't that bad of a pun"

"That was one of the worst puns I've ever heard" Shino told her.

"Are you sure you're not just jealous?" Rika teased as she put the cat ears on Shino's head. She laughed at the face Shino made at her and took a quick picture with her phone. "You look hilarious Shino! Quick, someone bring a mirror!"

Shino grabbed the accessory from her head and forcefully put it back on display. "You're gonna pay for that later"

"Oh I don't think so" Rika said as she waved her phone in her hand teasingly, showing a picture of Shino wearing the cat ears. "Wouldn't want Hyde seeing this, now would we"

Asuna rolled her eyes at Rika's childish behavior. "I'm gonna go take a look at the men's section for a bit."

"Gonna try and find something for Kazuto?" Lilina giggled.

"He wears way too much black" Asuna said. "If he won't expand his wardrobe a bit, then I will. I haven't seen him in anything that isn't black ever since he wore that KoB uniform."

Alicia widened her eyes in surprise. "No way! Kazuto wore red and white once?!" Asuna nodded her head and all the girls broke out into laughter as they imagined the Black Swordsman of SAO in colors that didn't fit his style at all.

Suddenly Asuna heard her phone ring. She took it out of her coat pocket and looked at the caller ID, seeing it was Yui. Asuna immediately hit 'Accept' and brought the phone to her ear. "Hi Yui. How's my favorite girl?"

Yui giggled from the other end of the line. "Hi Mommy. What are you doing?"

"I'm Christmas shopping with Alicia and the others."

"Really?! That sounds like so much fun!"

"I wish you could be here with us Yui. Then you could help us shop"

"Maybe she still can" Alicia suggested. She leaned in and whispered something into Asuna's ear.

Asuna's eyes gleamed with excitement at her friend's idea. She spoke into her phone once again. "Yui, how would you like to be our fashion advisor?"

"What does that mean?" Yui asked.

"I'll switch the mode so we can see each other through the monitor on my phone. You can look at the clothes we buy and tell us what you think. Does that sound good to you?"

"I'd love it!" Yui exclaimed.

Asuna smiled in delight as she tapped a tab on her phone and switched it so she could see Yui's face. The screen showed Yui in her Navigation Pixie form. The little girl gave a bright smile towards Asuna. "Hi Mommy!"

"Hey Yui" Rika said as she brought her face closer so Yui could see her.

"Hello Aunt Rika" Yui greeted.

The rest of the girls all brought their faces in as they nudged up against Asuna to say hi to Yui. The shopping trip continued as Asuna held her phone up while each of the girls came out in different outfits they had picked out. They enjoyed letting Yui play the part of fashion critique and the bright smile she was showing proved the feeling was mutual. When the time came for Asuna's turn, Alicia held up the phone for Yui to see her mother. Asuna posed in a set of clothes she had picked out, which consisted of a two strap blue shirt and a pair of white shorts.

"You look amazing Mommy!" Yui cheered.

"Aw, thanks Yui" Asuna said with a smile. Most people looking at the scene would probably find it weird that a group of teenage girls were getting fashion advice from a phone, but they didn't care. As long as Yui was happy, that was enough for them.

After their trip to the first of many stores was over, the girls began walking around the mall once again. Asuna still had her phone out so Yui could at least somewhat be there with them. The little girl seemed to enjoy herself, getting a chance to be with her mother for Christmas. Last year Asuna had been forced to go to a Yuuiki family event, so she wasn't able to spend the holiday with Kazuto or Yui. She wanted this chance to make up for the lost time.

"What's that Mommy?"

Asuna looked towards where Yui's virtual hand was pointing and a smile immediately came to her face. In the distance, kids were lining up for their turn to sit on Santa's lap. "That's Santa Claus, Yui. On the night of Christmas Eve, if you've been really good, he brings you presents."

"How is he supposed to deliver presents to the entire world in one night?"

"Santa has a magic sleigh that can fly thanks to the help of his reindeer. He flies around the world, entering houses through the chimney and putting presents under the Christmas tree."

"Wow! He must be a super nice person!" Yui exclaimed.

"But be careful though Yui. If you've been a bad girl, Santa gives you coal instead of presents" Rika added.

Yui's eyes gleamed in awe at the amazement that was this stranger called Santa Claus. "Can I talk with Santa, Mommy?"

The sudden question caught Asuna a little off guard. Since Yui was only interacting with everyone through Asuna's cellphone, going to talk with Santa would require Asuna going up and sitting on Santa's lap herself which was a little embarrassing for someone her age. On the other hand, she really couldn't say no to Yui when she was this excited.

"Sure Yui. I'll bring you over to see Santa" Asuna said. She walked over and took her place in line with the handful of excited little kids. Asuna could feel her cheeks blushing red and the giggling from her friends that were sitting back and watching. _'The least they could have done was do this with me. I know it's for Yui, but this is so embarrassing!'_

Finally it came time for Asuna's turn as she walked up and took a seat on Santa's lap. The man dressed in the Santa costume gave a hearty laugh. "Ho ho ho, Merry Christmas young lady"

"Merry Christmas Santa!" Yui exclaimed from Asuna's phone. The man stared in confusion for a moment before Asuna started explaining Yui's situation. Luckily the Santa actor seemed to somewhat understand what Asuna was saying and went along with it.

"Well now little Yui, what would you like for Christmas?" he asked.

Yui smiled in delight as she said her wish. "I want Mommy and Daddy and me to be happy and have the best Christmas ever!"

Santa gave a smile at Yui. "What a thoughtful wish. Well Yui, if you be really good and wish hard enough, I'm sure your wish will come true"

"Thank you Santa" Yui said before Asuna got off Santa's lap and returned to her friends.

Walking over, Asuna could see a couple of her friends, mostly Rika and Lilina, trying not to burst out laughing.

"Cut it out girls!" Asuna said with her cheeks blushing in embarrassment.

"W-We're s-sorry hahahaha!" Lilina laughed as she clutched her sides.

"Come on, that's enough you two" Alicia told them. "I think it was really sweet that Asuna did that for Yui"

"It was sweet for us too" Rika added as she brought out her phone and showed a picture she took of Asuna sitting on Santa's lap.

"Rika! Delete that right now!" Asuna exclaimed as she tried to grab the phone from her friend's hand.

"Hmm, I wonder how Kazuto would react if he saw this"

"Rika!"

"Don't bother deleting it Asuna. We have plenty more in stock" Lilina grinned as she showed the same picture on her own phone as well.

"You too Lilina?!"

As the two girls laughed teasingly at Asuna, Alicia stepped in and tapped both Lilina and Rika on the back. "You know, I bet Yui would just love to see you two go and say hi to Santa"

A cold sweat went down Lilina and Rika's backs as they heard Alicia's suggestion. Yui seemed delighted at the idea. "Yeah, you should go tell Santa what you want for Christmas"

Now the two girls found themselves in a sticky situation. They couldn't just say no now that Yui was so excited. But if they were going down, they were bringing a few others along for the ride. Lilina and Rika grabbed both Alicia and Shino by the arm.

"Yui's right. Let's ALL go see Santa" Rika said with a dangerous grin on her face.

Alicia gave a nervous chuckle as she found her plan completely backfiring on her. Meanwhile, Shino tried to pry her arm free from her friend's grip. "There is no way I'm-" Shino stopped mid-sentence as she looked at Yui's innocent smile and pleading eyes. As much as she REALLY didn't want to do something so childish, denying Yui this wouldn't be right. "Fine. Let's get this over with"

Alicia and the others went in line together, waiting to be done with this embarrassing moment as soon as possible. Asuna watched from a distance, not wanting to miss this chance to get back at Rika and Lilina. Sure Alicia and Shino were suffering as well, but that was collateral damage in her eyes.

"Hey Asuna. What's up?"

Asuna turned her head to see Dan, Kazuto, and Hyde walk over to her. Her eyes widened in surprise as she saw them. "What are you guys doing here?"

"We thought we'd get our holiday shopping out of the way" Dan explained. "By the way, aren't Alicia and Lilina supposed to be with you?"

"They're over there" Asuna explained, pointing over towards Santa Claus. She felt a cold sweat run down her back. Now that the guys were seeing Rika and the others sitting with Santa, there was no way Asuna would be able to avoid having the embarrassing picture of her shown to Kazuto.

Hyde looked at the girls with a confused expression. "They're going to sit with that fake-"

"Hyde!" Asuna said with a loud cough as she discretely showed that Yui could hear them through her phone.

Quickly changing his wording, Hyde continued. "I-I mean f-fantastic looking Santa." Hyde looked towards Yui, who seemed to not have suspected anything, and gave a sigh of relief. "Anyway, why are they doing that?"

"I suggested it" Yui explained. "Mommy explained all about how Santa delivers presents to all the good boys and girls on Christmas. Mommy brought me up to talk with Santa too!"

Kazuto smiled as he saw Yui acting more cheerful than he had ever seen her, plus he imagined a picture of Asuna on Santa's lap.

Hyde watched as Rika was the first of the girls to go up. He quickly brought out his phone to take a picture. "Oh, I am not missing this chance"

"Hyde don't! The girls will kill me if they find out you guys are here!" Asuna begged.

"Don't care. This is too perfect of an opportunity to miss."

Meanwhile Rika took a seat on the Santa actor's lap. She felt her cheeks turn red from embarrassment as he gave her a hearty laugh. "What would you like for Christmas young lady?"

"Well a boyfriend would be nice" Rika muttered.

"Is that an offer?" the Santa asked jokingly.

Rika shot a teasing glance back at him. "Sorry pal. You're a bit too old for me. Besides, what would Mrs. Claus say?" She silently prayed for this to be over with as soon as possible. _'Thank god Hyde isn't here or-'_

It was then that Rika say Hyde standing next to Asuna, pointing and laughing at her as he took a picture on his phone. _'You have GOT to be kidding me!'_

Alicia and the other girls turned around to see what was making Rika so scared. They all gained the same look of fear when they saw Dan, Hyde, and Kazuto next to Asuna.

"What are they doing here?!" Shino exclaimed.

"Next"

The girls looked at each other with none of them wanting to go up. Finally Alicia decided to get the nightmare over with and walked up to sit on Santa's lap. Her cheeks blushed red with embarrassment as she saw Dan snap a picture on his phone. He was not gonna let her forget about this anytime soon, that was for sure. Once Lilina and Shino went as well, the four girls walked back over to their friends, dreading what was about to unfold.

Hyde smirked snidely at the girls, especially towards his most hated enemy. "Rika I know you're desperate to get a guy's attention, but a Santa actor? This is a new low for you."

"Shut it Hyde" Rika growled.

"And you Shino. I'm surprised you're-"

"You say one more word, and I will kill you" Shino threatened with a menacing glare.

"So childish"

"You little-"

Deciding to ignore the two bickering teens, the rest of the group walked in the other direction. As they walked, Dan brought out his phone and looked at the picture of Alicia sitting on the Santa actor's lap. Alicia looked at the picture herself and gave an embarrassed blush. "Could you please delete that?"

"Why? You look adorable in it" Dan said with a teasing grin.

"But it's so embarrassing!"

"That only makes me want to keep it more."

The group continued to hang out in the mall for another couple of hours before deciding to head home. As they exited the mall, a light snowfall was already underway. The white puffs falling down from the sky really showed that Christmas would be here soon.

Before everyone split up and went their separate ways, Hyde pulled Kazuto aside, whispering so the others wouldn't notice. "Hey man, I need your help with something"

Kazuto looked at his friend skeptically. "Really? You're asking for my help with something? That's not like you Hyde"

"Look, will you help me or not?"

"If it's something I can do, I'll be glad to help"

Hyde quickly whispered something into Kazuto's ear. After pondering it for a minute, Kazuto nodded. "Alright, I think I might be able to do that"

"Really?! Thanks man. You're a life saver."

"Don't mention it. I'm happy to help" Kazuto assured him. "If you want, we can get started on it tomorrow."

"That'd be great"

After Hyde thanked Kazuto and ran to catch up with Lilina, Kazuto headed back with Asuna to bring her home. Asuna looked at her boyfriend curiously. "What did Hyde want with you?"

"Just a little tech support with something."

"For what?"

"Sorry, can't say. You and I both know you can't keep any gossip a secret" Kazuto responded with a teasing grin.

"Hey, I can so keep a secret… most of the time"

"Sorry but this is one secret that you'll just have to go without" Kazuto chuckled as he and Asuna headed home in the snowy streets.

**A/N: Hope you all liked the chapter. I should have the next one up on or around the 23rd to make sure you all have a chance to read it before Christmas. Also, be sure to check out the stories I mentioned in the beginning of the chapter.**


	78. Christmas Special 2

**A/N: Hey guys. It's time for the Blazing Revolution Christmas special! As usual, I hope you guys like it.**

**Also I have gotten a few PMs from people asking me where certain parts of the story are located. While I am more than happy to direct everyone to the parts of the story they want to read, I feel it would be much easier to just go back and actually name the chapters. So I will gradually be naming each of the chapters over the course of this week so they are easier to find on the chapter scroll down list. Hope this makes it easier for everyone.**

Snow fell from the morning sky as Dan woke up with a yawn. Today was Christmas Eve and the holiday spirit was already flying through the air. The outside of the Hiryo home was filled with colorful lights and decorations. The Christmas tree was already set up in the living room.

But what really excited Dan was that Alicia would be coming over later today, along with Emi, Hyde, and Lilina. They had agreed to meet here today to exchange gifts for Christmas.

"Morning bro" Clair greeted as she came out of her room and noticed Dan was awake.

"Morning" Dan replied with a yawn. "Is mom up yet?"

Clair shook her head. "No, she's still asleep"

"Guess I'll make us breakfast then. What do you want?"

"Better go with toast. I you try to cook anything else, you'll burn the house down"

"Way to hit where it hurts" Dan groaned. The two siblings went downstairs and Dan threw a couple slices of bread into the toaster. He poured a glass of orange juice for Clair and another one for himself.

Once the toast was done, Dan and Clair sat down together to eat. The younger of the two siblings decided to start off the conversation. "So what did you get Alicia for Christmas?"

"Like I'd tell you. I know you'd spoil it the second you got the chance"

"I would not!"

"Would to"

"Would not!

"I settle this Clair." Mrs. Hiryo interrupted as she entered the kitchen. "Yes you would"

Clair made a pout as she took another bite of her toast. "When's everyone coming over anyway?"

"Alicia and Emi should be here around two I think. Lilina said she and Hyde wouldn't get here till about four"

"I bet Lilina's got an interesting surprise for Hyde"

Dan nodded in agreement. "You're probably right. Ever since Hyde proposed to her, Lilina's been trying to act as romantic as possible. Who knows what she has planned."

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Hyde walked through the city streets. Snow was starting to blanket the streets and sidewalks but he had to admit it looked really nice. He had promised to meet Lilina at her house a little after noon, and he didn't want to keep his girlfriend waiting.

As he was on his way to the redhead's house, he realized he was currently near the riverbank, the same one where he usually hung out with the stray dog he met, Koro. _'It's been awhile since I've seen Koro. Might as well go say hi'_

Just like the rest of the city, the grassy hills along the riverbank were covered in snow. Hyde knew that Koro had made a little makeshift home under the bridge. Hyde had also given him a small bed and a blanket a couple years back for whenever the cold winter months came along.

Hyde walked under the bridge and called out for his small fluffy friend. "Koro! You here boy? It's Hyde." No response came. Hyde walked over to the small hidden area where Koro's bed was. When he arrived, he found his canine companion was nowhere to be found.

'_He's probably out looking for food'_ Hyde guessed. _'I'll come see him later'_

Hyde walked out from under the bridge and continued making his way to Lilina's. It always seemed to surprise him that his money-loving girlfriend lived in such a simple home, but he liked it. At least Lilina's family was a lot more caring than his mother ever was.

Finally arriving at his girlfriend's home, Hyde knocked on the door. Being at Lilina's house was one of the few times he made sure to be well mannered and polite. It wasn't his style, but if it made Lilina's parents happy then he was more than willing to bear with it.

Not long after Hyde knocked on the door, Lilina opened it and greeted him. "Hey Hyde. Come on in"

Hyde entered the house and gave Lilina a kiss after taking off his shoes. "Hey babe. Merry Christmas"

"Christmas is tomorrow you know?"

"Well duh, but what's the harm in saying it early?"

Lilina giggled as she and Hyde kissed once again. "So where's my present? I hope you didn't forget"

"As if" Hyde smirked as he removed a DVD disk from his coat pocket. "It's a little something I had Kazuto help me with"

"That sound interesting. What is it?"

"You'll have to wait until we watch it"

Lilina gave a mocking pout to her boyfriend. "Fine."

"So, now that you have a hint about your present, where's mine?"

A big grin became stretched across Lilina's face. "Just one second. I'll bring it right over" The red haired girl put two of her fingers to her mouth and whistled. Within seconds, Hyde could hear the scampering sound of footsteps as something made its way to them. His eyes opened wide as the small fluffy figure revealed itself.

"Koro?!"

Koro barked happily as he ran up to Hyde's feet. Hyde grabbed the small dog and held him up. He couldn't believe his eyes. Koro's usually gray tangled fur was now clean and neat. He seemed much more well fed than usual. In addition, a bright blue collar was strapped around his neck.

Hyde looked at Lilina, not really understanding what was going on. "Lilina… you…"

"I went back to the riverbank where we found you during your last birthday. Koro seemed to recognize me from before then. I knew he meant a lot to you, and that's when I got an idea. It took a bit of time to convince my mom, but we decided to adopt him" Lilina explained. "I got him all groomed and everything. He's actually a really playful little fellow. My mom can't seem to get enough of him."

Tears of happiness began to fill Hyde's eyes. He had never seen Koro this healthy or happy in all the time he had known him. Never, not in a million years, would he have guessed Lilina had this in store for him. "I… I don't know what to say"

Lilina gave him a hug and kissed him on the cheek. "One more thing you should know. I adopted him in both of our names. So now he's officially known as Koro Yoake-Gekido"

Hyde softly put Koro down and embraced Lilina tightly in his arms. "Thank you. Thank you so much. You have no idea how perfect this gift is"

Those words were all Lilina needed to hear to tell her that she had made the right decision. She looked down at Koro as he yipped playfully. "Hey Hyde, how about the three of us go into the living room and watch my present?"

Hyde smiled at Lilina and nodded. "Yeah. I'm sure you'll love it"

The couple walked into the Yoake living room, along with Koro. Hyde inserted the DVD and took a seat on the couch with Lilina. Koro curled himself up and rested on Hyde's lap.

'_What could Hyde have made that he would need Kazuto's help with?'_ Lilina wondered to herself as the DVD started playing. The first image that showed up on screen answered that question for her as her eyes widened.

It was a picture of Hyde and Lilina together. More specifically it was a picture of them together back in SAO. The picture showed the two of them standing together in the gardens of Floor 47. She recognized the picture as one of the many ones taken by herself and Hyde during their time together in SAO after they became a couple.

The screen switched to another picture after a few seconds. This one was yet another picture taken by the couple in SAO. And the one after that. And even another after that. Lilina looked over to Hyde in shock. "Hyde…"

"I got Kazuto to data-mine my old Nerve Gear rig for me" Hyde explained. "He was able to find the data of the pictures I had saved to my Nerve Gear's local memory. Then he and I made this slide show together with them."

"It's beautiful" Lilina smiled as she shed a tear. She leaned against her boyfriend and snuggled up with him as the pictures continued to come one after another. Memories of their time together flowed through her mind as she watched it.

"This next one's my favorite" Hyde said with a smile. Before Lilina could even ask, the picture Hyde was referring to appeared. It was a picture of when she and Hyde first found each other after SAO. The two of the were trapped in a long passionate kiss.

Deciding to mimic what was on screen, Lilina brought her face close to Hyde and kissed him on the lips. When they finally separated, Lilina smiled at her boyfriend. "That was a great present Hyde. I love you"

"I love you too" Hyde said as he brought Lilina in for another kiss.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Dan had been waiting for the doorbell to ring for a while now, so needless to say when the moment finally came he was at the door in a matter of seconds. He opened the door and found Alicia and Emi standing on the other side.

"Hey Dan" Alicia greeted.

"Hey" Dan greeted back as he brought her in for a quick kiss.

Emi rolled her eyes at the couple. "Ugh, get a room"

"Jealous?"

"As if"

"You know, if you want me to set you up with someone, all you have to do is ask" Alicia teased.

Emi groaned in annoyance as she took off her coat and hung it up. Clair soon came to the front door to greet her friend and the two young girls soon headed into the living room to chat.

Dan took the presents Alicia was carrying and set them by the tree for later. Just as he was about to bring her in for another kiss, he felt someone watching them. "Mom, stop hiding"

"Aw, it's no fun if you can tell I'm there" Mrs. Hiryo said as she came into view. "Hello Alicia dear"

"Hello Mrs. Hiryo"

"Oh don't be so formal. I told you dear, just call me Juna"

"R-Right. Sorry"

Mrs. Hiryo looked outside and saw the snowfall. "It certainly is cold outside. I'll make you kids some hot coco"

"Thank you" Alicia said. Dan took her coat and hung it up. The couple walked over to the living room where their sisters were currently talking.

"Who's up for opening presents?" Dan asked the two girls. Emi and Clair immediately looked towards them with excited grins on their faces. "I'll take that as a yes"

Emi and Clair quickly got to their feet and ran towards the room that Dan's family had set up the tree in. Dan and Alicia giggled at their sisters' eagerness and walked over as well. When they entered the room, Emi and Clair already had a box next to each of them.

"You know, it's rude to open presents before everyone is in the room" Alicia pointed out.

"So? It's not our fault you two are so slow" Emi replied.

"I don't know. I think some sort of penalty is an order. Don't you think so Dan?"

Dan nodded his head. "Definitely. How about they get to open presents last?"

"NO! ANYTHING BUT THAT!" Clair and Emi begged simultaneously. Dan and Alicia laughed at the faces their sisters were making.

"Alright you two. Open your gifts" Dan said.

Emi and Clair didn't need to be told twice as they tore off the wrapping paper on their presents. The two of them squealed in delight as they showed each other their gifts.

Dan walked over to the tree and grabbed his present for Alicia over to her. "Here you go"

Curious as to what it was, Alicia sat on the couch with Dan and opened her gift. Inside the small box was a shiny silver bracelet. Alicia held it up and admired its beauty, wondering how much it must have cost Dan to buy it. She also noticed an inscription on the accessory.

_I love you. Now and forever more._

"It's beautiful Dan. I love it" Alicia said with a bright smile as she leaned in and gave Dan a peck on the cheek.

"I thought you would" Dan said. "You're still wearing the present I gave you last Christmas right?"

"Of course" Alicia said. She reached under her shirt and pulled out the necklace she received from Dan last Christmas. It was a golden color with a rose shaped locket. She pressed the button on it and the locket opened, revealing a picture of her and Dan together. "I always make sure to wear it."

"Aww, how cute!" Emi teased.

"How did you afford that anyway, Dan?" Clair asked as she looked at the piece of jewelry.

"It was the same place I got the necklace from. The owner was pretty generous with the price"

"It still must have cost a lot though" Alicia said. "Where'd you get the money?"

"Remember the reward money Kikouka gave us after we helped out in Fire Emblem Online? I had the money I received saved away for something special like this"

"You spent all of it on my gift?" Alicia asked. She had remembered that the reward they all got was pretty decent in size. There was a lot Dan could have done with that money. But spending it all on her? It was that side of Dan that she both hated and loved at the same time.

"I don't care how much I spend as long as you're happy" Dan told her.

"Oh you" Alicia gave him another kiss. "You don't need to spend a fortune to make me happy. Just being with you is all I need." She walked over to the tree and grabbed her gift for Dan from under it. She brought it over and placed it on her boyfriend's lap. "Your turn"

Dan tore off the wrapping paper which contained a box. As he removed the lid, he remembered Alicia's gift to him last year, a replica of the coat he wore back in SAO. There was no way she could top that.

Dan was wrong. Oh so very wrong.

Inside the box was an exact replica of Dan's sword from SAO, the Inferno Blazer. It was wooden obviously, but the detail was flawless. The color pattern was exactly as he remembered it and the weight of it almost made it feel like he was holding the real thing.

"This is amazing!" Dan exclaimed. "How'd you make this?"

"Rika knows a guy who makes wooden swords. He's got all kinds of stuff in his shop" Alicia explained. "I got her to put in a custom order for me to have him make this. I'm still surprised how well it turned out."

Dan stared at his former blade in astonishment. The sword even came with a sheath to put it in. Dan sheathed the wooden blade and gave Alicia a kiss as thanks. "I love it. You're the best"

"Compare to what you gave me, this is nothing" Alicia told him.

Mrs. Hiryo entered the room and handed out hot coco to everyone. The four teens chatted together for a little longer as they drank their hot coco. Finally the doorbell rang, signaling that Hyde and Lilina had arrived.

Dan walked over to the door and opened it to let the couple inside. Looking outside, Dan could see the snow was falling even harder than before. Lilina shivered as she took her coat off.

"Brrr, it's FREEZING out there!"

"I'll go make some more hot coco" Mrs. Hiryo said as she walked back into the kitchen.

Dan took Hyde and Lilina's coats and hung them up on the coat rack. The three of them walked into the room everyone else was sitting at. Hyde and Lilina handed out their presents to everyone as they took a seat on the floor. Mrs. Hiryo soon came in with another two cups of hot coco and handed them to Hyde and Lilina.

"So what did you two get each other for Christmas?" Alicia asked.

"Hyde did the most romantic thing ever!" Lilina squealed. "He made this awesome video montage of our time together in SAO."

"Awwwww" the girls all squealed in delight together at the romantic gift.

Emi shot a teasing grin at Hyde. "Wow, never took you as such a romantic"

"Piss off squirt" Hyde grumbled, not liking the fact that his tough guy reputation was being torn apart at this.

"What about you Alicia?" Lilina asked. "What did Dan get you for Christmas?"

In response to the redhead's question, Alicia held up her wrist to show the silver bracelet. Lilina looked at the inscription before letting out another girlish squeal. "Aww, that's so cute!"

The six friends continued to chat for a little bit longer as they talked about their plans for winter break. As they talked, a sudden windy howl was heard outside. This one was far worse than the others from before.

"It sure is snowing like crazy out there" Emi said. "We're gonna have to be careful walking home"

"I don't think anyone's gonna be walking home tonight" Mrs. Hiryo said as she came into the room. "The weather report says there's road closures all over Tokyo. I don't think it's safe for any of you to be outside in this weather."

"Then what are we gonna do?" Lilina asked.

"I'll call your parents up and tell them you're staying here for the night. I doubt any of them want you to be walking home in this blizzard."

The teens nodded understandingly and Mrs. Hiryo left the room. Lilina sighed at this inconvenience. "This stinks. Now we can't even go home until tomorrow. And that's Christmas!"

"Well it's not all bad" Clair pointed out. "At least now we get to have a sleepover"

"So what are the sleeping arrangements gonna be?" Emi wondered. She shot a grin towards her sister. "I already know where Alicia wants to sleep"

"Hyde and Lilina can sleep in the guest room together" Dan suggested.

"That leaves Emi and me together in my room" Clair said. "I guess that all works out."

Hyde smirked at Emi. "Wow squirt, I didn't think you were into girls. And all this time I thought it was the guys that were rejecting you"

"Shut up asshole!" Emi yelled.

'_This is gonna be one eventful evening'_ Dan thought to himself.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Night stretched its reach across the sky as everyone turned in for the night. Dan yawned loudly as he walked into his room. Alicia was only dressed in her undergarments since she hadn't been planning to spend the night. She was already in bed covered by blanket, not wanting to give Dan's mother any more reasons to tease them if she walked in.

"Hey you" Dan smiled as he sat on the side of his bed and gave Alicia a kiss on the forehead.

Alicia smiled back as she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him in close. "Hey hun"

"Hun? That's a new one"

"You don't like it?"

"Like it? No. I love it"

Alicia giggled as she and Dan laid together and slowly drifted to sleep. "Merry Christmas Dan"

"Merry Christmas Alicia"

Meanwhile in the room next door, Emi and Clair were getting ready to go to bed as well. Mrs. Hiryo had dug out a sleeping bag for Emi to use so the girls wouldn't be cramped on Clair's bed. Neither one could bring themselves to sleep. The little kids in both of them were too excited for tomorrow.

"I want Christmas to be here already" Clair groaned.

"Me too" Emi said in agreement. "There's nothing we can do about though. We'll just have to wait until morning"

"And by morning, you mean the earliest possible time we can get up, right?"

"Well duh" Emi said with a grin.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

It was 6:00 in the morning. A sane person would be in bed at this time. A sane person wouldn't even think of waking up at this time.

But it was Christmas, the day when sanity threw itself out the window for kids like Emi and Clair.

The two girls exited Clair's bedroom and quietly tiptoed to the door of Clair's mother's bedroom. Emi stayed in the hallway while Clair quietly snuck towards the side of her mother's bed. She had been practicing her 'Let's wake up early and open presents' speech for the past week and now was the time to put it into action.

Just as Clair was about to open her mouth to begin, her mother quickly gave her an answer. "No"

"But Mom" Clair whined. "It's Christmas morning. Pretty please"

"You can wait until your brother and your friends are up. Go back to sleep"

"But-"

"I gave you my answer and that's final. Go back to sleep and wait until the others are up"

Clair sulked as she left the room and stood in the hallway with Emi. "Mission failed."

"Not necessarily" Emi told her. "She just said we had to wait until everyone else is up"

Clair grew an eager grin on her face. "You thinking what I'm thinking?"

Emi nodded her head. "Let's speed up that process"

The two girls quickly crept to the door of Dan's room. Clair quietly opened it and the two of them crept up to the side of Dan's bed. Not giving even the slightest warning, Clair and Emi jumped onto the bed, both of them lying on top of their siblings. Dan and Alicia awoke with a jolt to find their two sisters staring at them with eager grins.

Clair looked at her brother innocently. "Hi"

"Go back to sleep" Dan complained in a tired voice.

"But we wanna open presents!"

"You opened presents yesterday."

"Yeah, but now there's NEW presents to open"

"It's six in the morning" Alicia moaned. "Come back in another hour"

"Please!"

"Go. Back. To. Sleep" the couple said together.

"Think of this as a warm up" Emi suggested. "You know, for when the two of you have kids"

"When we have kids, are they gonna be as annoying as you?"

"They'll probably be as annoying as Hyde"

"If that's true, then I'm never having kids" Alicia said in a joking manner.

Clair looked at her brother with pleading eyes. "Please Dan! We really wanna open presents"

"Fine, I'll make you a deal" Dan said. "We'll get up on one condition"

"And that is?"

"You go wake up Hyde and Lilina"

"… What?"

"You heard him" Alicia said.

"Are you crazy?! That's a suicide mission!" Emi complained.

"Well it's either that or go back to sleep"

Emi and Clair left the room and once again stood in the hall contemplating their options. Waking up Hyde would be like waking up a mother grizzly bear and taking its cub.

"What are we gonna do?" Clair asked.

Emi paused for a moment before sighing to herself. "Desperate times call for desperate measures"

"Are you nuts?! You want to wake Hyde up this early in the morning?! He'll kill us!"

"We have no choice. We can't wait another hour for present time"

Clair took a deep breath and mentally prepared herself for what would be their most dangerous mission ever. "Alright. Let's do it"

XXXXXXXXXXX

Hyde and Lilina slept together in the guest room. Lilina was cuddled next to her boyfriend as the two of them were trapped in sleep. Hyde exited that sleep though as he heard the whispering voices of two little girls coming from bellow.

"What are we gonna do?"

"We could just try poking him until he wakes up"

Hearing the whispering sounds, Lilina opened her eyes as well. She crept her head over to the side of the bed until Hyde put a finger to her mouth, signaling for her to stay silent.

"How about we jump on the bed and make a run for it?"

"You think we'll be fast enough for that?"

"It's our best shot"

Hyde interrupted the two whispering girls with a rather loud "Ahem" and then following up with a warning. "You know it would really suck if two foolish girls tried to disturb me and Lilina while we're sleeping. Cause then we'd have to have two funerals on Christmas"

The next thing Hyde and Lilina heard was the whispering sounds changing to footsteps running out the door. "Abort the mission! Abort the mission!"

Lilina looked at Hyde with her eyes narrowed. "Don't you think that was a little harsh?"

"Would you rather them jump on you like a trampoline?"

"Fair point"

Emi and Clair didn't even have the energy to go back to Dan and Alicia's room and try to beg them to get up again. They went back to Clair's room with their heads sagging in defeat and went back to sleep.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Dan let out a yawn as he sat up from his bed. Looking over at his clock, he was surprised to see it was already 9:00.

'_I thought Clair and Emi would have tried to wake us up again by now'_ Dan thought. _'I wonder what happened.'_

A murmur came from Alicia as she woke up as well. She looked up at her boyfriend with a smile. "Morning Dan"

"Morning" Dan replied back as he leaned in and kissed her. "Apparently our sisters decided to actually let us sleep"

"Really?" Alicia questioned. She looked over at the clock at widened her eyes. "Wow. We better go tell them they can go open presents before they go nuts"

While Alicia got dressed, Dan walked over to Clair's room and knocked on the door. "Clair, Emi, you can get up now." When no response came, Dan decided to creek the door open. The sight he found brought a smile to his face.

Clair and Emi were fast asleep. They seemed exhausted for some reason, but they were completely asleep.

Alicia quietly walked over to Dan and took a look inside the room. She let out a soft giggle as she looked at the two girls. "Let's let them sleep. They seem tired"

"After they rudely woke us up earlier?"

"Wouldn't it be crueler to force them to wait even longer to open presents?"

Dan grinned as he listened to her reasoning. "I love the way you think sometimes"

Dan quietly closed the door to his sister's room and walked downstairs with Alicia. They found Mrs. Hiryo was already downstairs making breakfast. Dan internally groaned a little that he and Alicia were now in the worst case scenario. Alone in a room with his mother.

"Good morning you two. Sleep well?"

Dan blinked in surprise. He was expecting her to say some teasing comment or sneak an innuendo in or something. But her greeting was… normal.

Mrs. Hiryo seemed as if she could read her son's mind and answered the question he had yet to ask. "I'm still waking up. It was difficult falling asleep after Clair barged into my room."

A relieved sigh washed over Dan. _'I never thought I'd say this, but thank god for Clair waking up early on Christmas'_

A few more minutes passed by before Hyde and Lilina walked downstairs together. Hyde rubbed his sleepy eyes and yawned. "Morning guys"

Lilina looked around the kitchen and noticed the two people missing. "Emi and Clair aren't down here yet?"

"Still fast asleep" Alicia explained. "We thought we'd see how long it takes them to wake up on their own"

Mrs. Hiryo finished making two more plates of eggs and placed them on the table so everyone could eat. The four teens sat at the table and calmly ate breakfast, enjoying the nice peaceful morning. Looking outside, the blizzard from last night seemed to have stopped. Alicia and the others would probably be able to walk home now.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Dan took another bite of his eggs as he listened to the sudden scream. "Sounds like they're awake"

It wasn't long before footsteps were heard running frantically down the stairs. Emi and Clair skidded to a halt once they reached the kitchen and looked angrily at everyone.

"What the hell guys?! Why didn't you wake us up?!" Clair exclaimed.

Alicia grinned at the two girls. "Morning sleepyheads. We were starting to wonder if you'd ever get out of bed"

"Then why didn't you wake us up?!"

"Because we wanted to see your reaction when you realized you overslept"

Emi pouted at her sister. "That was so not cool sis"

"Then don't go waking us up at six in the morning." Alicia argued. "Now come on and eat your breakfast. Mom and Dad probably want us home as soon as possible."

Emi grumbled as she sat down and quickly ate her plate of eggs. Alicia felt that her sister had suffered enough waiting so she and Emi decided to walk back home once breakfast was finished so she could see the presents under their tree at home. Hyde and Lilina thanked Mrs. Hiryo for letting them stay over and left soon after.

Dan looked over to see Clair glaring at him with a pout on her face. The young brunette clearly was not happy with him.

"Maybe next year you'll let me sleep in a little" Dan grinned as he took a sip of his orange juice.

**A/N:** **Happy holidays everyone. Hope you all enjoy whatever it is each of you celebrates.**


	79. New Year's Quest

**A/N: Hello SAO fans. It's that time again. This chapter will reintroduce a character that hasn't been shown for awhile now. That's right everyone, it's Riku! I know I never went into much detail about this, but I did give Riku an IRL name. It's Shirou Makengo. If you guys ever forget it, it will be on my profile with the rest of the IRL names of this story's characters.**

Agil wiped down the tables of his beloved Dicey Cafe. It was one day before New Year's Eve and there were surprisingly few customers. The only people in the bar were some of his regulars, mainly being Dan, Alicia, Rika, Asuna, and Kazuto. The group were chatting away with a friend they hadn't seen in the real world in a long time, Shirou.

Shirou's family had ended up moving not long after SAO was cleared. He hadn't been able to connect with his friends as much IRL after that, but ever since the ALO World Tournament, they had been meeting every so often in Alfheim.

"It's been way too long Shirou" Alicia said to the blonde teen.

"It really has" Shirou nodded in agreement. "Sorry I haven't been able to connect with you guys so much. My family's been really busy with a big change we're going through"

"Really? What's happening?" Kazuto asked.

Shirou took a deep breath before telling everyone the news. "My family's moving"

"Again?!" Asuna gasped. "Didn't your family only move a couple years ago?"

"Yeah" Shirou said with a nod. "My dad's job is bringing him back over here, so we'll be pretty close to Tokyo again."

"What are you gonna do about school?" Alicia asked.

"There's a public school not far from where we'll be living so I'm transferring there" Shirou explained. "But I'll be able to hang out a lot more with you guys once we're finished moving in."

"That's awesome Shirou!" Asuna said with a delightful cheer.

"That also means a lot more of having to put up with Hyde though." Rika reminded him. "I guess there's a good and bad to everything"

As the group continued to chat, the door to the bar opened and a new person walked in. Everyone turned to see Shino with an exhausted look on her face.

"Hey Shino" Dan greeted. "You alright?"

Shino walked up to the bar counter, took a seat, and planted her face on the wooden countertop. "I feel dead today"

Kazuto put a hand on his friend's shoulder. "What happened? Did you run into Hyde or something?"

Shino shook her head. "No. I've just been having a lot of trouble for this one quest in GGO. I've been trying to complete it so I can upgrade my Hecate, but it's a lot harder than I anticipated." She turned her head and noticed Shirou amongst her friends. "Oh hey Shirou. Didn't notice you there"

"Wow, if you couldn't even tell that, you must really be out of it" Kazuto said. "If you want, I can transfer over to GGO and help. It'll have to wait until after New Year's though."

"That's too late" Shino told him. "It's a special event quest and it's only available until the end of the year."

"But that means you only have until tomorrow night!" Alicia exclaimed.

"Yep. I thought I could solo it, but I keep getting wiped out. I need one or two skilled players to back me up in order to complete it."

Everyone was quiet as they tried to figure out a solution. Finally the silence was broken as Shirou spoke up. "I could help"

Shino looked at him in surprise. "Shirou? You play GGO?"

"Well not exactly" Shirou said with a shake of his head. "But I could transfer over temporarily to help you out. It's true I've never played GGO, but I was pretty good at first person shooter games in the arcade when I was younger."

"I can vouch for that" Dan said with a nod of his head. "He held top scores in some of the arcade's most popular gun games. Not as high as mine or Hyde's of course, but he's still really good"

"I don't know" Shino said as she mulled it over. "Arcade games and GGO are pretty different."

"It's not like you have anything to lose" Asuna pointed out. "At the very least, Shirou's a world class VRMMO player"

"That's true" Shino admitted. After giving it some thought, she nodded her head. "Alright Shirou, you're in. But I'd still like to have at least one person that's familiar with GGO"

"Well… I may know one person who fits the bill" Dan said. "But you're not going to like it"

"Who is it?" Shino asked.

Before Dan could open his mouth, another person entered the bar. This time it was Hyde who graced everyone with his presence as he took a seat. He quickly noticed his old friend and greeted him. "Hey Shirou. What's up man?"

Shino looked over to Dan and saw him nod at her. A cold sweat went down Shino's back as she realized the player Dan was referring to. "No! No, no, no, no! Absolutely not!"

"Do you want to complete that quest or not?" Dan asked.

Shino mulled over the question in her head. She really wanted to upgrade her Hecate for the next BoB tournament and Hyde, or Skolas as he was referred to in GGO, would be a powerful asset in the quest. But at the same time, she REALLY didn't want to have to beg Hyde of all people for help.

Her will to get stronger, or her hatred for Hyde. It was hard for Shino to tell which of the two was stronger. She finally took a deep breath as she reached her decision. "Hyde..."

"What do you want?"

"... I need your help…"

"..." Hyde quickly turned around to his friends and picked at his ear. "I'm sorry, you all heard that right? That she was asking for my help and I'm not hallucinating?"

"Dude don't make this harder for her than it needs to be." Dan said with a groan knowing full well that he would anyway.

Hyde stood up immediately with a shit eating grin and moved right next to Shino with his hands holding his face up as he got uncomfortably close to the sniper. "Sooooooooo, what do you need from me buuuuuudy?"

"Get away from me!" she yelled as she moved away from her seat.

"That doesn't sound like the tone of someone asking for help." He said as his grin got wider. "Come on, ask nice and maybe I'll help."

Subduing the urge to strangle the Gekido boy, Shino breathed a deep, deep, DEEP breath and looked to him as she clenched her fists. "There's a New Year's quest on GGO and I can't beat it by myself. I need someone I know that can keep up with me."

"Then why not ask Kirito to help out? I know that SHE would just love to help out a fellow girl in need." Hyde said while giving Kazuto a derisive smile at the teen in question.

"That was one time! Stop bringing it up!" Kazuto deadpanned.

Hyde shrugged, the mocking smirk still present on his face. "Hey you were the one milking the whole girl act to the entire server. I just feel obligated to point out your idiocy on a regular basis. Sheesh come to think about it, how often were you sexually harassed?"

The black haired teen spat out his drink at the implication and began to cough violently to get air back into his lungs. Asuna immediately ran up to his side and glared at Hyde. "Now look at what you've done you idiot!"

"Not my fault if it's true. Still wondering how many times he had to call a GM for some guy grabbing him."

"Getting back to the point!" Shino yelled to get the ash haired teen's attention again. "Kazuto can't help because he's too busy with his own life to help me with the event. Meaning that you are literally my only choice in this matter… No matter how much I hate the thought of working with you."

"No, no, no I get it. You want to ask the great and mighty winner of the 4th BoB Skolas for help but you felt too intimidated by my superior standing to approach me. You are lucky that the great Skolas has the time to help you out with this quest. But even with the 4th BoB winner backing you up, do you really think that we can clear it?"

"Actually we have a third member joining us in this." Shino clarified as she pointed to Shirou, completely blocking out Hyde's ego stroking speech. "Shirou's gonna transfer his account to GGO to give us a helping hand."

Almost instantaneously Hyde busted out laughing hysterically as if she just told the joke of a lifetime. He began laughing so hard he fell out his seat and clutched his sides as he rolled on the floor. This went on for a full two minutes as his laughter finally subsided and managed to bring himself up back to the table. "Okay… Okay… I'm good. Okay I'm all for this."

"Wait, what?"

Hyde nodded his head. "Yeah, all I ask of Shirou is for him to act like he's something worth shooting at. He can't be an effective meat shield if he can't fulfill that one simple request."

"Glad to know that you still value our friendship Hyde." Shirou said rather dryly and sarcastically. "At least you're referring to me as a human being now."

"Think nothing of it. I guess since you technically helped save the world you deserve at least the bare minimum of kind treatment from me. And hey if it makes you feel better, you're higher up there on my respect list than Rika." Hyde said.

"Screw you!" Rika yelled.

"Screw you!" Hyde bit back.

Shino sighed as she looked at her 'team'. "Alright, so we'll meet up in GGO tomorrow at two. Sound good?"

Hyde got up from his seat. "Works for me. Just try not to be tardy. The champion of the fourth BoB hates waiting."

Shino grinded her teeth as Hyde walked out the door of the bar. "That guy pisses me off SO MUCH!"

"Well at least you have a reliable party" Asuna pointed out. "Plus…"

"Plus…?"

"This will give you and Shirou some time to get to know each other"

Shirou nearly choked on his meal as both he and Shino stared at Asuna in shock. "What?!"

Asuna giggled at the two of them. "Oh come on. You two would make such a cute couple! Don't you think so Alicia?"

"Don't go dragging me into your insane matchmaker lifestyle" Alicia said from her seat.

"But just look at them!" Asuna said, gesturing to her two friends. "Shirou's moving back here so he won't be too far from where Shino lives, plus a boyfriend is just what Shino needs. Not to mention the fact that they hate Hyde more than anything, giving them something in common"

"Asuna, I don't need you setting me up with people" Shino told her. "Besides, Rika hates Hyde just as much as I do"

"Oh I already have a plan for her" Asuna giggled. "I'm working on bringing her and Yuya together"

"ASUNA!" Rika exclaimed from her seat with her cheeks blushing.

"Well he likes you, and you've been wanting a boyfriend for a while now."

"Yuya?" Dan asked. "Yuya Kori. The one that goes to our school?"

"That's him" Asuna nodded. "I happened to find out that he has a bit of a crush on Rika here, thanks to Alicia and Emi"

"Anyways!" Shino yelled, getting back to the point. "There's no need for Shirou and me to get together. We're just friends"

"Y-Yeah! That's right!" Shirou nodded.

Asuna grinned mischievously as she looked at her two friends. "I don't know. You two look pretty cute together"

Shino sighed as she got up from her seat. "I'm going home." She looked over to Shirou as she left. "Meet me in GGO at one so we have enough time to pick out your equipment"

Shirou nodded. "R-Right. See you then"

Shino left the bar, leaving the rest of her friends there. Everyone turned their heads to Asuna who simply shrugged. "What? I think they'd make a cute couple."

"But wasn't that a bit excessive?" Alicia asked.

"Have I ever been wrong before with my matchmaking?"

Nobody could offer a rebuttal to Asuna's argument so the chestnut haired girl grinned in satisfaction.

"I'm heading home. It's a bit of a ways back and I don't want my parents worrying" Shirou decided as he rose from his seat. As he walked outside, he thought about what Asuna said. _'Shino, huh? Would we really make a good couple?'_

* * *

"Link start!"

Shirou called out those two words as he dove into the virtual world. He had already set up everything for the transfer. He had left his items and cash with Agil temporarily for safekeeping while he was in GGO. All that was left to do was make the transfer official. He shuffled through a few menu options and was then engulfed in a bright light.

When he opened his eyes, Riku found himself in the world of GGO. It was a huge difference from ALO, that was for sure. The streets seemed shady and dismal and the air reeked of oil.

Deciding to check out how his avatar looked, Riku walked over to a nearby mirror. His avatar wasn't too far off from his ALO one. His hair was slightly longer than usual, but it only fell about halfway down his neck. He kept his emerald green eyes from his real world self, so at least that was something. His body was a little less slim than his actual body, but no drastic changes. He was equipped with the basic armor for the game, which consisted of a simple set of shirt and pants.

'_At least I don't look like a girl'_ he thought. _'I'd never hear the end of it from Hyde if I did. Now then, where is Sinon?'_

After scanning the area around him, Riku's eyes caught sight of Sinon's avatar. He walked over to her and waved to let her know it was him. "Hey Sinon."

"That you Riku?" Sinon asked.

"Yep. This is my GGO avatar I guess"

Sinon looked up and down, slowly checking out how Riku's avatar looked. "Well it doesn't seem like too much of a change from your ALO avatar, so that's good. Anyways we should get going to the weapons shop. I'll loan you some money for your equipment."

"Got it" Riku nodded as he followed Sinon's lead.

It wasn't too far of a trip to the weapon's shop Sinon mentioned. She spent the entire trip talking with Riku about the best equipment for him to get to best help the team. Sinon was a long-range sniper and Skolas was a heavy tank that could easily fight at close range. That meant Riku would serve best as supporting fire, since his stats were that of an AGI type.

"An LGM would probably be our best bet" Sinon said. "Your armor would have to be durable enough to provide a decent defense, while light enough to allow you to move around quickly. Now we just need to think of a good model for your LGM."

"I'll trust your judgement on that" Riku decided.

"Hmm… If we're going with an LGM… I know, how about an RPK?"

"RPK?" Riku asked.

Sinon nodded her head. "It's a 39 cal lightweight machine gun, or LGM in other words. It's probably the best gun for you"

"Alright then. RPK it is"

Once they arrived at the shop, Sinon immediately brought Riku over to the machine guns for sale. Sinon bought the RPK on the wall and handed it over to Riku. The gun was a light machine gun with a black frame and an orange handle and shaft called the RPK-VEPR. The ammo clips for the gun came in a whopping one hundred count magazine with 7.62x39mm bullets that looked to pack a mean punch

"Ok, next up is your sidearm" Sinon said. She led Riku over to the multiple handguns on display and looked them over. After a few minutes of mulling it over, she decided on a laser M1911 Glock. She bought it and gave it to Riku, just like with the RPK.

With his weapons out of the way, Sinon began picking out Riku's armor. After an extensive selection process, Riku had a full set of equipment. His upper body was covered with light metal armor, though it didn't cover his arms or neck. Over the metal coating, he had a short-sleeve dark green jacket that stopped at his stomach. His lower body was simply a pair of pants the same color as his jacket that wouldn't hinder his speed and muddy brown lightweight boots. A belt was strapped around his waist, which held his magazines and a few basic medical items. A bulletproof orange visor was worn over his eyes. According to Sinon, it was basically similar to a radar, being able to scan for any enemies within a one kilometer radius. It also allowed him to know the exact location of his party members at all times, which would be beneficial in case he ever needed to hurry to them.

"Alright, we're all set" Sinon said as she and Riku walked outside.

"I hope I didn't drain your account of too much cash" Riku said.

"It's fine. Don't worry about it" Sinon assured him. Looking at her current cash, she had actually spent a lot on Riku's equipment. But it would be worth it to complete this quest.

'_It'll be fine'_ she thought. _'I knew gearing him up would cost a bit, plus it'll keep him safe… wait, why did I just think about that?'_ Now that she thought about it, she had gone a bit extra in making sure Riku's armor would keep him from getting killed. She had also put a lot more thought into picking out his equipment than she had originally anticipated. _'It can't be… It's not cause I actually like him or anything? No, snap out of it! You're just letting what Asuna said yesterday get to you. Focus on the quest, then it'll be over.'_

"You ok Sinon?" Riku asked, snapping her back into reality.

"Huh? Oh yeah, I'm fine. don't worry about it"

"Sup guys!" a sudden voice called out to them. Sinon and Riku looked over to see Skolas, aka Hyde, walking over to them. He didn't have the mask on that he had for the BoB, since that was mostly to hide his identity until the last moment and surprise Sinon. "You finished yet?"

"We've got Riku's equipment all picked out. After a quick trip to the shooting range, we'll be ready to move out"

"Fine. I could use a little target practice anyway" Skolas shrugged.

The threesome made their way to the nearby shooting range. Sinon stood next to Riku, explaining the basics of combat in GGO such as the bullet prediction line. After a few trial runs, Riku slowly got the hang of using both his RPK and his sidearm. Finally, Skolas took a step forward as he aimed his Shrapnel Blaster shotgun at the target. One shot was enough to blow a giant hole through the paper target.

"That's how it's done ladies" Skolas said with a mocking grin.

Sinon rolled her eyes at him. "Anyone can hit the target with the giant bullets your shotgun fires. The best players use guns that take skill to wield"

"And yet I still beat you. I guess that goes to show how much 'skill' you have"

Deciding to get the quest over with and put an end to Skolas's gloating, Sinon led the three of them out and they began making their way to where the special quest was.

The trio walked down the streets of the main hub area passing by numerous other players who all gave hushed whispers and stared at the strange team. Skolas and Sinon being seen together in GGO was completely unheard of as the sniper went on personal record to say in the forums that she despised both Skolas and the teen who played him and that she wouldn't be caught dead with him at any time. So seeing them together made a lot of people begin to assume things in whispers thinking they couldn't hear them.

But they could, and they did.

"Why are those two partying together?

"Didn't she say she wanted to castrate him with a rusty fork?"

"Maybe she's just a tsundere and actually likes him."

"I wouldn't blame her. I mean Skolas looks real nice."

"But then who's the other guy with them?"

"Friends with benefits?"

"Okay that tears it." Skolas said as he pulled out the Devil's Scorcher and starting firing at the speculators. "ANYONE ELSE WHO MAKES UP ANOTHER GODDAMN RUMOR IS GETTING THIS CANNON SHOVED SO FAR UP THEIR ASSES, THEY WILL BE CRAPPING OUT PURE SOLAR ENERGY FOR LIFE!"

With nothing else more needing to be said, the gossip group immediately scattered like dust in the wind to avoid the heavy artillery player's wrath. Sinon gave a groan as she pinched the bridge of her nose in disgust. "If only they knew the real reason…"

"Relax Sinon." Riku said as he patted her on the back in a comforting manner. "On the positive, with that outburst no one will mistake this for something indecent."

"Alright enough with the sewing circle crap. Let's go clear this quest and be done with it." Skolas said as he bumped past the both of them, causing Sinon to growl in anger and pull out her Hecate and point it behind his head.

"I could do it… It'd be so easy…"

Riku held the barrel of the gun down as he shook his head. "I know how you feel but we need him. Once this quest is done then you can shoot him."

"Ohohoho! I'd like to see her freaking try!" Looking up they both saw Skolas pointing his scorch cannon directly at their faces with a smile on his face. "Go ahead you green haired camper, make my day!"

The two of them stared each other down in a Mexican standoff for a few minutes with neither of them blinking. The air of intensity between them was so intense that sparks could literally be seen between their eyes as they glared hell at each other. After a few more moments the two of them both put their guns away and continued walking down the path to the quest as if nothing even happened leaving a very confused Riku behind in a stupor before recovering and running after his friends.

The trio soon arrive to the outer gates of the city where a strange NPC was located at. He was covered in a brown cloak with a manner of strange devices hooked on to a belt. The hood that covered his eyes only showed a completely shrouded face with only two red eyes visible.

"Welcome humans of quick hand." the NPC said. "I am Lox, keeper of the future's weapons. In order to prevent a great calamity from coming earlier than expected I need to find those who are strong enough to fight back those who dwell in the dark. Are you three these heroes?"

"We are." Sinon said. "Our names are Sinon, Skolas and Riku and we are here to accept your quest."

Lox nodded its head in approval as he came closer to the three. "Good, very good. As we speak the forces that have ruined the future have come here to conquer the past as well. I ask that you use all of your strength to defend the innocent and protect the world from this threat. May I count on you?"

In front of them a large menu box appeared that held all the quest information on it.

'Save Time'

'Fight back the forces of darkness in this special event quest. Beware that only the strongest have the slimmest chance of survival in this three-part quest.'

'Rewards: High level upgrades for weapon of choice for all party members who clear it.'

'Prerequisites; Must be Lvl 120 to enter'

'Do you accept the quest?"

Without hesitation all three of them pressed the yes button and the screen disappeared from sight. "Good, good. I am glad we have someone to defend the past and present from this threat. Fight back the darkness and I will give you upgrades capable of combating almost any foe. Good luck you all and may the fight be in your favor." In a puff of black smoke Lox disappeared from sight as the gate to the Overworld glowed with a sinister aura.

"Well that was ominous as hell." Skolas said as he brought out his gun. "So you've done this, what can we expect from this quest starting off?"

"Well we will instantly be thrown into a multi enemy wave attack of some rather weird looking monsters. Tricky part is that there's no place to have cover so a sniper user like me is at a disadvantage. So, while the skill level is low for it, I needed someone who's good at offensive brutality and unfortunately you were the only one to fit the bill Skolas." Sinon said as she made sure her Hecate was fully loaded.

Riku did the same with his equipment and gave a thumbs up. "Well since you have a squad to back you up maybe you'll have better luck."

"I take no responsibility if friendly fire occurs." Skolas snickered as he fully charged his cannon. "The buckshot on this thing is immense."

"Just be sure to make yourself useful and cover me as much as you can. You all ready?"

There was a collective nod from both boys.

"Okay let's go."

The trio passed through the gate and entered the Overworld to see what awaited them on the other side.

Boy was it different than what Skolas and Riku were expecting.

As they landed on their feet, the three were in a vast empty wasteland with nothing surrounding them. Emptiness ruled over this domain as nothing resembling civilization or human life was around the area.

"Well this is crap! No one else is here!" Skolas yelled as he stomped on the ground. "Now we just look like a trio of idiots standing in an empty space!"

"Get ready you idiot! Here they come!"

No sooner than around a hundred portals opened up in front of them, ripping from time and space as strange figures came out from them. They were humanoid in shape but size and appearance was something else all together. Some kind of parasitic fungus had covered in large portions the beings that came out from the portal. Worm like tendrils sprouted from the affected areas as their eyes were beady and black as though the parasite had taken control over them. As they landed on the floor their names appeared on top of them, Dengue Flood with all of them having two HP bars and above.

Riku looked pale as he held back a violent retch coming up his throat. "Ugh, what the hell is that thing!? It looks like a lamprey and a flesh sore had a deformed kid!"

"Thank you for putting that image in my head Riku." Sinon said sarcastically as she aimed her gun at the crowd. "Open fire now!"

"No need to tell me twice!" Skolas yelled with delight as he holstered his cannon and began to open fire on them.

The monsters let out a horrid shrieking sound as the all began to charge at the group of three. Riku shivered a bit at the disgusting sounds they made as he fired his RPK at them. Even with the combined firepower of a sniper, scorch cannon and a LMG, the legion did not slow down as they continued to stomp over the ones who had fallen down and trample them to death as they continued their march.

Skolas grunted as he blasted a monster's head off and knocked one to the ground with the butt of his cannon, finishing it off as he stomped its head in. "How many of them are there? They just keep coming and coming!"

"Just keep at it!" Sinon yelled as she kicked one of the Dengue Flood away from her as she reloaded a new clip into Hecate. "The numbers wane after a bit if we just keep firing!"

"Roger!" Riku said as he backflipped away from a strike from a worm like tendril. Bringing out his sidearm he blasted the monster straight through the head with ease as he landed on his feet.

Soon after around twenty minutes of firing against wave after wave of freakish monsters the horde began to diminish in numbers until there were only a handful left of them. As if sensing the loss of number advantage, the Dengue Flood began to back away from the group and ran back into the portal from where they came from.

"Haha! We got them on the ropes" Skolas said as he continued to shoot at the monsters as their backs were turned. "If this is as hard as it gets then this'll be a cakewalk!"

"_Do not assume an easy victory chosen few." _A voice from the sky called to the teens. Sinon and the others recognized it as Lox, the NPC from earlier. "_Your crusade against the darkness has only begun. Now you must all follow the cursed Flood from where they spawned in order to staunch their flow from the root. Go chosen few and defeat the darkness at its heart."_

"Well you heard the disembodied voice." Riku said as he strapped his gun onto his back. "TIme to go kill the mama parasite. You all ready?"

Skolas scoffed and pulled out his Shrapnel Blaster. "Killing a giant parasite will just be another footnote in the great biography of Skolas. Let's go mortals!"

The two rolled their eyes at that statement and followed the heavily armored player through the glowing tear in reality. The three of them fell into a multicolored surrounding as they followed the monsters that Lox wanted dead. As they free fell down the portal opened once more as they through into the Dengue Flood's world. What awaited was a being far from what they were expecting. The monster was massive in size easily the size of two buildings that towered over everything in the area. The infection spread over its entire body leaving no trace of former life as tendrils were spread all over its back. Its head looked like a giant pus filled zit with two hollow black eyes and a large void of a mouth in the middle. Looking at the three gunners it let out a great bellow of rage as its name appeared over its head.

Zenobias, The Infected Wroth

"Wow… This thing makes the others look kissable. Maybe if we gave it some face correction surgery then we could get it a date." Skolas gave a grin towards Sinon as he said that. "In fact…"

"If you dare to finish that sentence I'll blow a hole in your head right now!" Sinon yelled rather viciously as she pointed Hecate at his skull.

"Guys can we focus!?" Riku yelled as the monster started running towards them.

Growling in frustration Sinon refocused her attention on Zenobias as it approached the group while screaming its head off. "Alright let's get this off with! Bring it on!"

**A/N: So how did you guys like seeing Riku again? I'm going to try and give him more story time from here on instead of every now and then. On another note, what do you guys think of the RikuXSinon ship. Feel free to come up with whatever ship name you want, since as usual I stink at it.**


	80. Hey Jude

**A/N: Hello everyone. Glad to see there's so much love for the RikuXSinon ship. Before the chapter starts, I'd like to say a couple things.**

**1) I recently found someone on deviantart to do commissions for the OCs of this story. If you go on deviantart and look up Akiie-chan, you can find the first of the commissions, Alice. I personally found that it came out great! She will hopefully be doing other members of the group also as time progresses. Akiie-chan is also a writer on this site so give her stories a look, especially Made From Glass. I found it to be a very interesting take on SAO.**

**2) I have made the Alice commission the cover for this story. As the other ones come out, I will switch which ones are the cover so you can all see them.**

The three gunners scattered as Zenobias slammed its fist down on the ground in an attempt to crush the puny players. Skolas grinned as he chucked a grenade to the monster's face which exploded upon impact. His smile was short lived as through the smoke a monstrous arm erupted from and slammed into his side sending him tumbling to the ground as a third of his health was immediately chopped off.

"Shit! This thing hits like a truck!" Skolas yelled as he got back up and used a healing pack on himself. "Sinon, shoot that thing in the eyes! Keep its aggro on you!"

"Don't act like you're in charge, idiot!" She yelled as she pulled out Hecate. "Riku, cover me and make sure to keep the tendrils away from us!"

RIku nodded his head as he pulled out his RPK and began shooting at the wormy limbs that struck at them.

Sinon took a deep breath as she lay down on the ground and adjusted the bi-pod on Hecate. To the naked eye it appeared as Zenobias didn't have a weak point to exploit as other larger bosses did. But having a trained eye, Sinon gazed hard through her scope around the parasite's body to look for the slightest blemish on its disgusting body. Skolas jumped behind the monster as its attention was on the duo in front of it and pulled out his Devil Scorcher and shot at its back. The beast roared in pain as its sights once again focused on the tank player who in turn flipped the monster off with a cheeky grin. Zenobias charged once again to Skolas as he ducked and weaved from the tendril strikes and large swings from the parasite. Sinon's eyes widened as she noticed an open scar left wide open from Skolas's recent attack from behind. Concentrating on her target she let out a breath as she pulled the trigger, firing the sniper round into Zenobias's scar. The beast lurched forward as a whole bar of its HP instantly shattered away from the surprise attack as it fell to the ground screaming in pain.

"Kill it before it gets up again!" Riku yelled as he unloaded his full clip into the beast's open wound.

"No need to tell me twice!" With no hesitation Skolas shot charged round after round into Zenobias's back as well.

The screaming didn't cease as Zenobias's hp fell into its final bar into the red zone from the relentless assault. As its health was about to fall to zero, it suddenly got up and started rampaging around as it smacked away the trio from it as it started flailing around like a spastic bull. Sinon landed on her feet from the strike but noticed her HP was in the red as well as her two team mates. She quickly picked up Hecate that fell beside her and aimed right at Zenobias's face.

"Smile you son of a-!"

The rest of her comment was cut off as she pulled the trigger and blasted the parasite straight through the face, diminishing the rest of its hp as its body shattered into millions of fragments. Sinon jumped as she cheered from getting the last shot on Zenobias as the 'Congratulations' message appeared in the sky.

"Well you can all thank me for getting the last shot on that flesh sore." Skolas gloated as he walked up to his friends. "I'm waiting."

"Um excuse you? I'm the one who shot that thing to death." SInon said as she narrowed her eyes.

RIku raised his hand to get their attention. "Um I could've sworn that I got the last shot."

"_It matters not who killed the monster, the matter at hand is that it's dead and you all have my eternal thanks for this." _Everyone looked around as they heard Lox's voice call to them from the sky. _"You all have done well in killing the Wroth that has blighted my time and as such you all deserve a reward. Come, enter the portal from whence you came for your reward."_

An unearthly glow opened in front of the teens as the portal reopened with a view of the front gate. All nodding their heads in unison Sinon, Skolas and Riku all walked through the tear in reality and came back to where they had accepted the quest with Lox waiting for them with a pleased look upon his face. ...Or what could be considered a pleased look considering only his eyes were visible. "Thank you all chosen ones for killing Zenobias and saving the future. As such there is only one small test to be had in order to make sure you all are truly deserving of this reward."

"Ah come on! We just killed a legion of flesh sores and the mother of all disgusting freaks that made Sinon over here look desirable!" Skolas yelled, not minding the shot to the foot he received from her Hecate, screaming internally as he did so. "So I think we all deserve it right now. Me more so than both of those two."

"Do not worry, it is a rather simple test. First hand to me the weapons you all like upgraded." Lox said as he pulled his hand forward.

Reluctantly, the trio handed the weapons that they desired to be upgraded forward. For Sinon it was her trademark Hecate, Skolas his Devil Scorcher to the mysterious figure and Riku handed the only primary gun in his possession, his RPK-VEPR. Lox grabbed hold of all the weapons from the teenagers and enveloped them all in a harsh light causing the group to cover their eyes from the sight. As the light faded Lox laughed to himself as he materialized several new weapons in sight. The group looked at the new weapons with curiosity as the only thing that looked different about them was a shiny golden sheen on them. "Your new weapons chosen ones."

Riku took hold of his 'new' weapon and inspected it around. "Um excuse me Lox? This doesn't seem to be a new weapon in the slightest."

"Yeah, it looks like you just dipped it in some gold paint and are regifting it to us." Sinon said with a frown. She handed back her gun to the mystery man with a disatisfied look on her face. "Sorry to say but I'd rather have my old Hecate than just one with a fancy paint job."

Skolas shook his head as he tossed his weapon back to Lox. "I don't need a shiny paint job as an upgrade. Sorry but no thanks, give me back my old gun."

Lox looked at the trio curiously at the denial of the new weapons. "Would you all not like to show that not only are you people to be recognized but also shown as the ones who felled Zenobias? The color is proof of your actions."

"Really? A paint job is the upgrade? Well this was a waste of time. Just give me back my weapon so I can go already."

"Are you all truly sure you do not wish for these weapons?" Lox asked one final time. Collectively the trio nodded. Seeing their answer made him chuckle as he tossed the golden weapons away, causing them to shatter instantly. "Congratulations chosen, you have all passed the final test."

"...Say what?" Riku asked, clearly confused at what was going on.

"Many times I have met humans whose only thoughts were focused on greed and avarice. That a shiny weapon instantly caught their eyes and would accept it immediately without hesitation. As punishment for their greed, the weapon would not only be destroyed after a few hits to it but it would be also next to worthless in value. You three, who have saw the true value in your weapons shall now be given your true prizes for killing Zenobias."

From inside his coat, Lox pulled out three new weapons that looked much different than before. First and foremost was Sinon's Hecate. The frame of the gun was much slimmer in its weight and the barrel was slightly longer with a slimmer nozzle. All around the gun ren veins of light that shined dully around the gun an ominous glow. Along with that the loading stock of the gun looked to be increased in size, meaning more ammo per clip which was always a nice thing in Sinon's book. The name of her upgraded gun was called the PGM Ultima Ratio Hecate III.

The second gun was Skolas's Devil Scorcher that looked completely different. The frame of the gun remained in the same shape as before but the design was way different as it looked rather like a dragon's skull with the handle of it being jagged and bone shaped with the mouth of the skull was where the nozzle of the gun was. The solar absorbers were now located on the back of the skull which was a bit strange but he decided not to look a gift horse in the mouth as the saying went. The name of his upgraded weapon was now Megalomania, fitting with Skolas's power obsessed attitude.

The last of the three was Riku's gun. The gun turned completely midnight black in color with a plasmatic green color on the bottom of the stock with small veiny lines running across the gun that trailed all the way to the clip of the gun. The nozzle had a narrow end that made the bullets come out much faster and stronger than it originally was with the only drawback being increased recoil. Its name was now the RPK-STYGIAN.

"Enjoy your new weapons chosen few." Lox said with a small bow as a portal opened behind him. "I hope to call upon your strength again in the future." With nothing else to saw Lox walked into the tear in space, leaving the trio behind with their new weaponry.

* * *

The trio of Sinon, Riku, and Skolas walked through the wasteland as they made their way back to the main city they had left from. They held their newly upgraded weapons in their hands proudly, being the first ones to clear the difficult quest.

"I gotta say, this was actually a lot of fun" Riku said as they walked. "Maybe I should try and play GGO more often"

Skolas laughed at Riku's suggestion. "Don't waste your time. I carried us through that quest. You just stood there and took out the stragglers."

Riku rolled his eyes. "I see you haven't changed since last summer. Still stroking your ego and putting everyone else down"

"It's what I do"

Sinon patted Riku on the back. "For what it's worth, I think you did pretty well for your first time playing GGO"

"Thanks"

Skolas showed a condescending smirk towards the duo. "Geez, you two are acting like a couple. What, are you in love now?"

Sinon and Riku blushed at the statement as both of their minds went back to what Asuna had said yesterday. Sinon glared at Skolas. "Sh-Shut up! We are not a couple, got that?!"

"Alright, calm down" Skolas told her. "It was just a joke"

The three of them were so distracted by the comment Skolas had made, they didn't notice the figures watching them not far away. Out of nowhere, the three of them all felt a sharp pain through their backs. Each of them quickly felt their bodies go numb as they collapsed onto the ground.

"Wh-What the hell?! Why can't I move?!" Riku exclaimed.

"Stun bullets" Sinon realized. "We're paralyzed."

"Alright, where are you cowards?!" Skolas yelled out at the top of his lungs. "Stop hiding and come out!"

Soon the sound of footsteps were heard from behind the trio. Sinon managed to turn her head to see a squad of five players walking over to them.

"Damnit! A PKer squad! They were lying in wait for us to clear the quest." Sinon growled. She looked to her two teammates. "Quick, unequip your upgraded weapons!"

"How?! We're paralyzed!" Riku reminded her.

"It's not a very powerful stun bullet." Sinon explained. "You should be able to move your body enough to open your menu. Hurry!"

Riku and Skolas managed to force their finger to move enough to open their menus. They went to their status screen and unequiped their new weapons. Their guns vanished into their inventory just as the enemy squad arrived. When they noticed the upgraded weapons had disappeared, they were clearly not happy.

"Damnit, their weapons are gone!" one of the players growled. "I told you we should have gotten the high grade stun bullets!"

"Shut up! This is cause you wanted to be all dramatic and walk over here! If we ran, this wouldn't have happened!" another member argued.

"What was that?! I dare you to say that again you-"

"Enough!" one of the players yelled. This one seemed to be the player in charge as the two bickering players quickly fell silent. The head of the group walked up to Sinon, Riku, and Skolas and showed a malicious grin. "Now then, are you three going to make this easy on yourselves and just give us your new weapons?"

"You wish" Sinon glared. "There's no way in hell I'd hand over my rifle to you bastards"

In response to Sinon's defiance, the man took his foot and stomped on Sinon's face. His boot pressed on Sinon's cheek and pushed her head further into the rocky ground. "Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Jude, leader of the PK squad Weird Fang. I've heard rumors about you Sinon. They say you're the best sniper in GGO, and that you have an ice cold personality. Too bad you're all talk."

"We Are Fang?" Sinon asked, confused on how he pronounced it.

Jude growled and gave a kick to the sniper. "No you green haired bimbo! Weird Fang! WEIRD! FANG! Freaking enunciate!"

"Leave her alone!" Riku growled as he glared at Jude.

Jude gave an amused laugh as he watched Riku struggle to move. Just as he was about to continue his monologue, Skolas decided to open his mouth. "Jude huh? Why are you making this bad?"

Jude stared at the smiling player with a dead look in his eyes at the joke he just made before pulling up his handgun and shooting him three times in the legs. "Never make that damn joke again!"

Skolas grit his teeth from being shot at but still help his cocky tone. "Come on man, just let me into your heart."

"Boss, to be fair it's your own fault for naming yourself Jude." one player said from the side. "I mean this is what, the tenth person who's made this joke?"

Not even batting an eyelash Jude brought his gun up to his lackey and shot him right in the chest. "Try to name yourself after a great song and people mock you. Whatever, the point is either you give me your weapons or I'll torture you until you hand them over."

"Ha! I'd like to see you freaking try without your backup dancers Judy!" Skolas taunted at the leader.

"Okay just for that I'm taking this useless sniper with us!" Jude yelled as he picked up Sinon off the ground, ignoring her struggling. "If you care about what happens to her you'll meet us at our hideout! If you don't, I'll make her life absolute hell!" he reached into his pocket and threw a small mini-map to the fallen forms of Riku and Skolas. "Let's go boys."

The rest of the Weird Fang followed Jude as they took Sinon with them as their leverage leaving the boys behind. It was a couple minutes later that the paralysis finally wore off and Riku and Skolas could move freely again. Riku stomped his foot into the ground in frustration. "Those bastards are gonna pay! Come on Skolas, let's go take them out!"

Skolas simply laughed at his friend. "Yeah right! As if I care about what happens to her"

"What are you saying?! She's our friend! We gotta save her!"

"Why? I don't owe Sinon anything. Besides, this will teach her to be more careful in the future." Skolas began walking away back to the city.

Riku sighed, realizing he was going to have to change tactics. "You know, if we go after them you could rip into that Jude guy even more about his name."

Skolas froze as he thought about Riku's point. "Hmm. That is tempting"

Riku saw a glimmer of hope. Now all that was left to do was add the finishing touch, though he knew Sinon was going to hate him later for it. "That's not all. Imagine how mad Sinon would be if her most hated enemy was the one to save her."

Skolas turned and looked towards Riku. "The thing is, I know you're playing me. But you're right. Let's get moving."

Riku nodded as he picked up the minimap Jude left behind. Looking at the map, they could see the hideout wasn't too far from the main city. "Okay from this map the place is around ten minutes away and knowing Jude, he probably has a trap set up for us already. We need to proceed with caution."

"Or better idea, we go in there with our new toys, kill everything and everyone that fights under the Queer Fang banner-"

"Weird Fang." Riku corrected.

"I know what I said. Anyway kill them dead five times over, rescue that idiot, and I get more blackmail material. Might even take a picture to savor the moment forever."

Riku sighed and shook his head. "Skolas it isn't that simple."

"Yes it is idiot. The only reason they even got us was because we were off guard. Now that we know what's coming and since you have that little radar of yours we can take them all out, kick dirt at their corpses and painfully shatter all of Jude's hopes and dreams. Easy as shooting Sinon in the head."

"Shooting Sinon in the head isn't easy at all Skolas." Riku deadpanned.

Skolas let out a short laugh as he started walking down to the Weird Fang hideout. "It was for me!"

* * *

"I don't even know why you're trying this idiocy." Sinon said from behind the bars of her cage. "Knowing Skolas he doesn't give a crap about what happens to me and Riku is more than capable of kicking your group's sorry asses now that you've lost the element of surprise. Really, you screwed up."

"Shut up!" Jude screamed at her as he kicked the cage she was in. "This would all just go away if you just gave me your gun but since you decided to be a bitch about it things are going the hard way. We're gonna kill your two boytoys, take their weapons, and ride off into the sunset with three newly upgraded weapons from an unfair quest."

"Wow… you actually made Skolas seem likable just now. Just for that I'm gonna have to kill you much harder because you just made me compliment him by saying that." she said with a smile.

Jude laughed at the seemingly empty threat and gave her a condescending look. "Wow all bark, aren't you bimbo? Such big talk coming from the girl trapped like an animal. The Weird Fangs have already won sniper!"

Sinon rolled her eyes as she gave a lazy glare to Jude. "Also learn to speak plain Japanese and enunciate what you say. I can hardly understand you when you pronounce your squad name. It's good manners to have when talking to a lady and let's be honest here, this is probably as close as you're gonna be to having a conversation with an actual woman."

"Why you-!"

Before Jude could do anything to Sinon one of his goons rushed through the door and ran up to him. "B-Boss, we have a problem!"

Jude groaned as he pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration. "Toro, what did I tell you about interrupting my interrogation time?"

"Those two from before are back! They're blowing up all of our barricades and killing all of our members!" Toro shouted at the top of his lungs. "Those weapons are super freaking strong, we can't even get close enough to get a shot i- EAGH!"

Jude jumped in shock as a stray bullet erupted through Toro's chest, killing him instantly. "Shit!" The leader of the Weird Fangs made a mad dash from the door behind him to avoid all the bullets ricocheting around the room, somehow all managing to not hit Sinon in the process.

"Goddamn it Riku!" she felt a feeling of dread overwhelm her as she heard Skolas's voice ring through the air. "Can you even hold that gun still!?"

"Sorry if this new upgrade increased the recoil on this thing! It's like trying to hold a jackhammer still!"

"Just keep watch while I free our resident idiot sniper. She's gotta be around here some..." His eyes stopped as he entered the room she was trapped in and looked at her state trapped in the cage. Slowly he closed the door behind him, his smile at her misery never leaving his face. "Well, well, well, look at what we have here."

"Don't say it." she warned.

"I mean…"

"Don't! Say! It!"

"I never thought I'd find a stray sniper for sale at the pound!"

"GODDAMNIT!" she screamed.

Skolas laughed hysterically as he pointed and laughed at Sinon in her trapped state causing her to glare at him with such an intensity that he should've been set on fire. After catching his breath, he kneeled down to eye level with her and smiled again. "Tell you what, I'll set you free as long as you do one little thing for me."

"..."

"Meow. Meow like the poor little stray Cait Sith you are."

"Go to hell."

"I'm not hearing an animal noise!"

Sinon growled at the heavy gunner and barked at him. "Just shut up and help me out of his cage you wormy, ugly bastard!"

"There's no need for that kind of language Sinon. Don't be grumpy like Jude over there." He said as he pointed to the player who was planning his sneak attack on Skolas. Jude jumped back in surprise at the taller player mentioning him. Skolas turned around and greeted the stealth player with his trademark smirk. "Hey Jude."

"..."

"Don't make it bad."

"Oh ha ha ha, the Beatles song joke again." Jude growled as he started walking towards Skolas. _'It's okay Jude, you managed to trick and trap the sniper Sinon and take the other two behind them with my clever plans. You can take this Skolas punk.' _He let his hand trail to his hip where his knife rested. "Tell me, what's the next line again?"

"Remember to let her into your- gack!" Skolas was cut off as Jude with blinding speed shoved his blade directly into his chest. "Heart."

Just as Jude was about to bring the blade upwards to finish his opponent off he stopped as Skolas started laughing as though some sort of hilarious joke was told. "Hahahahahahaha! Good one Jude!" Jude's eyes widened in horror as the taller player pulled out the blade and towered over him in an intimidating manner. "That's why you were always my favorite in that little Queer Fang group of yours."

"It's WEIRD Fang!" Jude corrected as he backed away a bit. "And why aren't you dead!?"

Skolas grinned as he backed Jude up into a wall and grabbed the blade from his hand. "Don't you know they call me the Wolf's Sin of Greed? Skolas the Invincible!?"

"I-I-I thought it was invisible!"

"Nope, Invincible."

"Oh... well that changes things- gah!" Jude was silenced as Skolas stabbed him in the chest and kicked him through the door he entered.

"God that idiot needs to learn how to-"

"Already said it."

"Damnit! Well there goes that joke. Oh well back to the more hilarious one in front of me. Go on, meow little kitty. Should I call you Pina?"

Sinon started to thrash around in the cage yelling about how she would shove her sniper in a place that shouldn't be said in polite company. They were so distracted by their own argument that they jumped in surprise when the heard Riku cry out in pain from the outside. Quickly blowing the lock off of Sinon's cage, both players rushed outside to see Jude holding Riku in a headlock with a pistol to his head.

"NOBODY MOVE OR I BLOW HIS HEAD OFF!" Jude yelled at the incoming players.

Skolas just smirked as he shook his head. "Okay, I'm just gonna stop you right there. What you're doing isn't a threat to me whatsoever. You can shoot him all you want for all I care"

"... Oh shit, really?"

Riku nodded his head in confirmation. "Yeah he doesn't really care if I live or die."

Jude still held his grip hard as he looked at Sinon. "What about her? I know she has to care about this dumbass."

"While I do value his friendship more than this jackass." she started pointing to Skolas. "I know that I don't even need to lift a finger to get him out of this situation."

Skolas nodded his head. "Yeah come on dumbass, I know you can get out of his grip. For God's sake he can't even do a submission hold right."

"Yeah I know. I just wanted to give him this. He seemed like he needed something to boost his self-esteem." RIku then delivered a rather vicious headbutt to Jude's face, causing him to scream in pain as he fell to the floor, clutching his face.

As the pain faded away he pried his hands away from his face only to see all three players pointing their upgraded weapons right at him. "So any last words before we fill you with lead?" Skolas asked as he pressed the barrel of his gun right to Jude's face.

"... I hate you all…"

"Well said, good game." Sinon smiled as she took the liberty of blowing his head off point blank. "Ah that's just what I needed to make this whole experience better. Satisfaction."

"Well let's see what we accomplished today." Riku said as he counted off their feats on his hand. "We killed a mutant flesh sore, got godly powerful weapons and managed to wreck an entire guild in a matter of minutes. I'd say this was a successful day."

Sinon nodded in agreement. "As much as I hate the thought of thanking Skolas, I really gotta hand it to you guys. You really helped me out so thanks."

"The great Skolas was glad to help such a player in need. If you ever are in need of my services again just be sure to bring an offering. This time was a freebie." Skolas waved them goodbye as he teleported back into the city.

"... Did I ever tell you how much I hate him?" Sinon asked Riku rhetorically.

He smiled as he patted her shoulder. "I think maybe once or twice."

The two of them shared a small laugh as they said their goodbyes for the night and logged off of GGO for some well-earned rest.

* * *

"And then I pointed my new Hecate at Jude and blew his head clean off" Shino said as she finished telling her story to her friends at Dicey Cafe.

"That sounds like one hell of an adventure." Alicia said.

"It was. I just hate that Skolas of all people ended up saving me" Shino said with a sigh. Looking over next to her, she could see Asuna staring at her with a big grin. "What?"

"What did you think of Riku?"

"Oh god, this again?"

"But he came to rescue you! That's just so romantic!" Asuna said with a girlish squeal. "A knight in shining armor coming to save the damsel in distress"

"I was not a damsel in distress!" Shino yelled.

"Yeah. You were more of a caged animal" Hyde said.

Shino growled at Hyde in frustration. "I. Hate. You."

"I know"

"Getting back to the main point" Asuna said. "You and Shirou would make such a cute couple"

Shino sighed as she got out of her seat. "Alright, between you playing cupid and Hyde playing the devil, I've had enough insanity for one day. I'm heading home."

As she walked out of the Dicey Cafe, Shino realized that Asuna reminded her of one thing. She hadn't been able to get Shirou out of her head since they finished the quest together.

**A/N: So what did you guys think of the chapter? Is the RikuXSinon love any stronger? Also, for those of you that didn't get it, the song that Skolas was referencing to was Hey Jude by The Beatles.**


	81. Revenge

**A/N: Hello once again readers! I'm glad everyone liked the last chapter so much. This chapter will be walking away from the lighthearted humor and go for a more serious mood. Warning, the feels may lie ahead.**

The month of January was just as cold as December. Snow fell from the sky and blanketed the ground. Shino walked through the snowy streets, bundled up with a winter coat and a scarf. She was getting low on food at her house so she decided to do some grocery shopping.

As she walked, Shino noticed someone in the distance. It was a young girl that seemed to be about 15 years old. A pair of earmuffs hung around her short blonde hair. She noticed Shino and jogged over to her. "Excuse me miss, I'm a little lost. Do you think you could direct me somewhere?"

"You know, a little girl like you shouldn't be walking around alone like this" Shino said. "Are you trying to get home?"

The girl shook her head. "No, I don't live near here. I'm trying to find a place called the SAO Memorial Cemetery."

Shino blinked in surprise. Was this girl an SAO survivor? She was certainly young for one, that was for sure. But then again, she had heard of kids as young as ten being trapped in the death game. Prying in would have been rude though, so Shino decided to just direct the girl. "It's about a five-minute walk from here. I've passed by it a few times, so I could show you if you want"

"Really?! Thank you so much miss!"

Shino smiled at the young girl. "Just call me Shino. And you are?"

"Oh right, sorry. My name's Hana"

"Alright then Hana, follow me" Shino said. She led the young girl through the snowy streets. It was a bit complicated path so giving her verbal directions would have been a bit tricky.

They soon arrived at the cemetery. Shino had never entered it as she didn't personally know anyone that had died in SAO, but she had passed it every now and then on her walks. As she followed the girl, she couldn't help but wonder what her story was. Why was she here? Before she knew it, they had stopped. Shino watched as Hana looked at one of the tombstones.

"This is my sister" Hana explained with a sad smile. "Today's the anniversary of her death. My mother's been really sick lately so I had to come alone"

'_So her sister was in SAO'_ Shino realized. She looked at the name on the tombstone. For some reason, it sounded familiar.

"Shino? What are you doing here?"

Shino and Hana turned their heads to see Shirou walking over to them. She was a little surprised to see him here. She hadn't heard of any close friends of his dying in SAO.

"I was helping this girl here" Shino explained, pointing to Hana. "Her sister was in SAO"

Shirou's eyes widened as he looked at Hana. "You're… her sister?"

"You knew my sister?" Hana asked.

"Yeah" Shirou said with a nod of his head. "She was a good friend of mine"

Shino looked back at the tombstone and read the name again. Historia. "Who exactly is this Historia person?"

The look on Shirou's face quickly saddened. "She was a member of Wyvern Inferno. The only one out of the guild… that didn't make it back to the real world"

Shino quickly realized she had dug up bitter memories, both for Shirou and for Hana. "I'm sorry. I didn't know"

"No, it's ok" Shirou told her. He walked up and stared at Historia's tombstone. He was trying to hide the sadness he was feeling with a weak smile, but it couldn't hide the tear that rolled down his face. "She was always the most optimistic of us. I don't think there was a single moment that I ever saw her sad. She was always happy, always cheering me up whenever I was down. She was like a bright star in the night sky"

"Umm… mister" Hana softly began. "Can you please tell me… how did my sister die?"

Shirou took a deep breath before he began. "We were coming back from the fields one night. Out of nowhere, we got ambushed by a group of PKers called Laughing Coffin. We all tried to hold them off… but Historia ended up shielding our leader from an attack that was about to kill him."

"… I see" Hana said with a sad look. "What happened to the members of that group?"

"It wasn't until much later, but we finally tracked them down and put a stop to them" Shirou explained. "They were sent to the prison in game. After SAO was cleared though, they were free to go on with their lives like the rest of us"

Hana clenched her fists in frustration. "It's not fair. Why do they get to live on while my sister is dead?! They should be forced to answer for their crimes! For the people they killed!"

"I agree, but there's nothing we can do. The records don't show the guilds each player was a part of. They only have their names and where in Aincrad they were at certain times."

Hana turned and walked away. "I'll find them. I swear I'll find them and make them pay"

"Don't Hana" Shirou said with a shake of his head. "I know how you feel, but Laughing Coffin was a very dangerous group. There's only a few surviving members, but all of them are experienced killers. Finding them in the first place is next to impossible."

Hana seemed to ignore Shirou as she left the cemetery. Shirou sighed as he stared up at the sky. _'Historia… what would you do to make Hana stop her quest for revenge?'_

"Shirou…" Shino began. "The way you were talking about Historia. You were talking about her like she was a lot more than a friend to you."

"Shino… just drop the subject"

The grim face Shriou made in response confirmed Shino's guess for her. "You loved her, didn't you?"

Tears fell from Shriou's eyes as he gave a weak nod. "Yeah… I did. She was always so kind to me. She made me feel like I was so much more than I was. I spent the longest time not saying anything. Not telling her how I felt. I put it off and off… and then she died"

Shino lowered her head in pity. "I'm so sorry Shirou. I never knew that happened to you"

"It's alright" Shirou assured her as he stopped crying and wept the tears from his eyes. "I'm worried about Hana though. There's not many players left from Laughing Coffin, but there's no doubt in my mind they're all dangerous."

"Didn't we deal with the rest of them back in that whole incident with Gabriel though?"

Shirou shook his head. "We took care of PoH, Johnny Black, Zaza, and a couple others, but that wasn't the entirety of the Laughing Coffin survivors. There's still a few left out there."

"What do we do then? Hana already went home"

"I know where their house is. I went there once to pay my respects to Historia's family" Shirou explained. "I want to try and convince her one more time. I owe Historia at least that much."

Shino nodded in agreement. "I'll go with you"

"Thanks" Shirou said with an appreciative smile. Both teens began heading over to Hana's house.

After taking the subway, the walk to Hana's house wasn't very long. Shirou remembered the last time he had visited here nearly two years ago, not long after he was finished with his rehab from SAO. He had come here then with the whole guild to pay their respects to Historia's family.

Shirou walked up to the door and knocked on it. When the door opened, Shirou found a woman in her mid-twenties standing on the other side. "Yes, can I help you?"

"Excuse me, does a little girl named Hana live here by any chance?"

The woman nodded. "Yes she does. Pardon me, but who are you two?"

"I knew Hana's sister back in SAO" Shirou explained. "I need to talk to her. Is she home?"

"I'm afraid not. She left this morning and said she was going to visit her sister's grave. She called the house not too long ago, saying she had some business to take care of and that she would be home later."

Shirou began to grow worried. "Did she say where she was going?"

"No, she didn't." A violent cough came from inside the house. "Excuse me, but I must get back to Hana's mother. She's very ill."

"I understand. Thank you for your time" Shirou nodded. The woman closed the door and left Shirou and Shino alone. The two teens looked at each other and both had the same bad feeling.

"She's going after a Laughing Coffin survivor, isn't she?" Shino guessed.

Shirou nodded his head. "Yeah. We need to find her before something bad happens"

"But how? Hana could be anywhere"

Shirou reluctantly took out his cell phone and scrolled down his contacts list. Shino narrowed her eyes in curiosity. "Who are you calling?"

"Someone I was hoping none of us would have to talk to again"

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Light pierced through the blinds of a window as a male teen lied in bed. It was late afternoon, but he didn't care. He had lived in darkness for the longest time back in that death game.

"Tetsu, I'm going shopping. I'll be home later, okay?" a voice called from downstairs. "Try and go outside today and get some fresh air"

"Got it" Tetsu called back. He rolled his eyes as he heard his mother walk out of the house. He was so sick of his mother talking to him like that. Saying that he should get over the things that happened in SAO. Acting like she understood.

'_How could she possibly understand?'_ Tetsu silently thought. _'She's not a murderer'_

Tetsu looked at the gun on his desk. He had it hidden from his parents. He didn't have it to kill others. No, he had it to kill himself if his depression ever got to that point.

He remembered it like it was yesterday. How he joined up with Laughing Coffin back in SAO, thinking that killing people in that world and the real world weren't the same. It wasn't until the first time he actually murdered a player that he realized how wrong he was. But by then, it was too late. He couldn't leave the murder guild after that or it would be him that would die next. A worthless coward, that was who he was.

It was several minutes before Tetsu heard the doorbell ring. Reluctantly, he crawled out of bed and walked downstairs to the front door. _'Probably some salesperson or something. Of all the times for mom to be out'_

Tetsu yawned as he opened the door. When it opened, he found a little girl with short blonde hair standing outside. "What do you want, kid?"

"You… Were you in the SAO guild, Laughing Coffin?" Hana asked. Tetsu didn't say anything, but the reaction his face made was answer enough.

Tetsu's eyes widened as he saw Hana pull out a knife and thrust it towards him. He barely reacted in time as he jumped back. Hana glared at him with murderous intent. "What the hell are you doing?!"

Hana's eyes went to pure rage. "I want revenge"

A terrifying cry came from Hana as she charged at the teen in front of her. Tetsu tried to run, but tripped over and fell back. Hana swung the knife down and aimed for his chest. "Die!"

Tetsu grabbed Hana's arm and stopped the blade from coming any further. He threw her back against the wall, got to his feet, and ran upstairs. He heard Hana grunt as she got back up. "Get back here!"

'_Why? Why is this happening now?'_ Tetsu asked himself. He ran into his room and was about to lock the door behind him only to have it shoved open by Hana before it could close all the way. The door knocked him back and he fell over onto the ground. He slowly crawled back as Hana walked over to him.

"Who the hell are you?!" Tetsu exclaimed.

"I'm the sister of one of the people you and your friends killed in SAO" Hana glared. She noticed the gun on the desk and grabbed it, pointing it towards Tetsu "And I'm the one that's gonna make you pay."

"How did you know I was in Laughing Coffin though?"

"It wasn't easy. I've spent months trying to find the survivors of SAO's murder guild, and I finally succeeded in finding one. All I needed was someone to confirm that my sister died by the hands of your guild. And today I finally got that confirmation."

Tetsu stared down the barrel of his gun. He had always figured one day his dark past would catch up with him. He just didn't think it would happen so soon. "Fine. Do it. Kill me and send me to hell like I deserve."

"With pleasure"

"Hana, stop it!" Shirou yelled, running into the room and tackling her to the ground. He struggled with Hana until he finally knocked the gun out of her hands and took the knife from her.

"Leave me alone! That bastard deserves to die!" Hana yelled.

"Revenge isn't the right way to go! This isn't what your sister would want!"

"Don't you DARE give me a lecture about morals! You know what people like him did! Can you honestly say they don't deserve to die?!"

"He deserves to be thrown in jail, not killed! This isn't right Hana!"

"Oh so it's right for my sister to be dead?! It's right for scum like him to be walking free after the things they did?!"

"Hana you can't-"

"Hold on a second Shirou" Shino told him. Shirou looked at her and saw her give him a look as if to say 'Just trust me'. Shino walked over to Hana and handed her the gun Shirou had knocked away from her. "Go ahead. Shoot him. Kill him and avenge your sister."

Hana seemed suspicious of why Shino was suddenly on her side, but revenge told her to ignore it. She grabbed the gun and pointed it once again towards Tetsu.

"And when the day comes that you see Historia again you can tell her that her little sister is a murderer, just like the ones that killed her"

And with that, Hana felt her hand freeze. She wanted to shoot him. She wanted to so badly. But she couldn't. It almost felt like her sister was holding her finger back, keeping her from pulling the trigger.

"I know what it's like to kill someone Hana." Shino told her. "It doesn't matter if it's for the right reason. It's not worth it. Once you kill someone, they haunt you for the rest of your life. You never forget their face, how they looked at you right when you kill them."

Hana slowly felt the grip on the gun loosen. When it finally slipped out of her hand and dropped onto the floor, she fell to her knees and tears began to roll down her eyes. "I just… I miss my sister so much. Every day with her gone feels like I'm dying. I hate it."

Shirou put a hand on her shoulder. "I know what it's like to lose someone close to you Hana. But revenge isn't what Historia would want. She'd want you to move on."

Hana weakly nodded her head. Shino helped Hana get to her feet and walked her out of the house. Tetsu looked over at Shirou. "You're both SAO survivors, aren't you?"

"I am. They aren't" Shirou told him. "Tell me though. You're a Laughing Coffin member, but you didn't kill Hana. Why?"

Tetsu lowered his head. "Because I'm a coward. I hated being in Laughing Coffin, but I didn't have the courage to leave because I was afraid of being their target next." He let out a weak chuckle. "I really am pathetic, aren't I?"

Shirou turned around and walked out of the room, but not before saying something to Tetsu. "You regret your actions. That proves you have a conscience and that you're better than the others in Laughing Coffin."

Tetsu sat in his room as he still tried to process everything that had just happened. Tears began to form in his eyes as he started crying, all of the horrible acts he committed back in SAO flowing back to him. He only had one wish and one wish only. He wished that he had died in SAO.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Shirou and Shino walked Hana home. The young girl was silent almost the entire trip home. It wasn't until they were a few blocks from her house that she finally spoke. "How did you find me?"

"I know someone from the government and called in a favor" Shirou told her. "I don't know how you found out where a Laughing Coffin survivor was, but that was really stupid of you. If it was any other member of Laughing Coffin, you could have been killed."

"I'm sorry. I was just so fueled by rage"

"Just try not to do it again" Shirou told her. "If you ever want to talk about your sister or anything else, just talk to me. Can you promise me that?" Hana nodded her head in response.

After bringing Hana back to her house, Shirou and Shino began to walk back home. Shino looked towards Shirou. "It's a good thing Kikouka was able to trace Hana's cell so quickly. Things could have gotten really bad if he didn't."

"Yeah" Shirou nodded. "But I think what you told Hana was what brought her to her senses."

Shino smiled. "Thanks Shirou. We really made a good team today." Suddenly, her mind went back to what Asuna said back during New Years. "Hey… Shirou?"

"What is it?"

"Well… I was just wondering… would you like to go get something to eat? Just the two of us."

Shirou narrowed his eyes at Shino. "What, you mean like a date?"

Shino felt herself sweating. As Asuna would probably say, it was now or never. "No Shirou, I don't mean like a date. I mean a date"

Shirou widened his eyes as he began to sweat. "R-Really? But why?"

"Well… how do I put this" Shino began. "Ever since we did that New Year's quest together, I've kept thinking about what Asuna said."

"You mean about us becoming a couple?"

Shino nodded her head. "Yeah. At first I thought I was just overthinking it, but the more I tried to get you out of my head the more I thought about you. Today when we helped stop Hana, I realized just how good of a team we are. I realized… how much I like you" A few moments passed by with neither of them saying anything to each other. "So? Do you feel the same?"

Shino got an immediate response this time as Shirou leaned in and kissed her on the lips. Shino's cheeks blushed as the two of them kept their lips locked together. When they finally separated, the two of them were both blushing in embarrassment.

Shirou broke the awkward silence as he finally spoke. "I've been the same. I keep thinking about you all the time. Shino… I like you too." He grabbed Shino's hand and the two of them smiled at each other. "You realize we're going to have to tell our friends about this, including Asuna"

"Asuna I can deal with. It's Hyde that's going to be annoying" Shino groaned.

Shirou laughed as he and Shino began walking down the street together holding hands as snow softly fell around them.

Elsewhere, Asuna seemed to feel something. She could immediately tell what the feeling was and what it meant. Matchmaker Asuna had done it again.

**A/N: And thus another couple is born. I hope you guys liked the chapter. What did you think of Shirou admitting how he felt about Historia? Also, Tetsu will be coming back later in the story, not as a main character or anything but he will have other appearances.**

**Anyway, next chapter will go back to the humorous side of this story. I have a feeling you guys will like it.**


	82. Hyde's Visit

**A/N: Hey readers. This next chapter was pretty short and easy to write so I'm able to get it out really early. The next one is going to take me the rest of the week to finish, so expect it around the usual time.**

Hyde yawned as he walked down the street towards Lilina home. It was strange that his girlfriend sent him a text saying that she wanted him to come over to her place and so early in the morning too but he didn't question it too much. If Lilina needed something he would do his best to help his true love.

Soon he arrived at the Yoake household. He always found it ironic that his money loving girlfriend lived in such a simple home and the irony was not lost on the rest of their friends either. Knocking on the front door it only took around a few seconds before Lilina's mother opened the door.

If Hyde had to describe his girlfriend's mother he would say she was a less money hungry, more housewifey version of Lilina. Her red hair was worn long with kind green eyes. She usually wore a simple one color shirt and a pair of sweatpants with an apron. Why an apron he never understood as he never saw her cooking in the few times he visited their home but for whatever reason it's what she wore.

"Why hello there Hyde what a pleasure it is to see you again." she greeted with her usual motherly smile.

Hyde smiled back as he offered a small wave of his hand. "Hey Mrs. Yoake, where is Lilina?"

"Lilina? Why do you want to see her so early in the morning?" she asked with a tilt of her head.

"Umm… She sent me a text saying that she wanted to see me." Hyde pulled out his phone to show Mrs. Yoake the text.

She looked at the message for a few moments before she snapped her fingers in realization. "Oh that's right! Lilina didn't send that, I did!"

"... Say what?"

Hyde had almost forgotten that Lilina's mother was kind of a ditz. She wasn't dumb by any means but she had a tendency to be a bit scatterbrained at times so she often would say things that were meant to be hidden or a surprise, something he found out when he told her about the gift he bought for Lilina's birthday and less than an hour later she accidently spoiled it.

Mrs. Yoake nodded her head with a smile. "Well I wanted to get to know you more so I decided to send a little text through her phone. Don't worry, she isn't here right now. I sent her to go get some groceries at the market down the street. She's gonna be a while. Knowing that girl she's trying to get all the best deals. She's a smart shopper like that."

"Well then…. I guess we can talk?"

"Let's."

The mother let Hyde into her home and closed the door behind them as he placed his bag down where the shoes were. Mrs. Yoake lead them to the kitchen where she ushered him to a seat on the table as she walked to a tea brewer.

"What type of tea would you like Hyde?" she asked as she pulled out various tea flavors.

"Just green will be fine."

The woman smiled as she quickly brewed their hot beverages. One the brewer went off she poured the drinks into their respective tea cups. She sat from across Hyde and traced her finger around the rim of her cup as she watched Hyde drink his.

"So... when were you planning on telling me that you proposed marriage to Lilina?"

Hyde spat out his drink in shock as violent coughs racked his body. _'How the hell does she know about that!?_' he thought as he struggled to get air back into his lungs.

Mrs. Yoake softly patted the younger boy's back as she waited for him to calm down. As the coughing fit stopped Hyde quickly looked to the kitchen door, wondering if it was at all possible to escape this conversation. A sudden hand on his shoulder though made it quite clear that he was not escaping anytime soon.

"Don't worry Hyde I'm not the kind of parent to harass my daughter's boyfriend for details but I am curious as to why you decided to do it. And before you ask, I figured it out because Lilina was wearing the ring and I know she isn't a girl to wear much jewelry. I also found the ring box in her bag so it was easy to put two and two together." she said as she sat in the chair next to him. "So let's talk this out like calm people. Why did you propose to her when you both are so young?"

"I don't really feel comfortable telling you this." Hyde admitted.

"I'm sorry Hyde but if you don't tell me right now I will tell Lilina you were coming onto me." she said in a serious tone.

"WHAT!?" he yelled red faced.

She smiled a bit as she placed her hand on his shoulder again. "Oh not that I wouldn't mind someone so young and full of life to come on to me. Lilina does get her taste in men from me after all but how would she react if she found out you were only dating her to get to me?"

"Th-That's blackmail!" Hyde yelled incredulously.

"Where do you think Lilina gets her silver tongue from? Now is that mouth of yours any looser?"

Hyde groaned internally as he face planted his head on the table. If he told her about what happened a few months prior involving Gabriel, Sugou and everything else that happened when they saved the world, Mrs. Yoake might forbid Hyde to ever see Lilina again. But with such a devious blackmail threat being placed on the table he knew he couldn't win this. He had to fold. "Alright I'll tell you but it's a long story."

"If there's anything we have it's time." She looked at her watch. "If anything right now Lilina is trying to haggle the staff of the market for a lower price."

Hyde sighed as he started from the beginning of the ALO World Tournament. He explained about how it was a front to test out experimented on players and how Gabriel used people for super-soldier training and his plan to take over the world. He told her of how he, Lilina and the rest of their friends stormed the Yggdrasil Fortress to stop his plans as a government agent apparently thought it was best to have a group of teenagers solve governmental problems that he couldn't solve himself. So after beating the crap out of a bunch of lackeys and the head honcho himself, Hyde, Lilina and the others had pretty much saved the world. He then said that since he felt like his life was spiraling out of control that this marriage proposal would be a nice way of calming him down. He emphasized that they weren't going to run off and elope while still in school but this was a promise between them. A promise that they would fulfill when the time is right and actually get married.

"And that's pretty much the long and short of it." Hyde sighed as he finished his tale.

Lilina's mother's face looked completely passive currently as she was processing all this information before breaking out into a smile. "Oh how romantic! Two heroes having a happily ever after together. It's every girl's dream!"

"Really? It doesn't seem like Lilina is that type of girl." Hyde asked skeptically.

"Oh you silly boys will never understand a woman's heart. But as for this whole marriage thing… I have no problems with this whatsoever."

"... Okay am I going crazy or are you not flipping out and actually approving of this?"

"Now I do have some ground rules about this situation. First off, you have to be sure that when the time comes that you can support the both of you once you both finish your studies." she started. "Second I don't want to hear of you hurting her in anyway. If there is something we Yoake's are good at, it's getting revenge."

"Oh boy do I know that…" he muttered as he remembered the BoB incident and how pissed Lilina was for him lying to her.

"And third of all, I don't want to hear of any chitty chitty bang bang nonsense happening under my roof." she said firmly, ignoring Hyde's red face and nervous stuttering. "Lilina is a woman of age and I don't want to restrict her on how she expresses her love for you, after all my husband and I were the same way…" she slowly trailed off as she daydreamed a bit before getting back to the main issue at hand. "Just if you decide to act on those feelings I want two things from you. Be safe with it and let it not be under my home and you'll be fine and dandy. Are we clear?"

'_Oh my god this is really happening right now...'_ Hyde mentally groaned as he nodded his head to his girlfriend's mother. "Y-Yes Mrs. Yoake."

"Please call me Castile and welcome to the family Hyde." Castile said with a warm smile on her face.

Hyde felt a bit dumbstruck at what she just said. _'Welcome to the family...' _

Soon enough they heard the front door opening as Lilina's voice called to her mother. "Hey mom, I'm home!"

"I'm in the kitchen honey!" she called right back.

The red haired girl kicked off her shoes and entered the kitchen, groceries in hand. "They had your favorite tea on sale for- Hyde!? What're you doing here?"

"Oh don't worry honey. I just used your phone to invite him over for some tea. We we're just chatting." Castile said with her usual smile as she took the groceries from her daughter's hands.

"Mom! I can't believe you! I thought you said you weren't going to pry in my relationship!"

"Oh honey, I know you're upset but look at it this way. Now that I know what type of man Hyde is, I know he won't go around doing indecent stuff with you or string you along. Isn't that right Hyde?" she asked as she both Yoake's turned to him.

He knew if he disagreed with her, a terrible fate awaited him. So he did what any man would do in this situation. He swallowed his pride and nodded his head. "Y-Yeah Lilina. She just wanted to make sure I was treating you right."

Castile nodded her head softly as she started to push the two teens out of the kitchen. "Alright you two, I have to start cooking now so why don't you two make plans upstairs and head on out for the day?"

"H-Hey wait-!"

"Mom!"

The two were ignored as Castile pushed them out of the kitchen. Sighing, Lilina lead Hyde to her room upstairs. Hyde noticed that her room hasn't changed all that much ever since he visited last Christmas. Maybe a new poster here and there but it remained relatively unchanged. "Alright what did she really talk to you about?" Lilina questioned as she shut the door behind them.

Hyde groaned as he was forced to recall the whole uncomfortable conversation. "She knows about the whole marriage thing."

Lilina gasped as she held her ring hand in a protective manner. "Did… Did she not like the idea?"

"I explained everything to her. About all that we've been through and what the ring really means. She's alright with it and just wanted to make sure we weren't going to make any sudden decisions about our life before we finished school." he explained, calming Lilina down a bit.

"Phew… I thought she was gonna flip…" she said, relieved.

The ash haired teen nodded grimly. "Yeah… I gotta say I now know where you get your intimidation factor from. Your mom is a real monster under her smile."

"Tell me about it…"

"So… What are we going to do now?" Hyde asked as he looked around the room.

Lilina smiled as she lead her boyfriend to her bed. "Well mom is gonna be busy in the kitchen so before we go out... why don't we make out for a bit?"

Warning bells started ringing in Hyde's head at that suggestion. He just made a promise to Castile and didn't want to already break it. Usually he would love Lilina's straightforward suggestion but this situation made him second guess for his personal safety. "I… don't know about that."

Lilina's cheeks puffed as she brought her face closer to Hyde's. "Don't worry, as long as we're quiet she won't suspect a thing."

Hyde was going to argue more before he felt Lilina's lips press against his own. Against his better judgement he decided to go with the flow and make out with her on her bed. The two continued with it softly as first but slowly started to get a bit more passionate. But before it could escalate to another level a loud knocking was heard at the door.

"I thought I said no chitty chitty bang bang nonsense Hyde!" Castile yelled at them.

The two immediately pulled apart before Lilina yelled at the door. "We were just hugging mom! Stop prying!"

"Yeah, hugging with your lips!" the older Yoake said back before footsteps were heard going back downstairs.

The two teens just sat on Lilina's bed with a clear air of awkwardness around them. "... What did she mean by chitty chitty bang bang nonsense, Hyde?"

"I REALLY don't want to talk about it!" he said with finality as he opened the door. "Let's just go out now."

Reluctantly, Lilina nodded her head as the two got their shoes on, grabbed their bags and left the Yoake household. But not before Hyde noticed Castile giving him a thumbs up and an approving smile as they left.

'_That woman is something else...'_ he thought as they left the house. _'She's… dangerous...'_. But all in all, Hyde could consider this a win. She had no problems with his and Lilina's relationship, which was more than some of his friends had, considering Asuna's mother as an example.

Meanwhile, Lilina had other thoughts going through the back of her mind. It was something that had been haunting her for the past few days. She wanted to tell Hyde, but she was afraid to.

She was late.

**A/N: Ok so ignoring the obvious cliffhanger for a moment, what did you guys think of the chapter? As I said in the beginning the next one will be out at the usual time and it will answer some of the questions you probably have on Lilina's "predicament". Tell me what you guys are thinking in your reviews. I love the feedback.**


	83. P-P-Pregnant?

**A/N: Hey guys! I am officially back at college! Woooooh! Don't worry though, I should still be able to keep up my once per week update schedule with this story. My other stories won't be updating as frequently though while I'm here, but I will try to get new chapters out for them as often as I can.**

Alicia walked through the streets with the sun still early in the sky. It hadn't even been an hour after she had woken up that she had gotten a text from Lilina. It was odd to get a message from the red haired merchant so early in the morning, but the message itself was even odder.

I need you to come over ASAP! -Lilina

'_I wonder what she wants'_ Alicia thought to herself. _'It's not like her to act like this'_

Finally Alicia arrived at the doorstep to Lilina's house. She took her hand and knocked on the door. After a few seconds of waiting, the door was opened by a middle aged red haired woman that Alicia recognized as Lilina's mother.

"Oh, hello Alicia. Please come in"

"Thank you Mrs. Yoake" Alicia greeted with a bow. She walked into the house. It was a little ironic that the money hungry friend she knew lived in a low budget family. The house wasn't anything extremely fancy but it was still nice. It had that heartwarming quality she loved.

"Lilina's upstairs. I don't know why, but she's been really high strung these past few days" Mrs. Yoake explained.

Alicia took off her shoes and walked upstairs towards her friend's bedroom. Even the redhead's mother had said something was off about her. What could possibly be wrong? She stood in front of the door and knocked. "Lilina are you-"

She didn't get a chance to finish as Lilina opened the door to her room and quickly dragged the black haired girl in. "Get in here!"

"W-Woah!" Alicia stuttered as she stumbled into the room from Lilina's forceful grab. She watched as Lilina closed the door as quickly as she opened it. "Lilina what's wrong? Why did you call me out so early in the morning?"

"Alicia, you're my best girlfriend. I needed someone to talk to about this" she started as both of them sat down on her bed.

Alicia put a hand on her shoulder in a supportive manner. "What's wrong? I'll help in any way I can."

"... I'm late..."

"What-!? Mmph!" Before she could yell any louder, Lilina covered her mouth with a desperate look on her face.

"Ssssh! Not so loud! Mom could have heard you!" she whispered back fiercely.

Alicia stared blankly at her friend as Lilina removed her hand. "Just to be perfectly clear… by late you mean…"

"Yes I mean THAT kind of late" Lilina whispered back.

Alicia took a moment to let this all sink in. "Ok… are you positive that you're… you know…"

Lilina shook her head. "No, I'm not absolutely certain. But… but what if I am?! I don't know what to do! What will Hyde say when he finds out?! He could leave me or-"

"Lilina, calm down for a second" Alicia interrupted. "First of all, there are many things I don't like about Hyde, but hell would freeze over before he'd leave you. Second, you don't know for sure that it's not just a false alarm."

"... Maybe you're right... And how can we make sure that this is just a false alarm? I'm not exactly well versed in girl stuff like this and I can't talk to mom about it. She'd kill me"

Alicia sighed. "Well there is one way. I know somebody at the local pharmacy that can get you... what you need to confirm or deny the situation. But first I need to know if you and Hyde used... protection."

Lilina nodded her head. "Of course. We're not idiots Alicia."

"Okay then, but just to be 100% sure this isn't the case I'm gonna go get a pregnancy test from the pharmacy. You go tell Hyde about this situation. He deserves to know."

"Thanks Alicia." Lilina said softly as she hugged her best friend. "I knew I could count on you."

Alicia smiled as she hugged her back. "Don't mention it."

"By the way, you seem awfully knowledgeable about this whole situation. Have you and Dan done this bef-!" Now Lilina found a hand on her own mouth as Alicia blushed scarlet red.

"Th-That's not important!" She then started to push the red haired girl out the door. "Just go tell Hyde!"

Lilina gave a knowing grin as she nodded her head. "Oh I will. And Alicia? Make sure to keep it clean."

"Go!" she yelled red faced as she threw one of Lilina's pillows at the door.

Lilina nodded as she left her house and began running over towards her boyfriend's house. Alicia soon left as well, making her way to the pharmacy. Her face was still blushing from Lilina's earlier comment.

* * *

Hyde gave a big yawn as he walked downstairs, his hair all ruffled and still wearing his pajamas from last night. He made his way to the kitchen and poured himself a glass of OJ and brought out a frying pan. Although he wasn't an Asuna level cook, he knew at least how to fry an egg for breakfast. After a few minutes of cooking the egg sunny side up, Hyde returned to his glass of juice with egg on plate and ate the simple meal. Not like he could depend of his mother to cook breakfast for him. As he finished his meal and started to wash his dishes, he heard his mother chatting on the phone with someone. Judging by the amount of ass kissing she was doing it was probably someone important.

"Uh huh. Oh yes thank you very much! We will see you in August!" His mother said as she entered the kitchen and hung up the phone. Ad she did a squeal of excitement came from her throat. Hyde compared it to a banshee screaming for attention. "Oh Hyde wonderful news!"

"Dad is coming home?" he guessed.

"Not that good but it's close. Shu got approved for his dream college all the way in Kyoto!"

"Huh that right?" he asked rhetorically. "Gonna be a hell of a drive there."

"Oh but that's the best part! We're moving!" She said with a cheer.

Hyde suddenly stopped washing his dirty plates and turned around to his mother. "You uh... You wanna repeat that?"

"We're moving to better accommodate Shu for college."

Hyde raised a derisive eyebrow at that. "Why can't he just live on campus? Plenty of people do it."

She sighed and gestured to her phone. "I just got off the phone with the principal of the college, she said that all housing options were already taken. So I had a backup plan just in case, there's an 4 bedroom apartment complex just five minutes away from the college and he can just ride his car there."

"And when exactly were you gonna let me in on this?" Hyde asked, growing rather frustrated. "You just waited to drop this on me last minute?"

"Hyde this isn't about you. This is about Shu getting into his dream school."

"And what about me and my friends that I've made here? I'm I just supposed leave them and never see them again?"

"You can always go on that AL-whatever thing to see them. I don't see the big deal with this move. Plus you can always make new friends over in Kyoto" she argued calmly.

"I don't want new friends. I want to keep the ones I have that like me for who I am!"

His mother rolled her eyes at that. "I highly doubt that but whatever. This isn't negotiable. We are moving and that's final."

"Ha! Says you! I'm not going anywhere! I'm staying right here where everything I want and need is within arms reach!"

"Do you always have to throw a tantrum when things don't go your way!?" She yelled at him

He yelled right back at her. "How about you actually ask how I feel about shit like this before jumping the gun on it!" he groaned and shook his head. "You know what, screw this. It's too early for this shit. I'm gonna be going out for the day. Don't you dare think this is over mom!" He spat that last word with unadulterated malice in his voice.

Ignoring the yells from his mother, Hyde went upstairs and entered his room, making sure to lock the door behind him to make sure she didn't barge in like she usually did.

_'Alright what to wear...'_ he thought as he looked around in his closet. Picking out a pair of black jeans with a red shirt and gray jacket combo, he combed his mess of hair and put his outfit for the day on. As he exited his room, getting ready to leave he heard a knocking sound at the door.

"Coming!" he yelled as he ran down the stairs. Opening the door he saw Lilina waiting for him. He smiled as he gave a quick peck to his girlfriend's lips. "Hey babe. This is a surprise. What's up?"

He took notice of her concerned face as she nervously glanced down to the floor. "Um Hyde... we have a problem..."

"What is it Lilina?"

"How do I put this... Remember two weeks ago at the field trip when we were... alone?"

Hyde felt himself smile at the pleasant memory. "Yeah that was the best, what about it?"

"Hyde... I'm late..."

"Late?" He looked confused for a moment before his eyes widened in horror. "Wait... are you saying...?"

"Nothing is confirmed yet!" she yelled cutting him off. "But... I can't be too sure about this..."

"Y-You can't be serious Lilina!" Hyde exclaimed at her. "We were using protection! How did that happen!?"

"I don't know! I just know that I'm late now! That I... might be carrying your kid."

"WHAT!?" a voice from kitchen screamed.

Hyde groaned as he pinched the bridge of his nose. "Damnit..."

A stomping noise was heard as Hyde's mother came from the left kitchen door. "What did she just say!?"

"This isn't any of your damned business!" Hyde yelled at her. "Get the hell out of here!"

"Oh this isn't my business? My derelict son knocks up some red haired gold digger and expects me to keep my mouth shut about it!? Hell no! Of all the stupid mistakes you've made in your life this one is the biggest! What would your father say if he knew about this!?"

"YOU SHUT THE HELL UP!" Hyde screamed right back in her face. She was taken aback at this new tone he spoke with her. "Don't you DARE talk shit about Lilina! She's the only girl in this damn world that I love! She comes before you, Shu, Dad, my friends, and even me! And quite frankly, I don't care if I knocked her up! I'll still love and support her all the same! Hell, I'll drop out of school just to get a job for her!"

Lilina felt tears of joy well up in her eyes at hearing her boyfriend say that. "Hyde..."

Hyde's mother groaned at her foolish son's tirade. "You aren't thinking clearly! This girl doesn't even love you! All she cares about is the money your father makes! She's just gonna use her being pregnant as an excuse to extort all the money she can from-"

Lilina's eyes widened in shock as Hyde punched his mother right in the face, causing her to fall to the ground and cup her left cheek in pain. He picked her up by the hem of her blouse and glared hell at her.

"YOU WANNA SAY THAT AGAIN!?" For a second, Lilina could've sworn a demon had just replaced Hyde by the look of pure rage on his face. "DON'T YOU EVER ASSUME SHIT ABOUT MY RELATIONSHIP WITH HER! SHE'S WORTH MORE TO ME THAN THE WHOLE DAMN WORLD! AND IF YOU SAY THAT AGAIN I SWEAR THAT NOT EVEN THE BEST POLICE IN THE WORLD CAN KEEP ME FROM BASHING YOUR HEAD IN!"

"Hyde! What the hell are you doing!?" Shu yelled as he came into the room and forcefully pulled his brother from his mother, with him screaming murder at her.

"AFTER ALL THE CRAP I'VE PUT UP WITH SHE'S GONE TOO FAR!" he yelled back to his brother. "She said the wrong thing today and I'm gonna make her pay!"

"Hyde stop it!" Lilina yelled as she held her boyfriend, trying to calm him down. "Think about what you're doing!"

"No! She's had this coming for YEARS! It's about time I get my retribution!"

"Hyde stop!" Shu said as he pulled him away from his mother.

"You know what? Screw this! I'm leaving, come on Lilina!" Hyde yelled as he grabbed Lilina by the arm. He gave a quick look to his mother before spitting on the ground. "I hope you rot in hell."

If his mother said anything, Hyde didn't bother to listen as he stormed out with his girlfriend.

* * *

Alicia walked out of the pharmacy with the bag of 'supplies' in hand. _'Ok, now to just meet up with Lilina'_.

"Hey Alicia. What's up" Rika said walking over to her friend.

"Oh hey Rika. Not much, just picking something up" Alicia explained.

"At the pharmacy?" Rika asked with narrowed eyes. "What did you get?"

"N-Nothing!" Alicia said. She didn't want to tell Rika about Lilina's predicament. The red haired merchant would kill her.

"Is that so? Then I suppose you wouldn't mind me taking a peek at what's in that bag you have"

"N-No you can't!" Alicia exclaimed, but it was too late as the brunette snatched the bag from her and took a look inside.

"Come on it can't be that ba-... oh…"

"Rika it's not what you think"

"Alicia, why do you have-"

Rika soon found Alicia's hand over her mouth. She grabbed the girl's hand and dragged her to a secluded area where they wouldn't be interrupted. "Look Rika, the stuff in that bag isn't for me. It's for someone else"

Rika's eyes narrowed at this. "Someone else? And who might that be?"

"Look, I can't tell you! Can you just promise to act like this never happened?"

"Tell me who it is first"

"I told you I can't!"

"Does Dan know about this?"

"Look I can't tell you! Lilina would… crap"

Rika's eyes widened in surprise. "Oh my god! It's Lilina?!"

"Rika you can't tell her I told you!"

"But this is SO juicy! It's perfect blackmail!"

Alicia reached out her hand and grabbed her friend by the collar of her shirt. "Listen, Lilina is panicking like crazy right now! If she finds out I blabbed then she's gonna kill me, and if she kills me I'm making damn sure you go down with me. Got it?"

"Okay, okay!" Rika said, waving her arms in defense. "My lips are sealed, happy?"

"Good" Alicia said, letting Rika go. "Now this meeting never happened, okay?"

"Fine" Rika groaned.

With the close call out of the way, Alicia sprinted away, hoping to avoid any more awkward encounters with her friends.

* * *

After walking a bit, Hyde found a park where he and Lilina could rest. The couple found a bench and sat down together. Lilina was extremely nervous about the possibility of her pregnancy and what it could mean. Hyde was still fuming about the scene with his mother and needed to calm down.

"So… that was quite the scene right there" Lilina started.

"Please don't. I'd rather not think about anything having to do with my mother right now." Hyde told his girlfriend. "Let's focus on you right now. If you do end up being pregnant, where would we go from there?"

Lilina sighed as she looked at the ground. "Well as much as I'd hate it, I'd have to tell my mom about it. I'd probably be punished well after the baby is born but she'd be able to help us the most. Fat chance that your mom would help us."

"That's if you're pregnant. My mom's probably gonna throw me out of the house either way after I decked her in the face like that."

"Did she really deserve that?"

Hyde's face grew grim at that. "I've lived with her my whole life and I've repressed everything she has done to me for 18 years. I just let out all that frustration and to be honest, I've never felt this at ease before in my life."

The two of them both sighed, letting some of the tension escape their bodies. Hyde then looked at his girlfriend once more. "So how do we verify this?"

"Funny you should mention that because I had-"

"Lilina!" a voice to their right called. The couple looked over to see Alicia running over towards them. "I finally found you"

"Alicia?" Hyde questioned. "Why are you here? And why do you have a bag from the pharma-... oh…"

"Yeah" Alicia said awkwardly. "I brought the… supplies"

"Right… so is there a restroom nearby or something?" Lilina asked.

"I think there's one not too far from here" the black haired girl said. The trio of teens walked to the available restroom area near the park. Alicia and Hyde waited outside while Lilina went in with the bag Alicia had gave her. Hyde nervously paced back and forth while Alicia watched her friend become an emotional wreck.

"Hyde, calm down" Alicia told the ashy haired teen.

"Easy for you to say! You aren't the one dealing with a possible teen pregnancy! It's not like you can knock up Dan! ... Wait that came out SO wrong!"

Alicia ignored that last part as she grabbed Hyde by the shoulders and slapped him one. "Hyde! It's possible this is just a late time of the month! It happens with girls all the time and it's only cause of the fact that you and Lilina did 'it' that's got her in such a panicked mood!"

Hyde held his face in mild pain from the slap. "Ouch! Bitch! That was so unnecessary!"

"Don't you call me a bitch! I'm trying to help!"

"Well slapping me isn't calming me down it's pissing me off!"

"Ahem… Is this a bad time to interject Hyde?" a new voice said from their right.

Both teens turned around to see a middle aged man with ashy black hair in a business suit looking at Hyde. Hyde himself gave a nervous glance before giving a sheepish smile, something Alicia had never seen on her crazy friend's face before.

"H-Hey dad! What's up?"

"Wait... DAD!?" Alicia yelled as she looked at the both of them. "How can this be your dad Hyde? He looks… proper and well mannered. SO not like you at all."

"Piss. Off. Alicia." he growled at her.

"Miss Alicia was it?" Hyde's father said as he looked at her. "I need to speak to my son alone. If you would be so kind?"

Alicia nodded nervously as she pointed to the bathroom. "I'm just gonna… yeah… keep Lilina company…" she slowly backed into the women's restroom and slammed the door shut. As she did she saw Lilina exit the bathroom stall. She was about to open her mouth when Alicia started feverishly shaking her head. "You do NOT want to go out there right now!"

Meanwhile outside the restroom, the two Gekido's stood in front of each other.

"So…" Hyde started out. "When did you get here dad?"

"My train arrived around half an hour ago. I came home to surprise you all and then I see my wife lying on the floor with Shu next to her screaming about how you punched her in the face after you knocked up a, and I quote her on this, 'red haired gold digger'. Am I going to get an explanation for that?"

"Okay first of all, she's not a gold digger! Second, all the crap that came out of her mouth is WAY out of context! And last, you should be surprised I haven't done this sooner with all the crap she's pulled!" Hyde yelled at him.

His father sighed as he placed a hand on his son's head. "Hyde calm down. While I think punching your mother was far beyond an appropriate response, I agree she probably overreacted. You do get your short fuse from her after all."

"Don't compare me to her please dad." Hyde groaned. "Look I still stand by the fact that she deserved it after everything she's put me through. But you have to understand this, NO ONE talks crap about Lilina in front of me!"

"You really are dedicated to this girl aren't you? She's lucky then. Where is she?"

Hyde pointed to the bathroom behind him. "She's in there. She's… taking the test."

After a few moments Lilina had exited the bathroom and walked up to the two Gekidos. Alicia walked behind her while looking in the other direction, not wanting to see how this was going to go down.

"Hyde… Mr. Gekido."

"So you're the famous Lilina. Hyde's told me a lot about you. However, my wife refers to you as 'infamous' now" he said with a slight sigh.

Lilina shifted a bit before reaching into her pocket and pulling out the pregnancy test. "The results are in…" Pulling it up for the two males to view, Hyde felt his face turn upwards in an ecstatic grin. The test was negative. "... And we are not going to be parents today!"

Hyde ran up to Lilina and picked her up and spun her around while dotting her with kisses. She returned them with just as much intensity as Hyde was giving before they were split apart by Hyde's father. "Easy there you two. Kissing like that is what started this whole scare to begin with."

Hyde gave a nervous chuckle while Lilina blushed brightly. Alicia, who was just standing on the side, was just kicking rocks near her. This was all quite awkward and she did not like being caught in the middle of it.

"Now you two are going to come with me back home." Hyde's father said as he ushered them to his direction. "I do believe we have some air to clear out back home."

"That's an understatement…" Hyde groaned as they both followed the elder man back to their home.

Meanwhile Alicia just decided to walk home, exhausted from the awkwardness of today. _'Why do I always get involved in these situations?'_

* * *

"Mom, in Hyde's defense, you did just drop on him that we were moving away from everything he loves and insult his girlfriend." Shu said to his mother. "I don't agree with hitting you but he wasn't wrong for being mad."

Mrs. Gekido growled at the thought as held the ice pack to her face harder. "No he was completely wrong! All he does is make mistake after mistake and all I do is try to help him! But does he appreciate it? No! His father better lay down the law with him. He'll be lucky not to be kicked out of the house for this!"

"Mom you're-"

"We're home!"

The mother and elder son of the Gekido family turned to the front door to see Mr. Gekido with Hyde and Lilina in tow. Seeing her youngest son, Mrs. Gekido's face flared in anger at him. "You!"

Before things could escalate any further, Mr. Gekido stepped in front of his son "Now honey calm down. We are going to talk this out like rational people."

"Ha! Mom acting rational? That sounds like a dream if I ever heard of one." Hyde harshly bit.

Mr. Gekido turned to his son with a disapproving face. "Hyde enough. We are all going to sit and talk. There's no need for any of your sass understand?"

Hyde growled under his breath but nodded his head.

The Gekido family plus Lilina all sat down at the table, with Hyde and his mother glaring at each other.

"Now before we get all this started we are glad to announce that Lilina here is not pregnant." Mr. Gekido started, gesturing to the red haired girl. "She took a pregnancy test and it came back negative so it was just a false alarm. Now honey don't you think you may have jumped the gun a bit?"

Hyde's mother gave a look of disbelief as she slammed her hands on the table. "Are you kidding me!? I jumped the gun!? Oh nevermind that our son is sleeping with a gold digger that only cares about the money you make or the fact that he punched me across the face defending this slut! Let's just encourage this behavior and let him run around Tokyo bumping uglies with any girl who will open their legs for him!" A sudden loud snapping noise cut her off from the other side of the table

All eyes turned to Hyde who was currently gripping the edge of his side of the table in such a vice the wood was starting to crack and break apart at the harsh pressure under it. The look in his eyes said he was ready to commit murder. "Tell me, you want to repeat that? Please, give me the excuse to murder you in front of everyone here! I'll give them a show they'll never forget!"

'_Okay wrong start...'_ Hyde's father thought as he watched this scene unfold in front of him.

Shu sighed with frustration as he stood up. "Alright! Both of you idiots stop right now!"

"Shu?"

"How dare you! I'm your mother!"

Shu raised a hand, cutting off both of them. "I have been the mediator for far too damn long dealing with all this crap! Always 'Mom this' or 'Hyde that'. I am so damned sick of it! Mom, you are so in the wrong here for insulting Hyde and his girlfriend with the way you reacted! As a mother you had the right to be upset but you went way out of line for saying the things you said!" the elder brother then turned to his younger brother and shook his head. "Hyde you just as wrong as mom here. You reacted violently and even went so far as to hit her with a sucker punch. I understand your frustration with her but that was way out of line!"

Both of them stood silent at Shu's outburst. Hyde was the first to respond. "Damn Shu…"

The elder brother sat down back at the table and sighed. "Well that's my two cents on the matter. You two need to stop trying to make each other's life hell and get along like a mother and son should."

"There's no way I can forgive her after all she's done." Hyde muttered as he looked at her. The look on his face wasn't angry or upset, but a face that said he was done with his mother. "Know this, that if you force us to move across Japan, I will resent you for the rest of my life. And when I start my own family, I will make sure you are never a part of my kids' lives. You'll be dead to me and to them."

"Wait a minute, what's this about moving across Japan?" Mr. Gekido asked as he looked at his wife.

Her face brightened up at this. "Oh Shu just got accepted to his dream college! Considering the long commute to Kyoto there's a housing opportunity that's only a short drive there so we were going to move!"

"And why wasn't I told about this?" he asked with a raised eyebrow. "Isn't there housing options at the college?"

Mrs. Gekido sighed. "I was going to before Hyde made an episode about this. There's no housing options available there so we have to move."

"And no one thought to let the influential businessman have a word with these people?" He asked with a grin. "If I can get a word in with the college to discuss Shu's stellar academics I'm sure they'll see reason to let him stay. That way Shu is happy, Hyde is happy, and no one gets hurt… Well, more hurt then they are."

"But darling I-!"

He raised a hand to stop his wife from talking more. "Trust me I know what I'm doing. Now Hyde, why don't you and Lilina go out and get your mind off of this whole situation?"

Hyde gave an odd look to his dad but from the way he waved him off made him shrug his shoulders and leave hand in hand with Lilina. Shu himself left upstairs and began to organize the materials he would need in the coming weeks for his college life. The two Gekido parents were left in the kitchen alone to their own devices. Mr. Gekido took the ice bag from his wife's face and gave a small kiss to her injury. "Now honey, we have to talk about your relationship with Hyde."

Mrs. Gekido sighed as she leaned into her husband. "I just can't understand how he loves that girl. All she loves is money. I can see it in her eyes."

"Honey, just as how Hyde can't understand how I love you, you won't be able to understand how he loves Lilina. We weren't there in Sword Art Online. We have no idea what they went through in there. Love works in the strangest ways, heh after all no one would believe that a wimpy little nerd like me fell in love with his old middle school bully. You certainly bloomed into a woman when we entered college together."

Mrs. Gekido sighed and looked at a picture at the side of the table. It was one of when Hyde and Shu were young, looking happy as they played with their mother. Looking at that picture made her miss those days when her boys were young.

'_When did those days go away? Can we ever have days like that ever again? Maybe… I have been too harsh on Hyde.'_

**A/N: So what did you guys think of the chapter? I wanted to put in some Hylina romance and drama since the next few chapters are going to be focusing on RenXAlice, along with a small amount of KiritoXAsuna here and there. Hope you like it.**


	84. Ice Skating

**A/N: Hey guys. New chapter time! And I also have an announcement for everyone that will be in the Author's Note at the end of the chapter. Make sure to read it.**

**Lastly, I wanted to give a shout out to a cool fic I've been reading called SAO: Mother's Reconciliation. The author is KiritoIRL. Make sure to check it out. It is definitely worth a read.**

"Alicia, where are we going?"

"Be patient Dan. We're almost there"

Dan and Alicia walked together through the city streets. The couple held hands as Alicia led her boyfriend to a special place for their date. She had gotten an idea in her head and insisted that they go there, though she had yet to tell Dan where that was.

The time the couple had spent together in recent months had been somewhat limited. Dan was busy finding the right college for him and just recently he had been accepted to the University of Tokyo, his first choice. Needless to say, he was very excited about it.

Alicia on the other hand, had applied to her college choices not too long ago. At first, she didn't know what she would want to do in college or even if she wanted to go to college in the first place. But recently, she felt like she had found an answer for her calling in life. The other reason for Alicia wanting to go on a date today was so she could tell Dan just what that was.

Dan was beginning to get impatient with Alicia's surprise. "Alicia, can you please tell me where it is we're going?"

Alicia giggled as she stopped walking. "Alright, we're here"

Dan turned his head to look at the building and his eyes widened. He now knew the reason she hadn't told him where they were going. "Alicia…"

"Oh don't be such a baby" Alicia giggled as she grabbed his hand and yanked him inside. Dan groaned as he saw where they were. An ice skating rink.

People were all over the skating rink as they danced along the ice. The blades of their skates slid along the icy ground. Alicia had been wanting to go skating with Dan for a long time now, but there was one major problem standing in her way. Dan couldn't skate.

"Why did you bring us here? You know I'm horrible at skating." Dan groaned.

"That's why I'm going to teach you" Alicia said with a smile.

"Alicia, you've seen me skate. I'm unteachable"

"Well I'm going to prove you wrong"

Alicia went over to the counter and rented two pairs of ice skates. After bringing them over, she more or less had to force her boyfriend to put his on. Once they were both wearing their skates, Alicia and Dan got to their feet, although it was taking everything Dan had not to fall over.

"I'm just going to end up looking stupid" Dan said.

"Even more stupid than someone sitting on the bench while his girlfriend skates and has fun?"

"At least I won't fall down if I sit"

"You won't fall down. Trust me Dan"

Dan gulped as he took Alicia's hand. Alicia slowly led him onto the ice. Within seconds though, Dan was gripping the rails along the side. Alicia sighed to herself.

"Why of all places did it have to be an ice skating rink?" Dan questioned.

Alicia showed her boyfriend a soft smile as she reached out her hand. "Just grab my hand. Everything will be fine, I promise"

Somewhat reluctantly, Dan grabbed Alicia's hand. Almost immediately, he was dragged away from the safety of the railing to the actual icy floor. He didn't dare let go of Alicia's hands as their feet slid across the ice.

Alicia giggled at the nervous face her boyfriend was making. "Just relax. You'll be skating on your own before you know it."

"But this is way too scary"

"Even scarier than all those floor bosses we fought in SAO?"

"At least I knew what to do when fighting them. If you weren't here, I wouldn't even be able to stand up straight."

"I don't think so" Alicia giggled.

"Why not?"

"Look at my hands" Alicia smiled as she held her hand sup in front of her. Dan quickly looked at his own hands, realizing Alicia was no longer holding onto him.

Dan's face went from nervous to panicked. "Alicia!"

"Just calm down and do what feels natural. You'll be fine" Alicia assured him.

Dan took a deep breath and followed Alicia's instructions. The first few turns were fairly tricky for Dan to do without falling over, but he managed somehow. Before he knew it, he was able to turn and glide along the ice with ease, though he was still taking it slow. Alicia held Dan's hand once again and the twosome began skating together.

"See? What did I tell you?" Alicia said with a smile.

"I'm still a little scared, you know?"

"I'll be right here with you, I promise"

Dan and Alicia continued skating together as they held hands. Alicia smiled as she watched Dan try to keep his balance. She loved moments like this when she was right next to him. It was moments like these that she would miss once they were both busy at college.

'_Speaking of college, I still haven't told him what I want to do yet'_ Alicia realized. _'Oh well, it can wait till later. If I told him now, he'd probably fall over on the ice.'_ Alicia giggled to herself as she imagined that happening.

A few hours passed as the couple enjoyed their time on the ice. Dan breathed a sigh of relief when it was finally over and they left the rink. The sun was still up though, which meant that Dan and Alicia still had time to spend together.

"What should we do next?" Dan wondered.

"We could go back to my place" Alicia suggested.

Dan couldn't think of anything better so he nodded in agreement. The couple walked together and began to head towards Alicia's home. It would be a quick trip by bus to get near Alicia's house. Then they would just have to walk for a bit.

While riding the bus, Dan remembered something. "By the way, did you hear about Shirou and Shino?"

"What about them?" Alicia asked.

"They're a couple now"

Alicia's jaw dropped. "Get out! Are you serious?!"

"Yep" Dan replied with a nod. "Shirou told me"

Alicia smiled to herself. "I'm happy for them. They'll make a nice couple"

"I wonder what Asuna's reaction is going to be like."

"That should be interesting to see" Alicia said with a giggle.

When the bus arrived at their stop, Dan and Alicia got off and began their short walk to Alicia's house. Once they arrived, Alicia grabbed the mail that was in the mailbox and walked to the front door with her boyfriend. She handed the stack of mail to Dan while she reached into her coat pocket for her keys.

Alicia opened the door to her house and walked inside with Dan. "You can just put the mail in the kitchen"

"Got it" Dan said. He walked into the kitchen and placed the mail on the counter. As he was about to walk away, his eyes caught something on one of the letters. The address read Aoyama Gakuin University.

"Alicia" Dan called out. "There's a letter here for you from a university."

"What?!" Alicia exclaimed. She quickly ran into the kitchen and looked at the letter Dan was pointing to. Her eyes widened as she looked at the address.

Slowly, Alicia opened the letter and began reading. She felt her heart skip a beat as she read it. The look on Alicia's face seemed even more nervous than Dan at the ice skating rink. When she finally finished reading she placed the letter on the table. "Dan, can we talk?"

"Sure" Dan nodded, curious as to what she wanted to talk about.

Alicia led Dan to the living room where the two of them took a seat on the couch. Alicia looked at her boyfriend. "Dan… you know how I've been saying that I don't know what I want to do with my life?"

"Yeah, but don't worry about it. You'll figure out what it is"

"Actually… I already have"

Dan widened his eyes. "Seriously? What is it?"

Alicia gave a small smile to herself. "Last month, I got called into the counselor's office at school. You know, back when the school was surveying all the students on their plans for the future"

Dan nodded his head. He remembered that a lot of the older students had been getting counseling on what to do for the future, since SAO had kept their minds off of it for two years.

Alicia continued. "Well I told her that I still didn't know what I wanted to do. I said there wasn't really anything I was exceptionally good at. Then she suggested something to me. She showed me one of the essays I wrote in class. She said that she had read a lot of my essays when she noticed how well I was doing in my writing classes and that they were all exceptional." Alicia's eyes suddenly gleamed with determination as she looked at Dan. "The counselor suggested I try becoming a writer"

"Is that what you want?" Dan asked.

"Well, at first I wasn't really sure. I know that I'm good at writing, but I couldn't think of anything specific to focus on for a career in writing. And then it hit me. You know how there's been a lot of authors interviewing SAO Survivors and writing books about their experiences in the game?"

Dan nodded. "Yeah. Most of them aren't really that accurate though. They change people's stories in them. They don't actually tell what it was like for us at all"

"Exactly!" Alicia said. "That's why I want to write stories about people's experiences in SAO. I want to show people what it was really like for us in there and to tell the true story. I want them to see all of us as regular people instead of a bunch of kids that spent two years killing each other. I'll be the bridge that connects us and them."

Dan smiled at his girlfriend. The look in her eyes told him that she was serious about this. "That's a great dream Alicia. I know you'll do great"

"Thanks Dan" Alicia said with an appreciative smile. "But while I want to be a writer, I also want to be with you. That's why I've been looking up and applying to all kinds of literary colleges near Tokyo."

"And I take it Aoyama Gakuin University is one of them?"

Alicia nodded her head. "Yeah. And this letter I just got from them… was an acceptance letter"

"Really?! That's awesome Alicia!" Dan exclaimed as he brought her in for a hug.

"Thanks" Alicia smiled. "For the first time in my life, I know exactly what it is I want. And I'm going to do everything I can to make it a reality"

"I know you will" Dan told her. "You're gonna be a great writer"

* * *

The dark night sky blanketed the streets. The only available light was the ones coming from the stores and street lamps.

Tetsu walked along the sidewalk as he headed home. He was running late, but he didn't care. Ever since that girl had almost killed him, he felt more remorse than ever for the things he had done. But if he was forced into the same situation again, he would probably do them all over again. Because he was a coward.

'_I should have died back then'_ Tetsu thought to himself. _'Back when that girl tried to kill me. No, even before that. Back in that accursed death game. I should have died there. Why does fate keep trying to spare me? What good have I ever done?'_

As he walked past an alleyway, an arm appeared out of nowhere and pulled him in while another one covered his mouth. Tetsu thrashed around as he panicked.

"Geez, calm the hell down Tatsumi!"

Tetsu froze at the mention of his name in SAO. He felt the grip on him loosen and he turned around to see the person who had just spoke, along with another three people. He recognized all of them as survivors of Laughing Coffin.

"Wh-What are you guys doing here?" Tetsu asked.

One of the Laughing Coffin members, a guy Tetsu recalled named Makko, walked up and patted him on the back. "Relax man. We just came to gather up the remaining members of Laughing Coffin for a reunion"

"A reunion?"

"That's right" another one said. This one was someone Tetsu remembered very well, a guy named Zane. He had jet black hair that fell to just about shoulder length and piercing red eyes. Zane had practically worshiped PoH back in SAO and was a vicious killer. "Us five are all that remains of Laughing Coffin now. Ever since the deaths of our three leaders."

Tetsu recalled seeing it on the news last summer. About how three players from Japan died while logged into ALO, back when there was a huge crisis going on in America. When he saw their faces, Tetsu immediately knew it was PoH, Johnny Black, and Red-eye Zaza. There were also another couple Laughing Coffin members that had died in the incident. Tetsu was just relieved that he had been able to avoid it.

"Anyway, it's time we had our revenge" Zane said. "The Black Swordsman and his friends must pay for what they did to our leader"

Tetsu tensed up at what Zane was saying. This was exactly what Tetsu had tried to avoid ever since he escaped SAO. It was the reason he kept such a low profile. "Sh-Should we really do something like that? I mean, they managed to kill PoH."

"That's exactly why we NEED to do this" Zane said. "We must restore PoH's honor!"

"Come on. It'll be just like old times" Makko grinned as he pulled out a pocket knife. "Finding the target. Making them suffer. Watching their face as they die, man that was always my favorite part!"

"Unless he's turned soft and is too chicken" another one of the group snickered.

Tetsu felt his body freeze. He knew that if he stayed out of this, they'd see that he wasn't one of them anymore and kill him. But could he really do the things he did in SAO all over again? He gulped as he finally managed to speak out his answer.

"Y-Yeah. I'm in. Let's do this"

"See? I knew we could count on ya Tatsumi!" Makko smirked. "Alright, let's get moving. We've got some targets to take care of."

Tetsu reluctantly walked with the rest of the surviving Laughing Coffin members. He felt his cowardice throughout his body as he cursed himself. One thought went through his head as he followed them.

'_I should have died back then'_

**A/N: So what did you guys think of the chapter? Hope there's a lot of hype for the next one.**

**Ok, now to that special announcement I said at the beginning. As some of you may have guessed from the end of this chapter, I will be going against what I said a few months back about no more major arcs. This next part of the story will make up a new arc, and I'm sure you will all love it with what I have planned.**


	85. Laughing Coffin

**A/N: Time for the moment you've all been waiting for everybody! It's time for a brand new arc in Blazing Revolution. Hope you all enjoy it.**

Kazuto yawned as he walked downstairs. It was already a little past noon, but since it was a weekend he could get away with sleeping in so late. Winter break had come and gone, so once again it was back to studying for everyone.

On most weekends, Kazuto would have gotten out of bed much earlier so he could spend the day with Asuna. But today Asuna had said she was busy with other plans. Kazuto was just glad it wasn't yet another suitor set up by Asuna's mother.

"Finally you're up!"

Kazuto turned his head to see Suguha pouting at him. He rubbed his groggy eyes as he looked at her. "Oh hey Sugu. Mornin"

"How are you able to sleep in this late?" she asked with a sigh. "I know it's the weekend, but come on. I had to make lunch all by myself."

"It's just salad, isn't it?"

Sugu pouted as she turned away from her brother. "Well in that case, you can just make your own lunch"

"W-Wait! I didn't mean that salad was bad or anything!" Kazuto said as he felt his stomach bark at him.

Sugu hid her grin from the pleading look her brother was giving to her. "Well maybe you can have some. If you apologize."

Kazuto nodded his head. "R-Right. I'm really, really sorry"

"Good boy" Sugu giggled as she patted Kazuto's head as if he was a dog.

Now it was Kazuto's turn to pout as he followed Suguha into the kitchen. The two of them sat down together at the table and began eating the salad that Suguha had prepared.

"So, got any plans today?" Kazuto asked.

"Actually yes" Suguha nodded as she swallowed her bite of salad. "I'm going shopping with Asuna, Lilina, and Alicia. They're coming over here soon"

So shopping was what Asuna meant when she said she had plans. It didn't really bother Kazuto too much. As badly as he wanted to, he realized he couldn't spend every waking moment with his girlfriend. He was worried however at any embarrassing conversations about him that could unfold between Asuna and Sugu.

Suddenly the doorbell was heard. "That must be them" Suguha said as she got out of her chair and walked to the front door. Kazuto put another bite of salad in his mouth as Suguha opened the door.

"Hey, let's get-… Lilina! Kazuto get over here, quick!"

The scream Suguha uttered sounded like one of terror. Kazuto quickly swallowed the salad in his mouth and bolted to the door. His eyes widened in horror as he gazed upon the sight.

Lilina was panting heavily, her body covered with bruises and a few minor cuts. Suguha had Lilina's arm around her as she tried to support her. Kazuto ran over to the two girls and helped Sugu hold Lilina up. The two of them brought her over to the couch to allow their friend to sit down.

"Lilina, what happened? Who did this?" Kazuto asked.

"Laughing… Coffin…" Lilina managed to choke out. "Asuna and Alicia… took them… call Dan"

"Easy Lilina. Just say it a little bit at a time"

"No time… danger…"

Kazuto dashed and grabbed the first aid kit. He brought it back over and looked at Suguha. "I'll stay here with her. You go call Dan like Lilina said and tell him to get over here. You should probably call Hyde too"

"Right" Sugu nodded as she walked out of the room. She quickly dialed both Dan and Hyde and told them what happened. Both of them said they'd be right over.

Meanwhile Kazuto was breaking out in a nervous sweat. Lilina had mentioned not only Laughing Coffin, but also Alicia and Asuna. If what Suguha said earlier was correct, the three of them should have been together.

"_Asuna and Alicia… took them"_

Kazuto looked at Lilina as he thought about what she said. Laughing Coffin did this to her, but they let her go on purpose. To deliver this message. _'I have a really bad feeling about this. Please let me be wrong'_.

Kazuto gulped as he asked Lilina the question he was afraid to hear the answer of. "Lilina… where are Alicia and Asuna?"

"Laughing Coffin… they took them… attacked us out of nowhere. We tried to fight back but… too many… urgh!"

"Easy there. Don't move around too much" Kazuto said. "Do you know where they took them?"

In response, Lilina looked down towards her coat pocket. Kazuto reached inside and pulled out a slip of paper that read an address. Bellow the address read 'Kirito and Ren Only'.

'_Damnit!'_ Kazuto screamed in his mind. _'Laughing Coffin. They're gonna pay for this!'_

It was about half an hour later that another knock on the front door was heard. Suguha went and opened the door to find Hyde. The ashy haired teen didn't even give Suguha the time of day as he rushed into the house and found his girlfriend in the living room. "Lilina! Are you ok?! Who did this?!"

"Hyde, calm down" Kazuto said.

"Calm down?!" Hyde yelled as he grabbed Kazuto by the collar of his shirt. "My girlfriend is beaten to a pulp and you tell me to calm down?! How would you feel if Asuna was like this?!"

"The people that did this to Lilina took Asuna with them, along with Alicia!" Kazuto yelled back.

Hyde's eyes widened as he looked at his friend. He let go of Kazuto and clenched his fists in frustration. "Damnit… What do we tell Dan?"

"What do we tell me what?" Dan asked as he entered the living room. His gaze turned to Lilina and his expression turned grim. "Wh-What happened?"

Kazuto gave Dan a brief explanation of what Lilina had managed to tell them. When he heard about Alicia and Asuna getting taken by Laughing Coffin, his body froze up. It was as if all the life was sucked out of his body.

"There were five of them" Lilina said, finally able to talk somewhat normally again. "They came out of nowhere and jumped us. We tried to fight back, but we didn't even have a chance to do anything. They left me there, saying to give that note to Kirito and Ren"

Kazuto looked at the note once again. It was obviously a trap. There was no way to tell if Asuna and Alicia would even be there. But it was their only lead and they had to take it.

"Well what are we waiting for?" Hyde said. "Let's teach those bastards a lesson"

Dan shook his head. "No Hyde, you aren't coming with us"

"But-"

"They said only for me and Kazuto to come and as much as I hate it, we have to play by their rules. If you come, they might end up killing Asuna and Alicia" Dan told him. "Besides, you should stay here with Lilina. She needs you right now"

After a few moments, Hyde reluctantly nodded his head. "Alright. But you better make those guys pay for this"

"Definitely" Dan said with a nod of his head. He looked over to Kazuto. "Let's go"

"Right" Kazuto nodded as the two teens bolted out the door.

'_Be careful you two'_ Suguha thought to herself as she watched him leave.

* * *

Asuna slowly opened her eyes as she regained consciousness. She tried to move, but soon realized that she was tied to a chair. Asuna struggled to break free, but the bindings were really tight. Since she couldn't move, Asuna tried to get a better view of her surroundings. It was dark, but from what Asuna could tell she was in some kind of abandoned warehouse.

"Urgh… what happened?"

The sudden voice made Asuna's head turn to see Alicia next to her, beginning to come to as well. Asuna tried to recall how they got here, but her head was aching in pain at the moment.

"Alicia!" Asuna called out. "Are you alright?"

Asuna's voice seemed to barely register in Alicia's ears as she weakly turned her head towards her friend. "Asuna? Where are we?"

"I have no idea" Asuna told her. "Can you remember what happened?"

Alicia shook her head. "No. I can't remember a thing."

Suddenly the door to the warehouse opened. Asuna and Alicia watched as three figures walked into the building. They were all teens, but the vibe they gave off told the two girls that they definitely weren't her to help them.

"Looks like they're awake" one of them said.

"Good. It would suck if they missed the show because they were taking a nap" another one of them chuckled.

"Who are you?" Asuna growled. "What do you want with us?"

In response, the one out of the three that hadn't talked yet walked up and stared into Asuna's eyes. They were fierce and had no visible fear in them, which he seemed entertained by. He cracked a smirk that only made Asuna's glare stronger. "I always heard the Lightning Flash was strong. Too bad you couldn't put up a fight when it counted."

"Maybe for you Zane, but this bitch sure did" one of them said, pointing to Alicia. "Shoved her elbow right into my ribs." He took his hand and sent a right hook to her face that made Alicia let out a cry of pain. "I'm still feeling that hit you know"

"Leave her alone!" Asuna snarled.

The teen in front of Asuna grabbed her head and forced her to focus her attention on him. "You asked us who we are. Allow me to show you."

Asuna watched as he held his hand in front of Asuna. He was wearing a glove and Asuna's eyes widened in horror at the emblem stitched onto it. "Laughing Coffin."

"Aww, she remembers us" a voice said from behind the two girls. They watched as the owner of the voice as well as another teen walked in front of them for the two girls to see their faces. "Probably doesn't know our names though."

"Then let's tell them" Zane said as he walked back to face the two girls. "You probably heard my friend over there just now, but I'm Zane."

Next up was a bald guy whose lower face was covered by a bandana. He simply said his name to the two girls. "Shredder"

The third one to introduce himself had his hair greased up. He walked right up to Asuna and showed a devilish smirk. "I'm Takato. Gotta say princess, you're pretty cute."

In response, Asuna took her free legs and kicked Takato right between the legs. His eyes bulged out as he back away.

"That's what you get for being careless" another one of the group laughed, this one was a black haired teen with two earrings. He put his arm around the fifth teen as he introduced himself. "Anyway my name's Makko. And this here's the last member of our happy little family, Tatsumi. I bet you're wondering why we brought you here instead of just killing you"

"I stopped trying to understand you Laughing Coffin psychos a long time ago" Alicia said.

"Whatever. Just know that your deaths are going to be long and painful. But that'll wait until your two boyfriends get here"

"Go to hell" Asuna told them.

"This world IS hell!" Zane bit back. "SAO was a haven for us! We could do anything we wanted! But then you goody two shoe heroes went and spoiled our fun!"

Alicia glared hell at them "Your little idea of fun was killing innocent people!"

"Ever heard of survival of the fittest?"

"You're insane" Asuna said.

Zane simply laughed at the two girls. "Maybe, but everybody needs a little insanity to survive in this world. Try to keep up those stares as you watch Kirito and Ren die"

Asuna and Alicia were about to curse them out, but Shredder walked up and quickly duct taped their mouths. Their muffled voices stayed quiet as the five Laughing Coffin members smirked at them.

"Get everything ready" Zane said. "When our last two guests arrive, I want the red carpet ready to be rolled out for them."

* * *

Dan and Kazuto walked through the row of warehouses. The two of them had a fierce look of determination in their eyes. They were going to settle things with Laughing Coffin once and for all and save Asuna and Alicia.

"Here it is" Kazuto said as he and Dan came to a stop. He checked the address again just to be sure. "You ready for this?"

"Yeah" Dan said with a nod. "These bastards are going down for good this time"

The two friends walked through the already open door of the warehouse. Inside it was pitch black. Neither one of them could see a thing. Then all of a sudden, the lights turned on and everything became bright. Dan and Kazuto shielded their eyes as their vision adjusted to the light.

"Well, well, look who finally showed up to the party."

Dan and Kazuto looked in front of them to see the five Laughing Coffin survivors standing at the other end of the warehouse. Next to them were Asuna and Alicia, tied up with their mouths duct taped.

"Asuna!"

"Alicia!"

Dan and Kazuto were about to make a breakneck run for the girls, but Zane and Shredder put knives to their throats threateningly.

"Did you really think it would be that easy?" Zane asked.

"Let them go" Dan glared.

"We'll let one of them go. But the question at hand is who's it gonna be?" Takato smirked. He grabbed the duct tape from Asuna and Alicia's mouths and ripped it off.

Asuna was the first to speak. "Get out of here! It's a trap!"

"Forget about us!" Alicia yelled just as loud. Both she and Asuna were on the verge of tears.

Dan and Kazuto ignored the pleas from the two girls. All their attention was focused on Zane and the other Laughing Coffin members.

"You have us. Let the girls go." Kazuto told them.

"No can do. It would spoil the game if we did that" Makko chuckled.

"Haven't you had enough games?"

"This one is one you should be familiar with" Zane told them. "A good old fashioned fight to the death. If one of you dies, your girlfriend does as well. Stay alive and you and your girlfriend and free to go. You two up for it?"

"You're sick" Dan growled.

Takato grinned at them. "Is that a yes?"

"We'll do it" Kazuto said. "We'll take on any one of you bastards."

"I believe there's a bit of a misunderstanding" Zane said with a smirk. "It's not us you'll be fighting"

Dan and Kazuto stared at the group in confusion before Zane took two knives from his belt and tossed them towards the two of them. The two blades slid across the ground. One in front of Kazuto, and the other in front of Dan.

"It's each other you'll be fighting"

**A/N: Bum, Bum, BUM! That's right, I have made yet another cliffhanger (evil laughter in background while readers boo at me). Before any of you start throwing tomatoes at me, I'm going to make my daring escape. Hope you're all looking forward to next week's chapter.**


	86. Death Match

**A/N: Hey guys. Time for the big fight everyone's been waiting for. Place your bets now folks!**

Dan and Kazuto stared at each other in shock. They had expected a variety of traps set up by Laughing Coffin. They had even come prepared to fight the entire group on their own. Whatever it took to save Asuna and Alicia.

But fighting each other? That was a different story.

Zane smirked at the faces Dan and Kazuto were making. "So what's it gonna be? Fight each other? Watch the girls you love die? Don't worry, we'll enjoy the outcome either way"

"You bastards" Kazuto glared. "You won't get away with this"

"Oh? And who's gonna stop us?" Makko laughed as he held the knife in his hand closer to Alicia's throat. "The second either of you try and attack us, your girlfriends are as good as dead. Isn't that right Tatsumi?"

Tetsu, or Tatsumi as his fellow Laughing Coffin members called him, seemed to snap out of his daze as he held a knife to Alicia. "Y-Yeah. Right"

Makko narrowed his eyes at his friend. "You alright man? You're way too out of it. You comin down with something"

"N-No, I'm fine. Don't worry" Tetsu assured him.

"Whatever you say" Makko said with a shrug.

"Get out of here you guys!" Alicia yelled at Dan and Kazuto. "Don't do this! Leave us and get out of here!"

Dan clenched his fists in frustration. Run away? Abandon them? There was no way he or Kazuto could do that. Neither one of them were willing to leave here without Asuna or Alicia. But how were they supposed to do that with the two girls at knife point.

The dagger at Dan's feet. His eyes stared at it for what seemed like forever. Was there any other way to save Alicia? There had to be. There just had to. But… but what if there wasn't?

"Let Asuna and Alicia go!" Kazuto yelled.

"We already told you. We'll let one of them go depending on who wins this" Zane smirked. "Unless you want both of them to die?"

"You actually expect us to turn on each other and-" Kazuto stopped talking as he heard Dan move. Dan picked up the dagger at his feet and turned to face Kazuto. Kazuto's eyes widened as he looked at his friend. "Dan, what are you doing?"

"I'm sorry Kazuto" Dan seemed to choke on the words as he said them. "But I have to save Alicia. I won't let her die no matter what."

Kazuto gasped as Dan rushed towards him with a tight grip on the dagger. Acting on pure instinct, Kazuto leaped out of the way at the last second and grabbed the dagger at his feet. Dan charged at him again and it quickly became a one sided battle with Dan on offense and Kazuto on defense.

"Dan, what are you doing?!" Alicia exclaimed from her seat. "You can't do this! Kazuto's your friend!"

Dan ignored the plea from his girlfriend as he kept slashing at Kazuto. It was all Kazuto could do to parry away his friend's attacks. There was no way he could go on the offensive. Killing a friend was something he would never allow himself to do.

'_But why are you doing it, Dan?'_ Kazuto wondered. _'You're not like this. You would never try and kill your friends'_

Zane showed an entertained smirk as he watched the two friends fight. "I'm surprised he actually did it. Looks like the head tactician of SAO does have a dark side after all."

Alicia watched Dan with horror in her eyes. She cried out to him once again in an effort to reach him. "Stop it Dan! Please! Don't-"

"Shut it" Makko said as he brought the knife closer to her throat. "Just keep quiet and watch the show. Personally I'd want him to win if I were you. After all, your life depends on it."

"You bastards are gonna pay for this" Asuna glared.

Makko seemed to pay her no mind. He was too interested on the fight going on between Dan and Kazuto. Asuna looked back and watched her boyfriend struggle to fend off Dan's attacks. _'Please Kazuto. Don't die, I'm begging you'_

Kazuto was slowly starting to be pushed back in the fight. Dan thrusted his blade at Kazuto's head, but he was able to dodge in time. The only way for Kazuto to win was to fight back and he knew it. But could he do it? Fight one of his closest friends and kill him? No, out of the question. There had to be another way out of this.

Dan took advantage of Kazuto's distraction and went for a sweep kick at his legs. The quick movement caused Kazuto to lose his balance and fall over onto his back. Dan stomped his foot onto Kazuto's hand holding the dagger and stood over him. The tactician's face was completely hollow. "I'm sorry it had to come to this. Forgive me."

Kazuto saw Dan raise his dagger up and swing it down at him. Kazuto quickly managed to use his free arm to grab Dan's arm and hold back the blade. It became and battle of push and shove as Dan tried to push the blade down on Kazuto while Kazuto desperately tried to push the blade back.

"Kazuto!" Asuna cried out.

"Dan, stop this!" Alicia begged. "You can't kill Kazuto! You can't let them win!"

The two girls and the Laughing Coffin members watched as the two teens kept up the stalemate for what seemed like forever. Alicia and Asuna couldn't see the faces of Dan or Kazuto from where they were but it wasn't hard to imagine what they looked like.

Finally Kazuto got the opportunity he needed. He managed to swing his lower body up and throw Dan off him. Dan's face hit the cold hard ground as he tumbled away. Both teens got back to their feet as blood dripped down Dan's forehead.

"Don't do this Dan" Kazuto said again. "I don't want to kill you"

"I don't have a choice" Dan told him. "If I don't, Alicia will die. That's not something I will ever let happen"

Kazuto let out a sigh, steeling his resolve. The black haired teen took a battle stance, finally getting serious. "Very well. I can't let myself or Asuna die either. Sorry about this."

"Kazuto?! Not you too?!" Asuna exclaimed. The way this was going, one of them would die.

"Oooooo, now this is getting good!" Makko chuckled. "Johnny Black would have loved this!"

"Who do you think is gonna win?" Takato asked Zane.

"Whichever one wants it more." Zane simply said. "But in the end, it won't really matter."

Asuna watched the scene unfold in horror. She didn't want either of her friends to die. There had to be something she could do. Something to put an end to this without any of them having to die. Suddenly, Asuna felt Tetsu lean in and whisper something in her ear.

"Listen closely if you want you and your friends to make it out of here alive." Tetsu told her quietly. "Once there's an opening, I'll cut you loose. When that happens, be ready to move."

Asuna's eyes widened as she heard this and gave a suspicious look to the person standing behind her and holding a knife to her throat. Was this some kind of joke he was making? Her gut told her no, based on the seriousness in his voice. But could she trust one of the people that had caused this whole mess?

The sound of metal hitting against metal brought Asuna's attention back to the fight. Kazuto and Dan's two daggers were pushing against each other in a fierce struggle. Kazuto finally won the stalemate and pushed Dan back. He thrusted his blade forward, cutting into Dan's left arm. Dan flinched in pain from the pain as blood dripped down from the gash.

"Dan!" Alicia cried out.

"Kazuto, stop!" Asuna begged once again.

Dan and Kazuto were both breathing heavily from the fight. Dan knew that he had to end this quickly before the wound on his arm became too serious. He charged at Kazuto with a tight grip on his blade. Dan let out a cry as he went for one last all or nothing strike.

"Raaaaaaaahhhhhh!"

Kazuto gritted his teeth and prayed for everyone to forgive him for what he was about to do. He dodged the thrust and moved in towards Dan's exposed stomach. He gripped his weapon tightly and closed his eyes as he thrusted the blade forward.

The next few seconds felt like hours to Alicia. She watched as Kazuto stabbed Dan in the heart and the life slowly drained from her boyfriend's face. Kazuto removed his blade from Dan and the teen fell over onto the ground as a lifeless corpse.

"NOOOOOOOOO!" Alicia screamed, tears flowing out of her eyes.

Kazuto looked at his friend lying in front of him on the floor. The dagger slipped out of Kazuto's hand and fell onto the floor. He fell to his knees and started crying. "I'm sorry Dan. Please… forgive me."

Zane and the others watched as Kazuto helplessly cried at the death of his friend. Zane showed a grin on his face from the sight. "Well looks like we have a winner." He started to walk forward to Kazuto, followed by Shredder and Takato. "Too bad though. There's been a slight change in your prize. You get to die next"

"You cowards!" Asuna yelled. "You can't even keep your word after all of this!"

"What, you thought we were telling the truth? Don't make me laugh." Takato said with a chuckle. The three of them all pulled out knives of their own as they approached Kazuto, who seemed to have lost the will to do anything.

Suddenly Asuna felt Tetsu lean in towards her and whisper in her ear once again. "Now!"

Tetsu swung his knife down and cut the rope binding Asuna. She turned her head to him in surprise only to see him place his knife on the arm of her chair and rush towards his friend standing behind Alicia. Makko turned his head to Tetsu and widened his eyes as Tetsu tackled him, knocking him away from Alicia. Tetsu turned his head to Asuna and shouted at her. "Cut your friend loose and get out of here! Hurry!"

"Tatsumi, what the hell are you doing?!" Makko yelled at him as he struggled to throw Tetsu off him.

"Something I should have done a long time ago." Tetsu glared. "I'm putting a stop to this insanity"

Makko glared at Tetsu with hatred in his eyes. "You… you goddamn filthy TRAITOR!"

Asuna quickly recovered from her shock and grabbed the knife Tetsu had given her. She rushed over to Alicia and cut her loose. She helped Alicia to her feet, but Alicia seemed to traumatized by what had just happened to move. "Alicia, are you alright?"

"Dan… It can't be…" Alicia barely seemed to be able to form a sentence.

Asuna held her friend tightly, trying to find some way to comfort her. Even though Dan had attacked Kazuto first, she still thought of him as a friend. He was just trying to save Alicia, something Asuna could never blame him for.

Zane and the others turned around and saw what was unfolding. They all widened their eyes as they saw their two captives free. Zane growled in rage that his plan was falling apart.

"Tetsu… How DARE you betray us!" Zane glared.

"Dan, now!"

Zane quickly turned back to where Kazuto was to see him and Dan rush towards them. Zane jumped away just in time, but Shredder and Takato weren't so lucky. Both Laughing Coffin members felt the daggers from Dan and Kazuto stab them from behind. The blades pierced their hearts and the two of them fell onto the ground.

"You bastards are not getting off easy for this" Dan glared as he held his blade in a tight grip.

"Impossible…" Zane gasped. "How are you alive?!"

Kazuto smirked at Zane. "Dan planned it out perfectly"

"What?!"

"It sure wasn't easy coming up with it on the spot" Dan explained with a grin. "While I was fighting Kazuto, I told him to attack and make it look like he killed me. We had to make it look realistic though, so I also had him cut my left arm here. Once you came over to kill Kazuto, we'd catch you by surprise and hold you hostage in return for Alicia and Asuna. It was a long shot, but we were lucky that your friend over there gave us a better opening"

"But how?! We were watching your fight the entire time! When could you have possibly shared your plan with each other?!"

"Remember when I had Kazuto pinned down and we had our backs to you? You couldn't see it, but I whispered my entire plan to Kazuto."

Zane growled at the two of them. His eyes were lit up with rage. "You'll pay for this."

"And so will you, Tatsumi!" Makko added as he finally threw Tetsu off him. Tetsu rolled on the floor as Makko lunged at him. "Die!"

Tetsu didn't make any attempt to dodge the blade. He let it pierce his body. Makko grinned as blood flowed out of his body. "This is what happens to traitorous backstabbers like you. Have fun in hell Tatsumi."

As Makko was about to pull his knife out, he suddenly felt Tetsu wrap and arm around his back and hold him tightly. The already impaled knife became lodged even deeper into Tetsu's body. Tetsu reached into his back pocket and pulled out another knife.

"Don't call me by that ridiculous name anymore" Tetsu said as he coughed up some blood. "My name… is TETSU!"

Makko felt the knife stab into his back and pierce his heart. He coughed up some of his own blood as Tetsu shoved him off his body. Makko let out one last weak chuckle as he left the world of the living.

Tetsu felt his body become weaker and weaker as he laid on the floor. He showed a soft smile on his face. He had done so many horrible things back in Sword Art Online. Even in the real world, he had gotten caught up in Laughing Coffin's curse once again.

'_But at least I was able to do something to redeem myself in my final moments.'_ Tetsu told himself. _'Even a pathetic coward like me… was able to do something'_

Those last thoughts echoed in Tetsu's mind as his consciousness faded away.

Zane now found himself surrounded by the four remaining teens. Any move he made would guarantee his death. The rage in his eyes was clearer than ever.

"You've lost Zane. Give it up." Dan told him.

"Why? So you can kill me? Give me a painless death?" Zane retorted sarcastically.

"Too many people have died today" Kazuto said. "But we will see you rot in jail for what you've done."

"Oh really?" Zane smirked. He took the knife he was holding and brought it to his own throat. "I don't think so. I'm going out on my own terms"

"Stop! Don't do it!" Kazuto called out.

His plea fell on deaf ears as Zane slit his own throat and fell over as a lifeless corpse before anyone could make a move.

Dan breathed a sigh of relief that everything was finally over. He dropped the dagger he was holding and sat down to catch his breath. Out of nowhere, Dan found himself tackled to the ground as Alicia rushed at him and hugged him tightly. "A-Alicia?!"

"Don't EVER scare me like that again!" Alicia cried as tears rolled down her eyes. "I thought you were dead!"

Dan took his arm that wasn't bleeding and wrapped it around Alicia. "Sorry about that. Are you alright? Did they hurt you?"

Alicia shook her head. "Just a few bruises. I'm more worried about you though. We need to get you to a hospital."

There wasn't much of an argument Dan could make, considering the gash on his arm. Alicia helped Dan get to his feet and supported him as they began to walk out of the warehouse along with Kazuto and Asuna.

Once the police had been called, as well as an ambulance, it wasn't long before the abandoned warehouse was swarming with people. Dan, Alicia, Kazuto, and Asuna had all been taken to the hospital by the ambulance, but they knew they'd have a lot of questions to answer later.

Dan's arm was the most pressing concern out of their injuries, but Kazuto and the others had also needed to be checked out for their minor injuries. Afterwards, while they were waiting to be picked up by their families, the police finally arrived.

It was a long and complicated explanation to the police about what had happened. Fortunately enough, the officers questioning them seemed to believe their story, for now at least.

Midori soon arrived at the hospital, offering to drive Asuna home as well. Both Kazuto and Asuna agreed, knowing that there was no telling how Asuna's mother would react to the recent incident. Once Alicia's mother arrived as well, she also offered to bring Dan home as well. Both of them agreed with it as it would give them a little more time together, which was exactly what Alicia wanted more than anything right now.

* * *

The room was dark. All lights were off, and the curtains were closed shut. The only light in the room was from the monitor of a computer. A single figure stood in front of the monitor, watching the video recording he had set up for the fight between Laughing Coffin and Dan and Kazuto. He growled in anger as he watched Dan and the others leave the warehouse.

"Those useless idiots!" he groaned as he slammed his fist on the table. "And after they said it would be easy for them!"

The sight of them leaving alive sickened him, especially the fact that a certain one of them was alive. After a few moments of getting over the anger he was feeling right then, he began typing on his computer.

"Fine then. I guess I'll have to go with Plan B." he said to himself. A grin became stretched on his face. "This is gonna be fun to watch."

**A/N: So what did you guys think of the chapter? Hope you liked it because this arc is just getting started. Plenty of drama to come, so look forward to it.**


	87. Image Problem

**A/N: Hey guys. I'm back again for another chapter. I hope you are enjoying this arc so far. And to all you guys that post reviews for this story, thanks again. I really appreciate the feedback.**

**King: Thanks man. Glad you liked the chapter so much.**

Dan let out a yawn as he walked to the SAO Survivors School. It had been a long and eventful weekend with everything that happened with Laughing Coffin. Combine that with the fact that it was a Monday and it was all Dan needed to feel exhausted.

It helped though when Dan saw Alicia waiting for him by the school gate. She gave him a bright smile as she waved over to him. "Hey Dan. Morning"

"Morning" Dan replied back as he gave her a quick peck on the cheek. "You feeling any better?"

"I told you already. I just had a few bruises. They're all healed up now."

"That's good" Dan said with a sigh of relief.

Alicia nodded. "I'm more worried about you though. How's your arm doing?"

"It's still bandaged up, but I'm perfectly fine"

"Oh really?" Alicia asked. She took her hand and gave a light tap to the area where Dan had gotten his wound. Dan flinched slightly from the touch and Alicia noticed instantly. "Perfectly fine, huh?"

Dan rubbed the back of his head as he gave a light chuckle. "Well I guess mostly fine would be the better way to put it."

"Try not fine at all. Come on Dan, you know I hate it when you hide stuff from me"

"Sorry" Dan apologized. "I just didn't want you worrying"

"Oh you" Alicia said with a soft smile. She took his hand. "Come on. We should get to homeroom"

Dan nodded in agreement and the two of them walked into school together. As they walked, Dan couldn't help but feel that something was off. People were looking at them funny in the halls. He had no clue why. The only ones that knew about what happened with Laughing Coffin were Dan, Alicia, Kazuto, and Asuna, along with their friends. So if that wasn't it, then what was going on?

Suddenly an announcement echoed throughout the halls. "Kazuto Kirigaya and Dan Hiryo, please report to the office"

Dan and Alicia looked at each other suspiciously. Now they knew something weird was definitely going on. "I'll go with you" Alicia offered.

Dan shook his head. "No, I'll be fine. Besides it could be nothing"

Alicia gave a worried look to him. They both knew it wasn't nothing. It was way too big of a coincidence. But she reluctantly nodded her head. "Alright. I'll see you at lunch"

"Got it" Dan said with a nod as the two of them went their separate ways.

The trip to the office felt just like when he was walking with Alicia. Everyone was giving him odd looks. Whatever it was about, Dan had a good feeling that he'd find out more about it once he reached his destination.

As Dan walked into the office, he found Kazuto had already arrived. With him were the principal, a few members of the school staff, and the two officers that had questioned them the other day.

"Have a seat Mr. Hiryo" the principal said, gesturing to the empty seat next to Kazuto.

As Dan walked over and took a seat, he and Kazuto exchanged glances. Neither one of them seemed to know what was going on.

"The police explained to us what happened the other day" the principal explained. "About how you two ended up killing five teenagers."

"It was self-defense. They were trying to kill us." Dan argued.

The principal nodded his head. "Yes, that is what you told these two officers when they questioned you." The look in his eyes made it seem like he didn't believe it. "We're going to ask you two again, is that the story you're sticking with?"

"Yes. We told you everything that happened" Kazuto said.

The adults exchanged glances with each other. The principal sighed and turned his laptop around so Dan and Kazuto could see the monitor. "I think there's something you two should see."

* * *

Alicia walked up to her homeroom feeling tense. She couldn't tell why, but the air in the halls felt off. As if something bad had happened. As she walked through the open door, she could immediately tell she was right. Nearly every head in the room turned to her.

"H-Hey everyone" Alicia said awkwardly.

One of the students there that Alicia often talked to, a girl named Megumi, was the first to say anything. "Are you doing alright Alicia? It must have been hard to hear about Dan"

Alicia narrowed her eyes. "What are you talking about?"

Whispers of gossip quickly began spreading around the room.

"She didn't hear?"

"Maybe her boyfriend was trying to hide it from her?"

"He's got some nerve. That monster."

"Hold on!" Alicia said fiercely, silencing the gossip. "What is everyone talking about? And why are you all calling my boyfriend a monster?!"

In response, Megumi walked over to Alicia and brought up a video on her cellphone. "You need to see this"

Alicia looked at the video playing. It showed footage of the warehouse Zane and his friends had brought her and Asuna to. The camera didn't go far enough to show where Alicia and Asuna were though. The video played and showed Dan and Kazuto stabbing Shredder and Takato in the back. Everything seemed to be just as Alicia recalled it, but what she heard next was very different than what she remembered.

"You just had to make this difficult, didn't you?" Kazuto asked Zane in a sinister tone that she had never heard him speak in before.

Zane's tone sounded different too, though the sound of it was definitely his voice. "H-How could you two do this?! Y-You're killers, the both of you!"

"Well we can't have our little secret getting out, now can we?" Dan spoke in a sinister tone similar to Kazuto's, but yet again the voice sounded just like his. "If others found out that the two of us were secretly in league with Laughing Coffin back in SAO, our reputation as heroes would go down the drain."

"If you kept your mouth shut, this wouldn't have had to happen" Kazuto said. "Now we'll have to kill you slowly and make you pay the price"

Zane brought his knife to his own throat. "N-No! I won't let you torture me!"

After Zane committed suicide and collapsed, the video ended. Alicia's mouth was wide open as she tried to comprehend what she just saw. The looks everyone was giving her were ones of pity.

"This was posted online this morning" Megumi explained. "I'm sorry Alicia. I know it must be hard for you to accept."

"H-Hold on everyone!" Alicia exclaimed, finally managing to speak. "That isn't what happened! It's not true!"

"You saw the video, Alicia. Those were their faces and their voices. How can it not be true?"

"I don't know, but it can't! I was there! I saw what happened!" Alicia told them. "Those guys were from Laughing Coffin! They kidnapped me and Asuna and then Dan and Kazuto came to save us! They never said the things in that video!"

"And exactly what proof do you have?" someone asked.

"Proof?"

"Yeah. Do you have any way of proving what you're saying is true?"

"I was there! Isn't my word enough?!"

Megumi looked Alicia in the eyes. "Alicia… are absolutely sure Dan is innocent?"

Alicia nodded her head. "Yes. He and Kazuto killed them, but they were trying to kill us first. It was self-defense."

Megumi took a few moments before nodded her head. "Alright then. I believe you"

People began whispering to each other again as arguments started to form. Alicia could faintly hear the things they were saying.

"You think maybe Alicia was in on it with him?"

"No way. Alicia would never do that."

"They were pretty close in SAO. It wouldn't surprise me"

"But they were on the assault team. And Kazuto's not a murderer."

"How can we be sure though? He was a beater after all."

"Alright that does it!" a sudden voice yelled from the hallway. Alicia turned around to see Hikari walk into the room. Her eyes were fuming with rage. "Which one of you is talking bad about Dan and Kazuto?!"

"What? You actually believe her story?" one of the students asked in disbelief.

"Of course I do!" Hikari yelled. "Dan isn't a vicious killer and neither is Kazuto! You idiots should know that much!"

"Oh please, Hikari. We all know you're just defending Dan cause you're in love with him."

Hikari clenched her fists in anger. "This has nothing to do with that! I'm defending him because he's earned it! He worked his ass off to help clear SAO just like the rest of us on the assault team! And if I hear you say otherwise to Alicia or anyone else, you'll regret it"

"I thought you hated Alicia. Now you're defending her?" someone questioned.

Hikari gave a hard look to the student that made that last comment. "Look, there are many things I don't like about Alicia. But I know she cares about Dan, and that she'd never do anything bad like this."

Alicia seemed surprised at Hikari defending her. "Hikari…"

"Alicia!" Lilina yelled as she rushed into the room. One look at everyone was all she needed to confirm her suspicions. "Here too?"

It wasn't long before Hyde and Emi came into the room as well. Alicia could tell by the looks on their faces that the rumors were going on all over the school.

"Where's Dan?" Lilina asked.

"He was called into the office along with Kazuto" Alicia explained.

"Crap, they're probably getting grinded by the teachers there. Come on, let's go. Asuna and the others are meeting us there"

Alicia nodded as she ran out of the classroom with her friends.

* * *

"I'm telling you it isn't true! That isn't what happened!"

"Well this video sure seems to show otherwise."

Kazuto groaned as he placed his head into his hands. "What do we need to do to prove to you that we killed them in self-defense?"

"That's just it. I'm afraid you can't." the officer said. "I'm afraid as it stands, we'll have to place you both under arrest for suspicion of murder."

Dan and Kazuto looked at each other in disbelief. The school's counselor took a step forward. "Hold on a second. I know this video looks bad, but I know these two. They're kind honest people and would never do anything like this. I think we should consider their side of the story."

"I understand what you have to say ma'am, but it's their word against cold hard evidence. We don't have a choice in the matter."

As the two officers began to walk towards them, the door swung open. All heads turned to see Alicia, Asuna, and the rest of Dan and Kazuto's friends enter the room.

"What are you kids doing here? You should be in class" the principal stated.

"Dan and Kazuto are innocent!" Alicia told them. "Asuna and I were there! We know what really happened!"

The officer let out a sigh. "More of this? Look kids, I'm sorry but unless you can prove this video is a fake, our hands are tied."

"Actually, it's not a fake. But it's pretty close." another voice said, walking into the room. The new arrival caused Kazuto and the others to really be shocked as it was none other than Kikouka.

The officer gave a confused look at Kikouka. "Excuse me, who are you?"

"A member of the Department of Internal Affairs, which means I outrank you in authority." Kikouka said with his usual innocent grin. "And I have something you might want to look at." Everyone looked at the government official curiously as he brought out a flash drive. "A thorough investigation of the warehouse revealed a hidden video camera. We took the original unaltered footage of it and downloaded it onto this flash drive here."

Kikouka walked over to the principal's laptop and uploaded the video from the flash drive. The same video played, except this time the video was wider and showed Alicia and Asuna. Additionally, the audio had no changes in what Dan, Kazuto, or anyone said during the event. It was as Kikouka stated, an unaltered video that told the real story.

When the video ended, Kikouka removed the flash drive and put it into his pocket. "Now then, as you can see these two were telling the truth right from the beginning. Obviously whoever posted that video did quite the job editing it."

Alicia looked at Kikouka. "So do you know who posted it."

"I'm afraid not." Kikouka said as he adjusted his glasses. "But for now, at least we know what the real story is. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to get back and work on finding the real criminal."

Kazuto hated to admit it, but he was once again in Kikouka's debt. "Thanks. We owe you one."

"Think nothing of it Kazuto." Kikouka said. "If you want to repay me, how about you treat me to a fancy restaurant for once?"

"You got it" Kazuto replied with an amused chuckle. "Just don't go crazy and order everything on the menu"

Kikouka gave a light hearted laugh of his own as he walked out of the room. With the situation taking a complete turnaround, the counselor gave a hard look at the two officers. "Well now that everything is cleared up, I believe you owe these two boys an apology."

The two officers looked at Kazuto and Dan and bowed their heads. "We apologize for our mistake and what we've put you through. We hope you can find it in your hearts to forgive us."

"N-No, it's alright." Dan assured them, feeling somewhat awkward from having officers apologize to him. "You were just doing your jobs."

Kazuto nodded his head in agreement. "Yeah. We're just glad it's all sorted out."

The two officers nodded their heads and walked out of the room. The principal looked at the group of kids in his office. "Well now, I think it's time everyone went back to class."

"Not so fast" the counselor said. "You owe Dan and Kazuto here an apology as well. You haven't exactly been trusting them this whole time either."

Everyone felt somewhat shocked at how forceful the female counselor seemed to be. Her voice was soft, yet it had a hidden tone that showed she meant business.

The principal coughed into his hand as he nodded. "Mr. Hiryo, Mr. Kirigaya, I apologize on behalf of this school for doubting you." He pressed a button on his desk next to a microphone. He spoke into it and made an announcement to the school.

"Attention students and teachers. As I'm sure many of you are aware, a video was recently posted that portrayed two of our students, Kazuto Kirigaya, and Dan Hiryo, in a… bad light. I would like to inform you all that recent evidence has been found showing this video to have been modified from what really happened and Dan and Kazuto's names have been cleared. If I hear of anyone spreading false rumors about these two, be they student or staff, it will be dealt with swift punishment. That is all."

As the announcement ended, the counselor gave a reassuring smile to Kazuto and Dan. "You really have some good friends there you know that? Now you really should get back to class. And if anyone harasses you, feel free to tell me about it."

"Yes ma'am. Thank you very much." Dan and Kazuto said together. The two of them got up and walked out with their friends.

As they walked through the halls, everyone gradually began to go their separate ways to get to first period, as the bell had already rung. Finally it was just Dan and Alicia left.

"That counselor is one scary woman" Dan said with a light chuckle.

"I'm just glad they don't think of you and Kazuto as criminals anymore." Alicia said as she hugged her boyfriend's arm.

Dan nodded his head in agreement and gave her a kiss on the lips. The couple finally split up as they came to Dan's classroom.

"See you at lunch." Dan said.

"If anyone tries talking badly about you, be sure to tell me so I can knock some sense into them" Alicia said with a soft smile.

Dan chuckled nervously as he rubbed the back of his head. "Somehow I don't think you're kidding about that."

Alicia ignored him and head off to her own class. Dan walked through the door and could instantly see mixed reactions in the room, some that were on his side and some that weren't.

'_This is gonna be one interesting day.'_

**A/N: Well that's it for this chapter. Hope you liked it cause the next few chapters of this arc are going to have a lot of Relice moments in them. Also I recently got an idea for yet another arc for this story that I will be doing after this arc is done. The arc won't start right away, I will have a few regular chapters in-between it and this one.**


	88. Bad Publicity

**A/N: Time for another chapter everybody! Before we get started, I found some news that a lot of you SAO fans will find interesting. IBM recently announced that they will be making an actual real life Sword Art Online! There are a few differences between the anime and actual ones, one of them being that it seems you will have to move your own body during gameplay instead of lying down. The details of it are still a little hazy, but alpha tests will be going on in Tokyo this March. If you want to know more, just look up Sword Art Online: The Beginning.**

**With that exciting piece of news out of the way, let's get on with the chapter.**

When the last bell for school finally rung, it seemed like an eternity had gone by. Alicia got out of her seat and headed to the courtyard, where Dan had promised to meet her after school.

As she walked through the halls, Alicia noticed people giving her odd looks. No doubt it was because of everything that had gone on today. There were still some students and even a few teachers that still blamed Dan and Kazuto about the incident that had happened. Even if the video was edited, it still didn't change the fact that they had killed the members of Laughing Coffin. However, despite the looks she had gotten from those that were against them, they stayed silent.

Alicia didn't know if their silence was because of the principal's warning or because they were scared of her and she didn't care. All that mattered to her was that the insults had stopped flying around for the most part.

'_When I find whoever posted that video, I'll make them pay.'_ Alicia thought to herself.

As Alicia entered the courtyard, she saw her boyfriend sitting at his usual spot on the bench. Alicia walked over and took a seat next to him. She could clearly see from the look in his eyes that it had been a rough day for him as well. "You doing alright?"

"Yeah." Dan nodded weakly. "I'm just tired."

Alicia let Dan lean his head on her shoulder. She needed something to cheer him up. Something to distract him from the stress of having people hate him. All she could think of was getting him away from the school for now.

"You wanna go back to my place?" Alicia suggested. "We can relax there for a bit."

"Sure." Dan replied. "Why not?"

Alicia could hear the hollow tone of her boyfriend's voice. She knew she had to do something to distract him from everything that was going on right now. Hopefully she could figure out something when they got to her house.

"Alright." Alicia nodded. "Let's get going."

* * *

"Asuna! I forbid you to spend any more time with that boy!"

"I don't care what you have to say! There is no way I'm breaking up with Kazuto!"

For the past five minutes, Asuna had been in a screaming match with her mother over the phone. She had been expecting this call ever since she found out about the video. As badly as she had hoped her mother would understand the truth, she knew that was only wishful thinking in the end. But she had dealt with people giving her crap all day about this and her mother was not going to be the one that beat her.

Kyouko yelled angrily at her daughter. "That boy is a murderer! Do you really want to be associated with him?!"

"Maybe you've been too thick to notice _mother_" the word 'mother' was drenched in venom as Asuna said it "But that murderer saved my life with what he did! If it hadn't been for him, I would be dead right now!"

"Murder is still murder, Asuna. It doesn't matter the cause."

At this point, Asuna's eyes were filled with rage. "So I guess my life means nothing to you! I'm not surprised since my happiness obviously hasn't mattered to you either!"

"Watch your tone, young lady! I will not have you talk to me like that!"

"Why?! It's all true! You've never once cared about what I want! You throw suitor after suitor at me, not caring one bit what they're like as long as they have money!"

"Enough! I will not discuss this any further! You are to break up with that boy immediately!"

"No!"

"How dare you, young lady! I am your mother!"

"What you are is a heartless monster! I hate you! Go to hell!"

Asuna didn't wait to listen to what her mother had to say and hung up on her. Tears fell from her eyes as she slammed her fist against her locker and cried. That was the first time Asuna had ever cursed at her mother. She didn't even care about the consequences that were waiting for her when she returned home.

"Asuna?"

Kazuto's familiar voice rung in Asuna's ears as she looked over and saw him run towards her. She ran over to him and fell into his comforting arms. Tears were flowing down her eyes as Kazuto gently held the back of her head. "Is everything alright?"

"No." Asuna shook her head. "It's my mother."

The mention of Asuna's mother caused Kazuto to frown. That woman seemed to make her purpose in life be to break him and Asuna up.

"She just doesn't understand. All she can think about is how that video makes you look."

Kazuto embraced Asuna tightly. "I can handle the criticism people are giving me. What I can't handle is seeing you cry."

Asuna tried to wipe away her tears. "I'm sorry. I'll be ok, I promise." She and Kazuto stayed in each other's arms. "Hey… can I stay with you tonight?"

Kazuto nodded his head. "Of course."

* * *

Alicia and Dan walked back to her house with Emi following closely behind. Dan hadn't said much during the trip. Alicia and Emi gave worried looks at each other. They knew they had to do something to get Dan back to his usual self.

"So…" Emi began. "Got much homework today?" She knew it was a poor attempt at trying to distract her friend's mind, but it was the best she could come up with at the moment.

"Not really" Dan replied.

Alicia decided to try and take a shot. "Maybe we should go on ALO and do some hunting."

"I'm not really in the mood."

Alicia reached out her arm and grabbed her boyfriend's hand. "Dan… are you going to be alright?"

"Huh?"

"Dan, I'm not blind. I know the whole video thing is still bugging you." Alicia told him. "You're starting to worry me. I need you to tell me you're going to be alright."

Dan looked into Alicia's eyes. He could see just how much she was worrying about him. He gave her a nod. "Yeah. I'll be fine, don't worry. I just need a bit to deal with everything going on."

Emi smiled at her sister and Dan. "Don't worry. I'm sure this whole thing will blow over in a week or so."

Another few minutes passed before the trio finally arrived at Alicia's house. As they walked up to the front door, Alicia couldn't help but notice some of the glances her neighbors that were outside were giving them.

'_I guess news travels fast.'_ Alicia thought. _'Let them think what they want. I know the truth.'_

The three teens walked inside and threw their bags down. They went over to the living room to relax. Dan and Alicia snuggled up together on one end of the couch while Emi sat on the other end.

"Let's see what's on tv." Emi suggested as she grabbed the remote and turned the television on. She thought some tv would be a good way to get everyone's mind off of everything that had happened today.

Unfortunately, she had no idea just how wrong she would be.

"Our top story today" a news announcer started. "A video has been posted online by an anonymous source. It features two survivors of the death game Sword Art Online attacking and murdering three other teenagers in an abandoned building."

Everyone gasped as the video they had all seen from this morning play. Alicia growled in frustration. "You have GOT to be kidding me!"

The woman continued. "One of the two murderers on this video appears to be Kirito, the player that is best known as the one who cleared SAO. Many have seen him as a hero. However, this startling news that has come to light may show his true colors."

"There has been some evidence to support that the audio in the video posted was tampered with." the co-anchor stated. "However the main question at hand is, does that excuse the horrific actions these two boys committed?"

Emi quickly changed the channel before any more could be said. "So… who's up for some cartoons?"

Alicia looked at Dan, who seemed to have lost the color from his face. "Dan…"

Hearing Alicia snapped Dan out of the trance he was in. He leaned in and kissed Alicia on the cheek. "Don't worry. I'll be fine. Like Emi said, I'm sure this will sort itself out quickly."

Alicia wasn't completely convinced, but decided to trust him. She leaned against him once again as they continued to watch tv. But one thing kept nagging at her. It was how badly everyone was treating Dan and Kazuto. It wasn't fair. They had done nothing wrong. Laughing Coffin had started it all, and if there was any way they could have gotten out of there without killing them, she knew Dan and Kazuto would have done it.

Another hour passed away before the front door to the house opened. "Alicia, Emi, I'm home."

Alicia recognized the voice as her mother's. "We're in here mom!"

Mrs. Tsuki walked into the living room and noticed Dan there. "Oh hello Dan. I didn't know you were coming over today."

"Hello Mrs. Tsuki" Dan greeted.

"I heard about that video posted about you and Kazuto. It's awful what you two boys must be going through."

Alicia was relieved to have her mother on their side. She was expecting her to be since she knew about what had happened during the whole Laughing Coffin incident. But it was still nice either way to have one less person criticizing Dan and Kazuto on what happened.

Deciding she was bored of tv, Alicia looked at Dan. "Wanna go upstairs to my room? We can work on our homework for a bit."

"Sure." Dan nodded. "Besides, you'd be lost with your math homework if I wasn't there to help you."

Alicia pouted. "Hey, don't make it sound like that! My skills in math are just… difficult."

Dan chuckled as he and Alicia got off the couch and walked up to Alicia's room. As they walked in, Alicia heard the doorbell ring. She decided to go see who was at the door and left, telling Dan she'd be right back.

When Alicia reached the stairs, she found her mother had already gotten to the door and opened it. Standing outside were two of her neighbors. Curious as to why they were here, Alicia stayed upstairs and listened in, hiding her presence.

"What can I do for you?" Mrs. Tsuki asked.

"Yuri… Did you hear about that boy your daughter is with?"

"Oh, you mean Dan? Yes, I heard about the video."

"Do you know he's here with Alicia right now? I can't understand how she could still be with him after what he's done."

Alicia clenched her fists in frustration. Now people she had known since she was a kid were treating her boyfriend like a criminal. She wanted to go down there and give them a piece of her mind, but decided to leave it to her mother.

But that turned out to be an unfortunate mistake.

"Yes I know. I don't feel she should be with him either, but Alicia isn't in the best emotional condition to deal with a breakup at the moment."

It took all of Alicia's self-control not to scream and curse her mother out as she heard her utter those words. _'How could she?!'_ Alicia thought to herself. _'She knows full well what happened! How could she side with them?!'_

"Poor Alicia. It must be awful to have a boyfriend that's a murderer."

Mrs. Tsuki nodded her head. "Indeed. Please excuse me, I need to start preparing dinner."

"I understand. Hopefully Alicia will come to her senses soon."

The second she heard the door close, Alicia stormed downstairs. She glared at her mother with her eyes filled with rage.

"How could you?!" Alicia asked her. "You know that Dan isn't a murderer! He did what he had to!"

"Alicia…"

"You actually sided with THEM! With all the people that have been harassing Dan about what happened! I thought you understood!"

"Alicia" her mother repeated. "I'm not on their side. I think what Dan and your other friend did was right."

Alicia narrowed her eyes at her mother. "You sure have a funny way of showing it."

"I know what the truth is, but frankly that doesn't matter" Mrs. Tsuki told her. "I'm afraid of what might happen to you. What people will think if they see you with him."

"You're afraid of what might happen to ME?!" Alicia asked, now practically yelling. "What about everything that's happened to Dan?! He and Kazuto have been shunned by almost half the school, not to mention all the random strangers that are looking at them like criminals!"

"And the same might happen to you if you're seen socializing with him."

"So what, you want me to break up with Dan?! Cause I can assure you that hell will freeze over before I do that!"

Mrs. Tsuki shook her head. "No Alicia, I'm not suggesting you break up with him. I know how much he cares about you, and I know you care about him. I do however think you should keep your distance from him for the time being."

"You WHAT?!"

"Just until things settle down. If people see you with him now, they might treat you as a criminal too."

Alicia's glare intensified as she heard this. "Oh I see. So you only care about looking innocent in front of everybody! You don't give a damn what happens as long as people don't shun you too! That's why you were sucking up to the neighbors just now!"

"Alicia, it's not-"

"Don't even try talking your way out of this one mom! Let me tell you something, I don't care what people think of me! I love Dan and there's nothing anyone can do to change that! Not the kids at school, not the random strangers on the streets, and not you!"

"She's right though."

Alicia turned her head to the stairs as she saw Dan walk down. She saw the depressed look in his eyes return. "What are you talking about Dan?"

"Alicia, your mom has a point" Dan said. "People have been giving weird looks not only to me, but to you as well."

"So what?! I don't care what they say! It's you I care about, Dan."

Dan looked Alicia in the eyes. "You may not care what happens to you, but I do. I don't want you getting dragged into this and getting hurt." The next words tore him up inside to utter. "Alicia… you should keep your distance from me. Until this whole thing settles down."

Tears formed in Alicia's eyes as the words registered in her ears. "Dan… how can you say that?"

Dan walked to the front door and grabbed his bag. "I should get going now. I'll see you later, Alicia"

"Dan wa-" Alicia didn't get to finish as she saw the door close. She was about to run after him, until her mother blocked her path. "Get out of my way!"

"Alicia, you need to understand-"

"No mom, YOU need to understand!" Alicia yelled. "I love Dan! I care about him more than anything else! And you have the nerve to say that you're on OUR side?!"

"I care about you dear. What if something happens?" her mother argued. "I know it's hard, but Dan is right. You need to keep your distance from him for now."

Alicia could have slapped her mother right there. Her emotions were screaming for her to do so. But she managed to at least keep herself from doing that. Instead she looked at her mother with tears flowing down her eyes. "I HATE YOU!"

Mrs. Tsuki didn't even get a chance to say anything as Alicia ran upstairs to her room and slammed the door shut. She collapsed on her bed with tears rolling down her face like a waterfall. She grabbed her cell and tried to call Dan, but no answer came.

"Dan… Why…?" Alicia muttered through her tears as she buried her face into her pillow.

* * *

Clair slammed the front door of her house shut with a loud thud. All day, people had been asking her about her brother and if the things in that video were true. She wasn't one to resort to violence, but by the end of the day she was seriously considering throwing a punch at the next person to call her brother a murderer.

"Rough day sweetie?" Mrs. Hiryo asked. She had heard the news too and had a good feeling what Clair's day had been like.

"I can't believe some of the jerks at my school!" Clair groaned. "There's too many people blaming Dan and Kazuto for what he did! They didn't have a choice!"

"I know dear" Mrs. Hiryo nodded as she walked over to her. She wiped away the tears starting to form in Clair's eyes.

"It's *hic* It's not fair!" Clair cried. "He doesn't deserve any of this!"

"You're right Clair" she said as she embraced her daughter and hugged her. "But your brother's strong. He'll be fine, don't worry."

In truth, Juna wasn't as sure as she wanted to be. She was worried about her son, and everything he was probably going through right now. All she could do was hope that everything would be alright.

Soon the two of them heard the front door open. Both Clair and her mother watched as Dan walked in. He didn't seem upset, but at the same time he didn't seem happy either. It was like his emotions were turned off.

"Are you doing alright?" Clair asked.

"Yeah." Dan replied in a hollow voice. "I'm fine."

"Dinner will be ready soon." Mrs. Hiryo told him. "We're having one of your favorites, fried noodles with-"

"I'm not hungry." Dan said, cutting her off as he walked upstairs. "I'll be in my room."

Clair and Mrs. Hiryo glanced at each other as they watched Dan walk away. Clair quickly ran after her brother. She reached him as he was at the door to his room.

"Dan… Is everything ok?" Clair asked.

"I just need some time alone."

Clair saw her brother enter his room and close the door behind him. She knew what this was like. Dan had acted the same way sometimes before he went into SAO. There were some days where all the hope was gone from his face and he'd just stay in his room for the rest of the day. And now that was happening all over again.

"Big bro…" Clair muttered. She had never been able to help him back in those times before SAO and she knew she didn't now either. So she did the only thing she could do. She walked back downstairs with her head sulking.

* * *

Alicia didn't keep track of how much time had passed by as she stayed in her room, her face buried into her pillow. It wasn't fair what was happening now. None of it was. What had they all done to deserve this?

'_I'm so hopeless.'_ Alicia thought to herself. _'All the times Dan's been able to cheer me up and the one time he needs me to do the same, I'm in here crying like a baby.'_

Suddenly, Alicia heard the door to her room open. She didn't bother to look at who it was. Her mother had come up earlier, but Alicia told, or rather yelled at her, to leave her alone. She doubted she'd try coming in again this soon.

"You doing alright, dear?"

Alicia recognized the voice as her father's. She looked up at him as he took a seat on her bed. Alicia could tell by looking at him that he had heard everything that had happened.

"If you're here to lecture me dad then save it." Alicia told him. She was in no mood to have both her parents say she should distance herself from the person she loved.

Mr. Tsuki gently rubbed his daughter's back as he looked at her. "Alicia… you know your mother only wants what's best for you."

"Well she doesn't seem to realize what's best for me." Alicia told him.

"You may be right about that." he agreed. "I don't agree with her on the subject of you staying away from Dan until the situation is resolved. I know how important he is to you. But you need to realize that the reason your mother is saying that is because she doesn't want you getting hurt."

"I don't care damnit!" Alicia yelled, making her father flinch back slightly. "I'm sick of everyone acting like they know what's best for me! What about what's best for Dan?! Is she even considering what he must be going through right now!"

"Alicia…"

Alicia buried her face into her pillow and started crying again. "Leave me alone dad. Just go away."

Mr. Tsuki looked at his daughter for a moment before finally giving in. "Alright. Dinner will be ready in-"

"I'm not hungry."

He looked at her as he tried to find something to say, but couldn't find the words. Reluctantly, he walked out of the room and closed the door behind him.

Alicia spent the next couple hours lying in her bed. She contemplated on what she could do for Dan. What she could do to stop the harassment he was receiving. Finally she reached a decision.

She got out of bed and grabbed her schoolbag. Alicia began stuffing a few basic essentials she would need inside. _'What Dan needs most… What I need most… is for me to be with him right now.'_

Alicia opened her bedroom window just enough so that she would be able to get out. She didn't want to open it all the way and have her family noticing how cold it was in her room. There was a tree near her window. It was a bit risky to jump and use it to climb down, but she had done far more dangerous things. She knew she'd have hell to pay from her parents when she came back, but right now getting to the boy she loved was all that mattered to her.

"Going out for a midnight stroll Alicia?"

Alicia turned her head to see Emi standing at the door to her room. Alicia froze, afraid that her plan had already fallen apart. But Emi showed her a reassuring smile.

"Get going. I'll keep mom and dad out of your room."

Alicia gave her sister an appreciative smile. "Thanks Emi. I owe you one."

"Just get going." Emi told her sister. "I'll try my best to cover for you tonight, but if you're not back by morning I can't make any promises."

Alicia nodded her head and jumped out the window. As the wind rushed past her body, she grabbed one of the branches of the nearby tree. Alicia then let go and grabbed the next lowest branch. She continued the process until she was able to safely land on the grass. Once she hit the ground, Alicia took off running.

'_Hang on Dan. I'm coming.'_

* * *

Clair sat in the kitchen, wondering what she could do for her brother. She hated this feeling of helplessness. She remembered back when Dan used to be tormented by bullying before SAO. Even then, he had always been able to at least fake a smile in front of her. Now he didn't even have the strength to do that.

Soon the sound of footsteps were heard coming downstairs. Clair watched as her mother entered the kitchen. "Any luck mom?"

Juna shook her head. "I'm afraid not. He's barely saying a word."

Clair and Juna tilted their heads down, trying to think of something. The sudden sound of the doorbell ringing snapped them out of their thoughts.

Wondering who would possibly at the door this late, Juna walked over to the door. She looked outside to see who it was and was surprised to see Alicia standing on the other side. She quickly opened the door for her. "Alicia?! What are you doing here at this hour?!"

"Long story." she simply replied. "How's Dan doing?"

"He's… been better." Juna answered. "Do your parents know you're here, Alicia?"

"Well… not exactly."

Juna sighed as she let Alicia in. "Alright, come in."

"Thank you" Alicia said as she walked inside.

"Dan's upstairs. Clair and I haven't been able to get much out of him."

Alicia nodded in understanding. Dan really was suffering a lot more than he was letting on. All the more reason Alicia knew she made the right choice in coming here. Alicia ran upstairs and approached the door to Dan's room.

Slowly opening the door to the room, Alicia peeked inside. Dan was lying on his bed, facing away from the door. The lights were off and the curtains were closed shut. Alicia put her bag down and walked over to him.

"I thought I told you to leave me alone, mom." Dan said harshly. Alicia sat on the bed and gently touched his shoulder. Dan recognized her touch as he quickly sat up to face her.

"A-Alicia?! What are you doing here?!"

"To be with you of course." Alicia told him as she leaned in and embraced Dan with a tight hug.

"What about what your mom said?" Dan asked.

"Forget about what she said. I don't care what she thinks. Staying away from you is not something I'm going to do. Not now, not ever."

Dan felt Alicia hug him even tighter as tears began to form in her eyes. He could see the pain Alicia had felt from how he left earlier. Her being hurt like this was exactly what he wanted to avoid. It was the reason he suggested Alicia stay away from him. But that had just brought her pain anyway. He wrapped his arms around her and hugged her.

"I'm sorry." Dan said. "I thought if I stayed away from you, I could avoid getting you hurt. I didn't want people harassing you too."

"You dummy." Alicia said with a light chuckle as she held the back of his head. "We're partners. We face things together, no matter what happens."

"You're right." Dan nodded. "I said I wanted to distance myself from you, but in reality all I wanted was to be close to you. To have you by my side."

"I'll always be by your side." Alicia told him as she gently pulled him down onto the bed and laid next to him. She pulled his forehead close to hers. "I love you Dan. No matter what anyone else says, you're not a murderer. You're the one I love and that will never change."

Tears welled up in Dan's eyes. He tried to wipe them away, but new ones replaced them each time. "I'm sorry. I don't know what I'm doing. I just… I didn't want you to see me acting like such a weak little crybaby."

"Shhh. It's alright." Alicia said in a soothing voice. She slowly wiped the tears from Dan's eyes. "You don't have to act strong in front of me all the time. It's alright to show me your weak side. I'll still be here for you."

The two of them laid together I bed as Dan finally calmed down. After another minute or so, a knock was heard by the open door of the room. Dan looked over to see his mother. She gave him a reassuring smile. "Feeling better Dan?"

"Mom… I'm sorry about before. I'll be fine though, I promise."

Juna smiled as she heard Dan speak honestly for the first time all day. For once, he said he would be alright and he actually meant it. "Alright then. I still have dinner ready you know?"

"Thanks, but I think I'll stay like this for a bit." Dan told her, snuggling back up with Alicia.

Juna gave an understanding nod of her head and walked back downstairs, leaving the couple alone.

Dan felt the warmth of Alicia's body wash over him. The two smiled at each other as they laid together. "Alicia… Promise me you'll always be at my side. Now and forever."

"We already promised each other that a long time ago." Alicia told him as she held him close and closed her eyes. "I love you, Dan."

Dan kissed Alicia on the forehead and closed his eyes as well. "I love you too."

**A/N: So what did you guys think of the chapter. I hope everyone is still enjoying this arc, cause there is still more to come. See you next week!**


	89. Reconciling

**A/N: Not much to say this week to be honest. Just gonna let everyone get straight to the chapter.**

Alicia slowly blinked her eyes open as morning came. She saw Dan still fast asleep next to her as her vision cleared. He had a peaceful smile on his face as he rested next to her.

She was glad that she was able to protect and comfort Dan for once. He had done it so many times for her, but now Alicia was finally able to return the favor. Alicia put an arm around him as she kissed his forehead. She was glad that Dan was back to the boy she knew and loved, her white knight in shining armor.

"Mmmm?" Dan mumbled as he slowly woke up as well.

"Morning Dan. Sleep well?"

"Of course. I was with you."

Alicia smiled as she pulled herself even closer to him. Her long black hair covered their faces as they shared a kiss.

"We better get ready. We still have school today." Alicia reminded him.

Dan groaned as he remembered. "Ugh, can't we just stay in bed today?"

"Sorry, but no." Alicia told him with a smile. "Come on lazybones, get up."

It was hard for Dan to find the strength to get out of bed when he felt so relaxed with Alicia, but he finally managed. As he sat up, he stretched his arms out and yawned.

After Alicia changed into a spare set of clothes she had brought along and freshened up, the two of them ate a quick breakfast and left for school.

As the two of them walked, Alicia realized that her parents had probably realized by now that she had snuck out. She knew she'd have hell to pay later, but it was still worth it for her. She had managed to bring back Dan's smile and that was what was most important to her.

Dan felt nervous about going back to school. Granted only less than half the school seemed to hate him, or at the very least showed it, but he still didn't want to have to deal with that small percentage. He knew though that there was no getting around it so he sucked it up and decided he would deal with whatever crap people decided to throw his way. If Alicia could, then so could he.

When the couple reached the school, they found Emi waiting for them by the front gate. She was showing a small nervous smile and Alicia knew what that meant.

"Alright, just tell me. How pissed are they?" Alicia asked her sister.

"I really can't say. Mom seemed to be holding it in. Dad was just glad you were safe." Emi explained. "Mom said she wanted you back home the second school's over."

"I figured as much." Alicia sighed. "Alright, I'll go home once the last bell rings."

"Well… there's one more thing." Emi added. "She wants you BOTH there."

Alicia felt a cold sweat go down her back. She had expected some heavy consequences from her mother, but she didn't think she'd tell Dan to come over as well. What was her mother planning? Would she forbid the two of them to see each other again? Alicia shook the thoughts out of her head.

'_It doesn't matter what she says. I'll fight for me and Dan, no matter what.'_

"We'll be there." Dan said.

Alicia looked at her boyfriend. "Dan, you don't need to come. It was my decision to sneak out."

"It doesn't matter. We'll deal with this together. Just like you said, remember?"

Alicia sighed at how little she could do to argue. She nodded her head. "Alright then."

"Don't worry Alicia." Emi told her. "At the very least, I think dad will be on your side."

The three teens heard the bell ring, so they decided to wait until later to finish their conversation as they went inside.

School that day went pretty quickly. Not many people made any comments to Dan or to Kazuto, though the looks for some people were still present. Dan and Kazuto were able to ignore them for the most part.

While at lunch, Asuna talked about how her mother was furious at her not only for disobeying her but also for going so far as to spend the night with "that filthy monkey" as her mother put it. Alicia talked about her own act of disobedience. It seemed to be somewhat of a bonding moment for the two of them. The stress the whole ordeal had brought forced them both to rebel, something both of them rarely did.

Before long, the sound of the last bell echoed throughout the school. Dan and Alicia met up at the front gate, along with Emi, and all walked home to Alicia's house. Alicia spent most of the trip worrying about what her mother was going to say. Dan seemed to notice her anxiety and gave her a reassuring look. They had come this far. There was nothing that was going to stand in their way now.

When they were finally standing at the door to Alicia's house, both of them had a nervous sweat going down their backs. Alicia took a deep breath and composed herself before turning the knob and walking inside. Standing in front of them were Alicia's parents.

"H-Hi mom. Hi dad." Alicia nervously greeted. "I'm home."

Mr. Tsuki didn't seem to be mad at Alicia as much as relieved to see her alright. Alicia's mother on the other hand was giving the couple a cold glare. "Alicia…"

"Look mom, before you begin I want to say I take full responsibility and-"

Mrs. Tsuki raised her hand, cutting off Alicia. She stared her daughter eye to eye. "Alicia, are you truly willing to deal with all the things that may come your way if you're seen with Dan?"

Alicia nodded her head. "Yes I am."

"Even if they shun you and call you a murderer too?"

Once again, Alicia nodded. "I don't care what anyone else thinks of me. I won't abandon Dan."

Mrs. Tsuki turned her gaze towards Dan. "Are you willing to protect Alicia from this?"

"I will." Dan told her. "Alicia is the most important person in my life. I won't let anyone hurt her, I promise."

Mrs. Tsuki stayed silent for a few moments before bowing her head in submission. "Very well then. If you two are that determined to protect each other… then I suppose I have no choice but to trust you."

Alicia and Dan looked at each other in shock. They were expecting to get the scolding of a lifetime. This was the complete opposite of that. Mr. Tsuki showed a smile, figuring this was what would happen.

"I want to apologize to you Dan." Mrs. Tsuki said. "It's true that I put Alicia's safety ahead of the pain you were going through. I hope you can forgive me."

"N-No, it's ok. Really." Dan assured her. "You were just thinking of your daughter first. I understand."

"Why don't you kids relax. I'll bring out some snacks." Mrs. Tsuki walked into the kitchen, but stopped for a moment to turn back and look at Alicia. "By the way, the next time you sneak out of the house without permission, there will be consequences young lady. Be sure to remember that."

Alicia nodded her head. Compared to what she was expecting to happen, a simple warning was getting off easy for her and Dan.

The couple went into the living room and snuggled up on the couch. Emi sat in another chair as she took out a book she had to read for class. Just as everyone was about to get comfortable, they heard the doorbell ring.

Mrs. Tsuki walked over to the door and opened it. Standing on the other side were two of their neighbors, the same ones that had come over yesterday.

"Hello Yuri. I came over to return the pot you lent me the other day." the one woman said. "Thanks again."

"It's no trouble at all." Mrs. Tsuki replied with a smile.

Looking inside, one of the neighbors noticed Dan and Alicia relaxing on the couch. The surprise in her eyes was plain to see.

"Yuri, I know you're thinking of Alicia's emotional condition, but is it really safe for that boy to be over here?" she asked in a low whisper.

It was just barely, but Alicia was able to hear the comment that was made. She clenched her fists in frustration as she tried to hold herself back and let her mother handle it, as hard as that was for her.

"He's dangerous." the second one added. "What if he ends up hurting Alicia or Emi?"

'_Screw it! I've been on the sidelines for too damned long!'_ Alicia told herself as she got off the couch and stormed over to her two neighbors. "Don't you dare say another word against Dan! You have no idea what really happened, so you don't have any right to judge him, got that?!"

"Alicia, that boy is dangerous. He murdered three people."

"Yeah and you know what?! I would be dead right now if he hadn't! Those 'innocent people' he and Kazuto killed kidnapped me and called them out to try and have us all killed! And if it wasn't for their bravery, I doubt any of us would have survived! So if you say another word I'm gonna-"

"Alicia." Mrs. Tsuki interrupted. She signaled for her daughter to leave and let her handle this. Deciding to trust her mother, Alicia walked back over into the living room.

One of the two neighbors frowned. "That poor girl. The pain she must be going through."

"My daughter is right, you know."

"… Excuse me?"

"Alicia is right." Mrs. Tsuki repeated. "Dan has done nothing wrong. What he did was a brave act, and nothing else."

"That's not what you said yesterday, if I remember correctly."

"I know what I said. I wasn't being honest, neither with you nor myself." she said. "I was hiding, trying not to be shunned, and I was wrong to do that. My daughter reminded me how important family truly is. And that boy you keep calling a murderer there is a part of this family."

"Yuri… you can't be serious."

"I am. And if you can't accept that, or at the very least act civilized to him, then I'm afraid I will have to ask you to leave."

Alicia showed a smirk as the two women looked at each other in surprise. They returned the pot and walked away. Mrs. Tsuki closed the door and sighed to herself. "Well so much for saving face."

"You were awesome mom!" Emi said from her seat. "You put those two in their place."

Alicia gave an appreciative smile towards her mother. "Thanks mom. And I'm sorry about the things I said to you earlier."

"It's alright dear." she assured her. Mrs. Tsuki looked over towards their guest on the couch. "Dan, would you like to stay over for dinner?"

Dan blinked in surprise. "Are you sure it's alright? I don't want to impose."

"Don't be silly. It's no trouble at all. Plus, I'm sure Alicia would be more than happy to have an excuse for you to stay longer."

"Well… if you're sure it's alright, I'd be happy to."

Alicia blushed in embarrassment slightly from her mother's comment, but she was happy that her mother was on their side for real now. She got back on the couch and snuggled up with her boyfriend again.

* * *

A week had passed by since the video had first been uploaded. For the most part, things had quieted down. Kikouka's group had been able to spread the information about how the video was edited wide enough to stop most of the media's attention on it, though they still had yet to find who uploaded the video in the first place.

The issue had also died down at school. Barely anyone still said anything about the incident to Kazuto or Dan. The mob mentality had diminished and those that were against them had begun to come to their senses. All in all, things were beginning to get back to normal.

Alicia closed her locker and began walking to the courtyard as school had finally ended. As she walked through the halls, Alicia noticed a familiar blonde haired teen. She ran up to her and waved over. "Hikari!"

Hikari heard Alicia's voice calling over to her and turned her head to face the girl. "What do you want, Alicia?"

Alicia ignored the somewhat harsh tone that came from Hikari. The two of them had never really been friends, and willingly going up to talk with Hikari was one of the last things Alicia would usually ever do. But she made an exception this time because she had something to say.

"I just wanted to thank you for the other day." Alicia replied. "You didn't just defend Dan and Kazuto. You were also defending me too."

"Hmph! Don't get the wrong idea! I just did that to make it easier for everyone to believe me!" Hikari stated as she turned around. She was about to walk away, but something in her kept her there. "Hey… Alicia…"

"What is it?"

"It's just… make sure you find the bastard that caused all this, ok?" Hikari asked. "Whoever it is, they need to pay for all the shit they've caused. And you… well you're better suited for it being Dan's girlfriend and all."

Alicia widened her eyes at what Hikari said. She had never been one to leave something to Alicia of all people. And she certainly never had been one to enjoy referring to Alicia as Dan's girlfriend. "Hikari…"

"D-Don't get the wrong idea, got that?!" Hikari told her. "We're not friends or anything! I just… I-"

"It's alright Hikari, I get the picture." Alicia said with an understanding nod. She had no idea how hard it must have been for Hikari to say the things she just did.

"Just make sure you give whoever it was one for me too." Hikari said.

"You got it. I'll be sure to-" Alicia was cut off as she heard her phone get a text message. She reached into her pocket, brought out her phone and looked at the text.

_If you want to find out who's behind the video, I may be able to help._

Alicia's eyes widened at the message. But what was even more surprising was who the sender was. She was not expecting him of all people to offer help. But the question was could she trust him?

"You alright? What's up with you?" Hikari asked, noticing Alicia's strange expression.

Alicia quickly composed herself and put her phone back into her pocket. "N-Nothing. I just remembered I need to go do something." Alicia turned around and began to leave. "Hey, Hikari"

"What?"

"Could you do me a favor and tell Dan I won't be able to hang out with him today. He should be in the courtyard."

Before Hikari could even respond, Alicia ran off. Hikari could definitely tell something was off about Alicia's attitude. Just what was in that text that got her so riled up? Deciding to shrug it off, she headed to the courtyard to pass along Alicia's message. Hikari couldn't believe she was doing a favor for Alicia of all people.

* * *

Alicia ran through the streets. She was praying that she would finally be able to end this madness once and for all, even if it meant going to HIM of all people for help. Dan had suffered enough and if Alicia could do anything to end this then she would do it.

She just hoped what he said in his message was true.

When Alicia finally reached the house she was looking for she stood still, staring at it. How long had it been since she was last here? The even bigger question was could she even bare to step foot inside with who was waiting for her once she entered?

Alicia steeled her resolve and walked up to the front door. After curling up her hand into a fist, she knocked on it. "It's me."

"Come in. The door's unlocked." a voice said from inside.

Reluctantly, Alicia turned the knob and walked inside. Standing in the doorway, she saw the person that had called her here. He gave Alicia a smirk that made her want to retch.

"You look as beautiful as ever, you know that?"

Alicia glared at him. "Enough with the cheap flattery. You said you could help me find out who was behind the video. Is that true or not? Because if it isn't, I'm leaving."

"Oh I can assure you everything I said in that message was true. Come, let's take a seat."

Alicia could tell just how much he was enjoying this. But if she could get some info out of him, then it would all be worth it for her. She followed the person that invited her to another room. He took a seat on the sofa and gestured for her to take a seat next to him. Alicia declined the offer and took a seat on the couch across from him.

"Still can't stand to be near me, eh Alicia? Or are you afraid your boyfriend might get jealous?"

"Get to the point. You said you had info so tell me what it is Noboru."

Noboru grinned at her as he got comfortable on the sofa. "You really haven't changed, Alicia."

* * *

"What do you mean you don't know where she went?" Dan asked.

"I told you I don't know. She got some weird text and then left telling me to tell you she wouldn't be able to make it."

"What did the text say?"

"I don't know." Hikari said with a shake of her head. "Alicia didn't show me."

Dan rested his chin on his hand as he wondered what could have possibly happened. It must have been important for her to be in such a rush.

'_Alicia… please just don't do anything stupid.'_

Suddenly Dan was snapped out of his train of thought as he heard his phone ring. Looking at the caller ID, he was surprised to see that it was Kikouka. Dan hit the 'Accept' tab and brought the phone to his ear.

'_What is it with everyone getting a phone call when I talk to them today?'_ Hikari asked herself.

"What is it, Kikouka?" Dan asked. "This better be good."

"Always a pleasure to talk to you too." Kikouka sarcastically said. "I believe we may have tracked down the person that posted the edited video of you and Kazuto."

"Seriously?!" Dan exclaimed. "Who is it?"

"From what we've been able to find out, he seems to be an SAO survivor just like you two."

Dan rolled his eyes. He could have guessed that much. "Do you have a name?"

"His real name is Naruki Okubo. Do you recognize it?"

The name didn't sound familiar to Dan at all. "No I don't. What about his name in SAO?"

"Let me see here…" Kikouka said from his end. "Ah here it is. His name in SAO was… Noboru."

**A/N: So what did you guys think of the chapter? Next chapter will be the finale for this arc, and its one I'm sure you are all going to love. See you all next week.**


	90. The True Culprit

**A/N: Hey guys. Sorry for the wait. I was planning to post this chapter yesterday but I got slammed with work and by the time I had any free time, I just crashed into my bed. Anyway it's time for the finale of the latest arc. Hope you all enjoy it.**

The second Dan heard Noboru's name, everything began to click together. It was as if he had just figured out the solution to a jigsaw puzzle. He was just hoping the picture the puzzle made wasn't what he was thinking right now.

Dan took off running from the courtyard and ran out of the school. Hikari stood there, trying to figure out what was going on.

"Dan?! Where are you going?!"

"Sorry, I need to go do something!" Dan told her. "I think Alicia's in danger."

Hikari watched as Dan ran off and left her alone in the courtyard. She sighed to herself. _'You really are one lucky girl, Alicia.'_

Dan ran out of the school's front gate and kept going as fast as his feet could carry him. He spoke into his phone. "Kikouka, I need you to trace Alicia's cell for me."

"What? But that's-"

"I don't care what it takes! I'll do whatever goddamn favor you need in return after this, just do it!"

Deciding to give in based on how bad Dan seemed to feel the situation was, Kikouka agreed. After about a minute, he came up with an answer. "I've got it. She's… What the? This doesn't make sense."

"What is it?"

"The trace says she's at Noboru's address."

'_Damnit!'_ Dan thought to himself. _'I need to hurry!'_

* * *

Alicia sat across from Noboru. She couldn't stand being near him, but if it would help her find out who was behind everything she was willing to bear with it.

"So what info do you have?" Alicia asked. "Out with it. I didn't come here to sit around all day."

"Such a sharp tongue you have. I thought we were closer than that, being childhood friends and all."

Alicia held back her desire to lunge and strangle him right there and then. He had no right to act like they were friends after everything he had done.

Noboru seemed to enjoy watching Alicia struggle. "Well anyway, before I get to helping you, I thought we could use this chance to catch up."

'_What is he up to?'_ Alicia asked herself. He had some hidden ulterior motive behind all this. It wasn't just to have her in his debt, the way he was acting made it seem more complicated than that.

"I've been getting through school fairly well." Noboru began. "I'll be going to college a year from now. My grades have never been better. All in all, my life has been going great. There's just one small problem. You're not in it."

"If this is another one of your love attempts, then save it." Alicia glared. "I've told you a million times I will never go out with you."

"Yes, yes, I know. You've made that brutally clear." Noboru said. "You'd rather be with that worthless tactician of yours. I honestly don't know what you see in that loser."

"Alright, that does it!" Alicia said, getting up from her seat. "I've had enough of this. I'm leaving."

Noboru held his hand up, signaling for her to wait. "Hold on. You've been patient with me. It's only fair that I tell you what you came here for."

Alicia stood still, wondering if she should just leave or not. Reluctantly, she decided to sit back down.

"Good." Noboru grinned. "I suppose I should start a few weeks back. I was recently approached by a group of SAO survivors. They weren't ones that go to our school though."

"What does this have to do with the video?" Alicia asked.

"I'm getting to that. You see, these weren't your typical SAO survivors. There were five of them. And each of them belonged to the same guild in SAO. You wanna know what guild that was?" Noboru asked. "Laughing Coffin."

The surprise on Alicia's face was plain to see. But something didn't add up. The five Laughing Coffin survivors that approached him had to be Zane's group. How was Noboru able to get away, let alone survive an encounter with them.

"They were planning to kill me if I didn't answer all their questions." Noboru explained. "Obviously I went along with it. They asked me all kinds of questions. Quite a few of them were about you and your boyfriend."

"So you ratted us out to Zane? You're the one that told them where we all lived?" Alicia asked, finding it even harder not to attack him right now.

"Hey, cut me some slack. They were threatening to kill me." Noboru argued. "Anyway, I wasn't entirely sure they'd let me live even if I told them everything. So I needed to make them think I was on their side. I can't tell you how much I'd love it to see that asshole Ren in pain. They sure believed it enough."

"Noboru…" Alicia snarled. "You better have a very damn good reason for telling me all this, or I might make you wish Zane and his friends killed you."

"Now, now. I'm just getting to the interesting part." Noboru explained. "You see, they set up a camera in that old warehouse you and Asuna were taken. The camera was linked to my computer, allowing me to see everything that happened. I can't tell you how much it hurt me seeing you get hurt like that. Too bad Ren couldn't protect you from them. I guess he isn't perfect after all. I was very relieved to see you survive though."

"Says the person responsible for the whole mess."

"Now that's not fair. I was just trying to survive. Anyway, I still wanted some payback against that tactician for stealing you away from me. So I used the skills I recently got in the computer class I'm taking to good use." Noboru could see Alicia putting the pieces together in her head. "You get where I'm going with this, Alicia?"

"It was you." Alicia gasped. "You posted the video. You were behind it all."

"Bingo!" The smirk on Noboru's face slowly turned vicious. "I played those Laughing Coffin chumps like a bunch of fools! All I was after was getting Ren out of your life. The Black Swordsman was collateral damage, but it was well worth it."

"YOU BASTARD!" Alicia screamed, running up to him and grabbing him by the throat. "You're the one that nearly got us all killed! You're the one that put Dan and Kazuto through all that suffering!"

Noboru grinned at her. "Now Alicia, do you really think I'd tell you all this just so you could beat me to a pulp?" He reached into his pocket and pulled out a remote. "This thing here is hooked up to my computer. One press of this button and a new video gets uploaded right to the entire net. And if you thought the last one made your boyfriend look bad, trust me when I say you'll find this one very interesting."

Alicia froze, not daring to move a muscle. Another video, even worse than the last one. She couldn't let Dan go through that hell all over again. The wounds from the last video were just starting to heal.

"Now how about letting me go?"

Alicia growled as she loosened her grip around Noboru's throat. Noboru rubbed his neck, glad to be free of Alicia's hold. He walked around Alicia, having a smug grin on his face now that he was in control. Noboru grabbed Alicia's hair forcefully and yanked it. Alicia let out a sharp cry of pain.

"This is his favorite thing about you isn't it? Your long beautiful hair. It really hurts me when I see him stroking it with his hand. Holding you in his arms." He let go of Alicia's hair and proceeded to wrap his arms around the back of her waist. "I've always wanted to hold you like this. But every time you've rejected me."

Alicia hated standing completely helpless in front of Noboru. The way he was holding her reminded her of Yamato. It made her shiver out of disgust. Noboru finally removed his arms and walked in front of Alicia. He showed the remote in his hand, taunting her with it. "Now grovel at my feet and beg for me not to press this button. Beg for me to forgive you for how you've treated me."

A tear fell from Alicia's eye as she got down on her knees. "Please… Don't do it… I'm begging you to leave Dan alone."

"And?"

"I'm sorry… for how I treated you."

"Good girl." Noboru smirked. Taking advantage of Alicia's helpless position, He took his leg and delivered a painful kick to Alicia's cheek. Alicia let out another cry of pain as Noboru's shoe hit her and she tumbled across on the floor. Noboru then hit her over and over again in the stomach, each kick hurting more than the last.

When Noboru finally finished, he pressed his foot on Alicia's stomach. He looked down at her with a cold sadistic smile. "You know when I look back, I don't know what I ever really saw in you. I guess I was just entranced by another pretty face. Outside of that, you're nothing special. Just a worthless bitch." He leaned down, the weight of his foot on Alicia becoming even heavier. "Now I want you to admit it. Admit that you regret all of this. That you regret falling in love with Ren."

"Never!" Alicia spat at him. "You can do whatever you want to me, but I will never say that I don't love Dan!"

"Oh really? Look at where it's gotten you Alicia." Noboru said. He grabbed the golden necklace around her neck and opened up the locket. He held the picture inside in front of Alicia's face. "Can you honestly say he's worth all of this?"

"Someone like you wouldn't understand." Alicia told him. "You wouldn't understand what it's like to truly be in love. To be willing to give up everything for someone."

"Is that so? Then let's see how long that devotion of yours holds out!" With one swift motion, Noboru yanked the locket back and the necklace's chain shattered. Alicia watched in horror as Noboru held the now broken necklace that she treasured so much in his hand. He dropped it onto the floor with the locket opened up. Noboru took his free leg and raised his foot over it. "This is how much your love is worth."

"NO! PLEASE DON'T!" Alicia cried out, but it was too late as she watched Noboru drive his foot down and smash the locket. When he lifted his foot, the inside of the locket was ruined, along with the picture. Tears welled up in her eyes as she saw the piece of jewelry broken beyond repair.

"How worthless." Noboru smirked as he looked at the locket. He turned his gaze back to Alicia. "Now then, what should we do next?"

"Alicia!"

Before Noboru could look to see who the sudden shout came from, he felt a sudden force ram into him and shove him off Alicia. As Noboru tumbled across the ground, he looked at who his attacker was and gasped when he saw Dan standing in front of him.

"Y-You?! Wh-What are you doing here?!"

"Teaching you a lesson." Dan glared. "I don't know how or why you posted that video, but you're gonna pay for all the shit you've caused. And you're definitely gonna pay for what you did to Alicia!"

"D-Dan…" Alicia said weakly, the air slowly returning to her lungs.

Dan looked down at Alicia and gave her a reassuring smile. "Don't worry. This'll only take a second." He slowly walked towards Noboru with hatred in his eyes.

Noboru slowly crawled back. Quickly thinking for a way out, he grabbed the remote off the ground and held it tightly. "Stay back! One push of this button and a brand new video goes up on the internet, ruining your reputation forever!"

Dan didn't stop. He walked up to Noboru and grabbed him by the collar of his shirt. "Let me explain something to you." he said as he took his knee and shoved it into Noboru's stomach. As Noboru felt the air rush out of his lungs, Dan delivered a swift punch to his jaw. "If you want to come after me, then fine. I'll take whatever you have to dish out." Dan stood over Noboru, who was currently holding his gut in pain and swung his foot for another kick. "But don't EVER think of hurting Alicia!"

"P-Please! I'm sorry!" Noboru begged and he crawled back and felt his back hit against the wall. "I lied about the remote! It's a fake! Please, have mercy!"

Dan walked up and grabbed Noboru once again by the collar of his shirt. "Don't ever come near me or Alicia again, got it?"

Noboru nodded his head, afraid for his life. Dan let him go and walked back over to Alicia. He kneeled down next to her.

"Are you alright, Alicia?"

"Yeah." Alicia nodded. "But… the locket…"

"It's alright." Dan said as he hugged her tightly. "I'm just glad you're safe."

Alicia looked over at Noboru. "What are we gonna do about him?"

"Oh him? There's some people that want to have a word with him." Dan told her.

As if on cue, the sound of police sirens were heard in the distance. Dan scooped up the locket and put it in his coat pocket. He helped Alicia get to her feet and walked out the door with her.

* * *

After Kikouka's group arrived, they placed Noboru under arrest. It was hard at first to get any severe charges on him since he didn't technically do anything illegal by posting the video. But the assault on Alicia allowed them to stick something on the blonde teen at least. The rest were small minor charges, but at least it was something.

According to Kikouka, Noboru would most likely be sent to a juvenile detention center for a few years. He was still too young to go to federal prison so it was the best they could do.

Once news about Noboru posting the video spread, it more or less ended the rumors going around about Dan and Kazuto. Both of them were relieved it was over, as did Asuna and Alicia.

Two weeks after Noboru's arrest, a party was held at Dicey Café to celebrate the fact that Dan and Kazuto's names were now fully cleared to the public. Agil prepared a buffet filled with food, thanks to some help from Asuna in the kitchen.

Dan and Alicia sat together at the counter of the bar. The holo-projector for Yui was also set up and the young AI was flying around the room in her pixie form. Yui landed on the countertop by Dan and Alicia.

"Hey Yui." Alicia greeted with a smile. "Enjoying the party?"

"Yep!" Yui nodded. "This is so much fun!"

"Good to hear." Asuna said, walking over to them. She looked at Dan and Alicia. "I still can't believe Noboru was behind this whole thing."

"His main target was me and Alicia, but you and Kazuto ended up getting mixed into it all." Dan said grimly. "It's because of us you had to go through that."

"That isn't true and you know it." Shino told him as she appeared as well. "We're all friends. We help each other through the rough times."

"Speaking of friends" Asuna added with a devilish smirk. "I heard a certain someone got together with Shirou. Would you happen to know who that is?"

Shino blushed at having the attention now on her. "Asuna!"

"I'd like to hear some details too." Alicia grinned. "Come on, what do you think of him?"

Shino sighed and took a seat, knowing that she wasn't getting out of this until she gave them an answer. "I like him, ok? We haven't been going out for that long so I really can't say a lot."

"But you do feel something towards him?"

"Well… yes."

"Awwwww!" Asuna and Alicia squealed together.

"Cut it out!"

"But this is so cute!" Alicia said. "You and Shirou look adorable together."

"Well I can't argue that." Shirou said, taking a seat next to his girlfriend.

Shino gave a light hit to Shirou's arm. "Come on! Now they're just going to tease us even more!"

"If you can't handle a little teasing, you don't have a chance at winning your title back at the next BoB, sniper!" Hyde called out from his table.

"Shut it Hyde!" Shino and Shirou yelled simultaneously.

Asuna giggled at how in synch the two of them were. "See? I knew you were perfect for each other."

While Shino and Shirou endured Asuna and her matchmaker persona, Alicia focused her attention back on Dan. The two of them shared a drink together as they sipped from two different straws.

"You know, you really shouldn't have gone to Noboru on your own." Dan said.

"Well what was I supposed to do? It was the only lead we had as to who posted the video." Alicia argued.

"It was still dangerous."

Alicia took her finger and flicked Dan on the forehead. "You've done way more dangerous things on your own. You can't always be the one to protect me."

Dan sighed in defeat, knowing she had a point. "Alright. Just promise me next time you do something like that, you'll be careful."

"I promise."

"Good. Then I can give you this." Dan said reaching into his pocket. Alicia widened her eyes as she saw him pull out the locket and place it in her hands. It was good as new, and had the same shiny sparkle from when she first got it.

"How did you get it fixed?!" Alicia gasped.

"The chain wasn't too broken, so it didn't cost much to fix that." Dan explained. "The locket itself had to be replaced though. That was pretty pricey. I also put in a new picture. Take a look."

Alicia did as he said and opened the rose shaped locket. Inside there were two pictures of them. The one on the right was a more recent picture the two of them had taken together IRL. The one on the left was a picture of them in ALO, standing in front of their player home in Lunet.

"It's beautiful. I love it." Alicia said as she wiped the tears forming in her eyes. She put the necklace around her neck and gazed down at the locket. "You're the best Dan. My hero."

"Anything for you, my princess." Dan smiled as he leaned in and kissed her on the lips.

**A/N: Well I'm guessing you're all happy to see Noboru getting what he so rightfully deserved. I have another arc in mind for this story but I'm going to spend the next few chapters focusing on a different couple. Which is it? You'll just have to wait and find out.**


	91. Kyouji Shinkawa

**A/N: What's up everyone? Hope you're all ready for another chapter. Like I said at the end of last one, this will focus on a different couple. Enjoy.**

Shino sat in class as she waited for the day to end. When her last class finally ended, she grabbed her bag and headed towards the front gate. She didn't notice it until she was halfway there, but she had a little skip to her steps. Probably because of the fact that she was looking forward to meeting a certain someone after school.

As she left the building and walked towards the gate, she noticed a large group of girls were standing around staring at something. A sense of deja-vu came over Shino as she had a feeling of what this was about. As she walked up and saw the girls turn their heads towards her, she knew she was right.

"Hey, Asada" one of the girls said. "Who's that guy by the school gate? He's been telling us he's waiting for you."

"Is he your boyfriend? He looks pretty cute."

'_I'm gonna kill him for this.'_ Shino thought to herself. She walked past the gate and saw Shirou leaning against the wall, waiting for her. The blonde teen gave a wave towards his girlfriend as he showed the usual cheeky smile that she couldn't get over.

"What's up, Shino?"

Whispers of gossip quickly spread amongst the female students. Shino couldn't help but overhear them.

"He sure seems friendly with her."

"He's definitely her boyfriend. Did you see the way he looked at her?"

"This is so cute!"

Shino tried her best to hide her blushing cheeks as she grabbed Shirou's arm and quickly dragged him away.

"Awwwwww!" the girls sealed in unison.

Once they turned the corner and were out of sight, Shino gave a pout to her boyfriend. "What the hell, Shirou?! I know I said I'd meet you once I got out of school but I didn't mean wait in front of the gate for everyone to see!"

Shirou shrugged his shoulders. "What can I say? I was just excited to see you."

A sigh came from Shino as she lowered her head in defeat. She couldn't really blame Shirou about being excited to see her when she was feeling the same way about him. "Fine. Let's just get going. We're meeting everyone online in a few hours right?"

"Yep." Shirou nodded. "You're finally gonna get a legendary weapon. You excited?"

Shino nodded her head with an eager smile. After an extended amount of searching, she had been able to find the dungeon to the Light Bow Shekinah thanks to the help of her friends. They had all been planning for a week on how they would go about getting it, deciding to pick the best party of seven they could come up with for the quest.

Shino had planned for her and Shirou to log in together at her house, but since they had some free time until they were supposed to meet the others she decided to go get something to eat with her boyfriend. She led him towards a nearby café that she used to go to a lot.

After Shirou and Shino took a seat in a booth and ordered some drinks they began chatting about the upcoming quest.

"So who do we have again?" Shirou asked.

Shino counted off the people she had gathered. "A full party consist of seven people. We've got you, me, Kirito, Asuna, Leafa, Liz, plus one more person that Asuna said she'd be bringing along."

"Any idea on who it is?" Shirou asked.

"Dunno." Shino shrugged. "She said it was someone who would be good at support, which is good since Asuna is our only mage. Leafa has a few buff spells, but she's better off up front."

"And the dungeon is in Sylph territory, right?"

"Yep. The NPC that gives the quest is supposed to be near a cave in the forests west of Swilvane."

The waiter soon returned with their drinks in hand. He placed them on the table and the couple began to sip their beverages. As they drank, Shirou couldn't help but notice a complacent look that Shino seemed to be trying to hide.

"Is everything ok?" Shirou asked.

"Huh?" Shino asked, suddenly snapping out of her train of thought. "Oh y-yeah. I'm fine. Don't worry."

Shirou narrowed his eyes. "Come on, I know you better than that Shino. Something's bugging you, I can tell."

Shino lowered her gaze as she stared into her reflection in her glass. "It's just… I just remembered that I used to come her a lot with Kyouji."

"Oh…" Shirou said, lowering his own gaze as well. He had heard all about what happened during the GGO incident, including Shino's friend Kyouji's involvement. How he attacked her and nearly killed her if it hadn't been for Kazuto.

"You know, I actually got a message from Kikouka a few months back." Shino explained. "He said that Kyouji's allowed to have visitors now."

"And have you gone to see him?"

Shino shook her head. "I was going to… but then the whole incident with Gabriel happened. Then I ended up killing Zaza, who just happens to be Kyouji's older brother."

"I see…"

"I don't know what to say to Kyouji. He probably already hates me for what I've done. How am I supposed to tell him that his brother's death is my fault?!"

Shirou reached across the table and held Shino's hand. Shino blushed as she looked into Shirou's eyes.

"None of that was your fault." Shirou told her. "You didn't have any other choice when you killed Zaza. And it wasn't your fault what happened to Kyouji."

Shino could see just how sincere Shirou was as he said this. She still felt guilty however. "It doesn't change the fact that his blood is on my hands."

"Didn't you say you wanted to tell him what you thought about everything?" Shirou asked her. "You said yourself that you wanted to show him that GGO wasn't his only world. Don't you think it's important he hears that from you?"

"But I…"

"No buts." Shirou said. "I know it's going to be hard. I know he's your friend. But you have to do this Shino. If you don't, you're just going to hate yourself even more."

Shino thought about what Shirou was saying. He was right, she knew that. But did she have the strength to face Kyouji? "I don't know…"

"Shino I know firsthand what it feels like when you go on without saying something to a person. It just gets worse and worse, and eventually it becomes too late."

Shino could tell that Shirou was referring to Historia when he mentioned firsthand experience. She understood just how much it hurt him when she died. She didn't want her friendship with Kyouji to end like that. She steeled her resolve as she lifted her head to meet Shirou's gaze.

"You're right Shirou. I can't put this off any longer."

Shirou nodded understandingly. "You know where he is now, right? We've still got plenty of time, so why don't we go over there now?"

"Wh-What? Y-You mean right now?" Shino exclaimed. The look in her boyfriend's eyes told her that he was serious. He wanted to help her move past this. Now that she thought about it, maybe it was that desire to help that she loved most of all about him. "… Alright then. Let's hurry up and go so we can meet up with everyone on time."

* * *

Shino took a seat in front of the glass window. She had been feeling nervous ever since she stepped foot inside. It took all her courage to ask Shirou to wait outside for her. This was something she had to do on her own.

After another minute or so, another person came and sat down on the other side of the window. It was the boy Shino had come to see, the person that she hadn't laid eyes on in almost half a year. Kyouji Shinkawa.

Looking at him now, a lot of the life seemed to have been drained from Kyouji's eyes. This was how he must have felt for so long, but Shino had been too busy not to notice it. Kyouji being here was partially her fault, that was something she would never forget. Even despite her knowing that she had to do this, Shino was afraid.

It wasn't Kyouji particularly that she was afraid of, she knew that he had probably calmed down a lot since the Death Gun incident. It was having to admit that his brother's blood was on her hands. Now that she thought about it, there was also the fact that she had to tell him about how she was dating Shirou even after Kyouji professed his love for her. This was not going to be fun.

"It's been awhile Kyouji." Shino said with a small smile. "I'm glad they're finally allowing you to have visitors."

"I've been allowed to have visitors for six months already." Kyouji replied bitterly.

"Yeah…" Shino nodded awkwardly. "Look Kyouji, I can explain. It's just-"

"Let me guess. You're afraid of me?" Kyouji asked. He let out a weak yet harsh laugh. "Just another thing taken away from me. First GGO, then my brother, and now you."

Shino stared down at the floor. "About your brother… There's something I have to tell you."

"I already know he's dead. My family told me a few months back."

"There's more." Shino said. "It's about how he died."

"What are you talking about?"

Shino couldn't bring herself to look Kyouji in the eyes. "I killed him. It was me." She lifted her gaze a little to get a peek at Kyouji's reaction. He seemed surprised, but not as surprised as she was expecting. "I fought him in the Yggdrasil Fortress. I had him beat, but he refused to give up. I wanted to stop him, to give him a chance but… I'm sorry."

"It was you?" Kyouji questioned. "You killed Shouichi?" Shino nodded her head and Kyouji started to laugh to himself. "Wow. You really are something, aren't you? You go and take away the one person in my god-forsaken family that I actually care about and now you're telling me you're SORRY?!"

"Kyouji I-"

"What's next Sinon?! You've already stolen so much from me! You stole my heart and then trampled all over it! You killed my brother! You do all this, yet you still call me your FRIEND?! Don't make me laugh! You need a reality check Sinon.

Shino finally brought her gaze up to meet Kyouji. "Don't call me by that name! You fell in love with Sinon, but that isn't me. This-" Shino said, gesturing to herself. "-This is who I am. Sinon is just one part of me."

"Oh really? And who exactly is 'Shino Asada'? She's just some weak girl that can't do anything on her own and you know it! Who you are is Sinon, the best sniper in GGO!"

"Shut up!" Shino yelled, her eyes filled with rage. She didn't know why she was suddenly yelling. It felt like an impulse that had washed over her. "I may have been weak before, but I'm getting better! I've learned what true strength is! What it really means to be strong!"

"Can you still hold a gun in your hand without vomiting?"

Shino froze at the question. It was true that she had gotten a lot better with her phobia of guns, but there were still times when she would have her panic attacks. They weren't frequent, but they still happened. She still had nightmares every now and then about that incident when she was younger.

Kyouji could see the answer to his question in Shino's expression. He laughed at her as if he was at a comedy club. "You're a joke, you know that?! You're weak, but you don't want to admit it. Tell me, did you think any guy other than me would fall for Shino Asada if they knew about her?"

"SHUT UP!" Shino screamed, catching the attention of everyone else there. "For your information, I have someone that loves me! Someone that, unlike you, sees me for who I am and didn't try to KILL ME!"

Shino saw the look of hurt of Kyouji's face, but she didn't care. The guards were about to come over and restrain her, but Shino didn't give them the chance as she stormed away and ran out the door, tears rolling down her eyes.

Outside the building, Shirou saw as Shino ran out the door crying. She ran past him and ran towards her house.

"Shino?! Shino, what's wrong?!" Shirou asked as he ran after her. He didn't know what had happened, but based on how Shino was right now, he could tell that it wasn't good.

**A/N: So... that was a thing. I'm sorry this chapter was kind of short, but I promise the next few chapters will be much longer. Look forward to it everybody.**


	92. The Light Bow Shekinah

**A/N: Well I'm betting you're all eager to find out what happens next after that last chapter. Good news because the wait is over! Here it is.**

The trip back to Shino's house was not a pleasant one. Shirou could see how upset Shino was, but when he asked her what had happened, she brushed him off telling him to drop the subject. Tears of rage were slowly rolling down her face as she walked back with Shirou. The tight and forceful grip she had on his arm made it look more like she was dragging him along though.

When they finally arrived at the small apartment building Shino lived in, Shirou decided to take another shot at getting his girlfriend to talk. "Shino, are you alright?"

"I'm fine!" Shino bit back harshly. She didn't mean to say it the way she did, but her argument with Kyouji had her stressed out and at her boiling point.

Shirou was about to push the subject, but decided against it. He knew that it was better to leave Shino alone when she got like this. He just needed to be patient and wait for her to calm down and open up to him.

Shino looked at the time and saw that it was getting close to the meeting time. "We should log on. Everyone's going to be expecting us soon."

Shirou nodded and pulled out the Amu Sphere from his schoolbag. Shino's bed was too small for both of them to lay comfortably on and dive so Shirou opted to sit on the chair she had in her room.

Shirou put his Amu Sphere over his head and leaned back against the chair. He looked over to Shino, who was getting ready to do the same on her bed. "I'll see you in Swilvane."

"Got it." Shino nodded. "See you there."

Shirou closed his eyes and entered the virtual world. "Link Start!"

Shino watched as Shirou's consciousness left the real world. Now that she was alone, the tears she was holding back before came pouring out from her eyes.

"Damn you Kyouji!" she shouted. "How could you… How could you say those things to me… After everything you did?!"

She thought back to the hateful things she had said to Kyouji as well, but quickly shook any remorse she felt out of her mind. He deserved every insult she threw at him. If he was hurt by them, then too bad.

Shino put her Amu Sphere on and laid down on her bed. She was done with Kyouji. Any small remainder of their friendship had died back there. He could drop dead for all she cared now.

"Link Start!"

* * *

The skies in Alfheim were as clear as they had always been. Sinon appeared in Yggdrasil City and walked through the streets with an intimidating aura around her. Players she walked past could tell the Cait Sith archer was pissed and whatever it was they wanted nothing to do with it.

Sinon made it to the teleport gate the city had. She had never been to Swilvane so she couldn't teleport there directly. Luckily, New Aincrad was currently floating in the skies of Sylph territory so she had other means of getting there.

"Teleport! Town of Beginnings!"

At Sinon's call, she was whisked away from Yggdrasil City in a bright flash of light. She reappeared in the Town of Beginnings on Floor 1 of New Aincrad. Once she got out of town, Sinon brought out her wings and took off into the sky. It didn't take too long for her to exit the floating castle and soar through Alfheim's skies once again. From where the floating castle currently was, it wasn't that far of a trip to get to Swilvane.

Looking at the city, Sinon could see the tall green buildings that rose up from the ground. The entire city seemed to give of an emerald green glow, as if it was one with the nature that surrounded the city.

"Sinon! Down here!"

Sinon looked down and saw Leafa waving over to her. She descended onto the city streets where her friends were waiting. The ones that had already arrived besides Leafa were Riku, Liz and Kirito. That just left Asuna and the mystery player she was bringing along.

Kirito seemed to notice the grumpy attitude Sinon had right now. He glanced over at Riku, who gave him a look telling him that it was best not to pry into it. So he decided to leave it be.

"So does anyone know who Asuna is bringing with her?" Liz asked.

"I do." Yui said as she flew out of Kirito's breast pocket. "But Mama said I can't tell anyone. Especially Liz."

"Why especially me?" Liz asked, not feeling it was fair that her best friend was singling her out.

"It's a secret." Yui giggled.

The group waited for a few more minutes before they saw Asuna running over to them in the distance. At her side was another player, a male Undine to be precise. He had blue hair and eyes that were a characteristic all Undine players had, though his hair was a darker shade than most Undines the group had seen. A long scarf was wrapped around his neck and fell down all the way to his waist. He had light-weight equipment that made him look similar to a ninja. Sheathed at his waist were a pair of daggers.

"Hey guys!" Asuna greeted as she came up to them. "Say hello to our seventh party member, Saki."

"H-Hello everyone." Saki said shyly.

Liz narrowed her eyes, feeling that she had seen this person before. When she realized who it was, she gasped at him. "N-No way?! Yuya?!"

Saki looked at Liz and stared at her in surprise. "Hold on. Is that you Rika?!"

Both players looked to Asuna for an explanation. Asuna merely giggled to herself. "Oh yeah, didn't I tell you that Yuya was coming Liz?"

Liz stared at Asuna suspiciously. "Is there any particular reason you invited him for this quest?"

"Well I heard somewhere that Yuya was an ALO player. I thought this would be a good time for us all to spend some quality time together since you and he are friends Liz."

Liz grabbed Asuna's arm and forcefully dragged her away. "I need to talk with Asuna in private. Give us a minute everyone."

The group watched as Liz brought Asuna around the corner and out of sight. Kirito looked over at Saki. "I wasn't aware that you and Asuna knew each other."

"Honestly we don't know each other that well." Saki shrugged. "She just came up to me the other day at school and asked if I player ALO. When I said yes, she asked if I wanted to join her and her friends for a quest."

"Matchmaker Asuna is at it again, huh?" Leafa mumbled quietly to herself.

"So what kind of build do you have?" Riku asked.

"Well um… In SAO, I was a speed type dagger user." Saki explained, still shy in front of the group. "When I found out about ALO, I wanted to give magic a try, so I went with the Undine race. So now I'm kind of… a mix between support and AGI. I hope that's not a problem."

"Well for the most part today, you'll be in the back row healing us with Asuna." Kirito explained. "We'll be counting on you, so don't let us down."

"Y-Yes! You can c-count on me M-Mr. Black Swordsman."

Kirito patted Saki on the back. "No need to be so formal Saki. Just call me Kirito."

"R-Right! Y-You got it K-K-Kirito."

'_He sure is shy'_ Riku thought to himself. _'But I'm sure he won't be a burden. Asuna wouldn't sabotage a quest this important just to get Liz a boyfriend.'_

Soon the group saw Liz and Asuna returning to them. Liz wasn't very happy about Asuna pulling a sneaky move like this but there wasn't much she could do about it. It was far too late to find someone else with this short of a notice.

"Ok, so here's the formation we'll be using." Kirito began. "Leafa, Riku, and I will be up front, dealing with the monsters while Sinon picks off the rest with her bow. Asuna and Saki will stay behind all of us and heal. That ok with you Sinon?"

"…"

"Sinon?"

"Huh? Oh yeah, sure." Sinon nodded, snapping out of the daydream she was having.

"Are you alright, Sinon?" Asuna asked. "You don't seem like yourself."

"I'm fine!" Sinon snapped, startling everyone there. As soon as she realized it, Sinon bowed her head down. "Sorry. I'll be fine, I promise."

The group all looked at each other, wondering just how honest Sinon was being right now. Sinon ignored them and brought out her wings. "Come on. Let's get moving."

Everyone spread their wings and took off after Sinon. As they flew to the forest where the dungeon was, Kirito flew close to Riku and whispered to him so Sinon wouldn't hear. "Is something wrong with Sinon?"

Riku's face grimaced as he thought about Sinon going to see Kyouji at his suggestion. He didn't know what happened, but it definitely wasn't a good experience for her. The pain she was feeling right now was his fault. Because he suggested she go see him.

"She's just stressed right now." Riku lied. "Maybe she'll feel better once we get the Light Bow Shekinah."

Kirito could tell there was more to the story than Riku was letting on. But in the end he decided to trust Riku's judgement and nodded. "Alright then."

It wasn't too long of a flight to the area of the forest that was home to the dungeon the party was seeking. Once they reached the destination that Kirito had on his map, the descended into the trees below.

As they landed in the thick forest, the party saw a large cave standing before them. It didn't reach very high, meaning there were probably a lot of underground floors to it. A winged knight in white ironclad armor was standing at the entrance.

"That's gotta be the NPC we're looking for." Leafa guessed.

Sinon walked up to the knight at the entrance. As she approached him, a window popped up in front of her reading 'Do you wish to accept the Seal of the Gods quest?'. Sinon pressed the 'Yes' tab and the knight took notice of them.

"Halt! I cannot let you pass fairies!" the knight told them as he stood at attention. "I have been tasked with guarding this entrance from all outsiders."

Sinon scowled at the knight standing in front of her. "Look pal, we didn't come all this way here to turn around. Now let us through or-"

"Easy Sinon." Kirito said tapping her on the shoulder. He looked at the knight. "Why can't we go in?"

"The god Loki has managed to escape his prison in this cave." the knight explained. "The mighty god Odin sealed him to a stone at the very pit of this cave, but he has managed to use his trickery to weaken the seal. Our soldiers are currently trying to imprison him again as we speak. However, Loki's magic is messing with some of their minds and causing them to turn on us."

"Maybe we can help then." Kirito suggested. "We'll help you seal Loki up again."

The knight looked at the group for a moment before reluctantly nodding. "Very well then. We will need all the help we can get to defeat Loki. If you help us, the gods of Aesir will be sure to reward you."

As he said this, the tab above him changed to 'Quest in Progress'. Kirito gave a reassuring smile to Sinon. "See, there's no need to get worked up."

Sinon sighed, knowing that Kirito was right. "You're right. I'm just on edge right now."

"Sinon, if something's bothering you, you can tell us. We're your friends." Asuna told her.

"I appreciate the help Asuna, but I'll be fine. Maybe shooting a few enemies will help get my mind at ease."

"If you say so." Asuna said.

"Alright, so all we need to do is defeat Loki and get Shekinah." Riku said. "Let's do this!"

The group all raised their fists into the air and cheered in unison. "Yeah!"

* * *

"Leafa! There's two enemies behind you!" Asuna called out.

Following Asuna's help, Leafa dodged the incoming strike from the guardians behind her. She gripped her blade tightly and charged towards them. A slash from her blade ripped through the first one and depleted the rest of its HP. The second one swung its blade down at her, but Riku appeared just in time to block it.

"Thanks Riku." Leafa said.

"Don't mention it." Riku replied. He twirled his Gae Bolg and made his enemy lose its balance momentarily. Riku used the opportunity and thrusted his spear forward, piercing the guardian's body and causing it to shatter.

Ever since the party of seven had entered the dungeon, it had been one mob of possessed guardians after the next. There were three floors that they had already cleared going down through the cave. According to Yui, the dungeon map consisted of five floors in total. It wouldn't be long now before they reached the end where Loki was. But right now, they still had a mob to deal with.

Sinon aimed her bow and delivered a headshot to one of the guardians. She just kept shooting and shooting over and over again. Every enemy she saw, she pictured Kyouji's image instead. How badly she wanted to blow his head off. But she still hadn't been able to get over the things he said about her. He had been her best friend for so long, back when she was all alone and had no one else. But now she couldn't feel anything towards him except hate.

"Sinon, look out!"

Hearing Asuna's call, Sinon saw a guardian flying at her from the left. She wasn't able to react in time and took the attack full force, knocking her back a bit.

"Sinon!" Riku exclaimed.

"I've got her!" Saki shouted. He quickly chanted a healing spell and restored Sinon's health back up to a safe amount. Meanwhile, Kirito rushed in and cut through the guardian that had attacked Sinon. Once it had been taken care of, the party took a moment to rest now that the mob was defeated.

"Thanks Kirito." Sinon said as she gulped down a health potion. "I didn't see that bastard coming until he was right on top of me."

"No problem. Just be more careful next time."

Sinon couldn't really argue against him. It was her fault for getting distracted. "I'll be sure to do that."

Asuna looked to Yui, who was sitting on her shoulder. "Are we almost at the end of this floor yet?"

Yui nodded her head. "There's a large open room a short distance from here. It's probably a mini boss. After that, there's just the fourth floor and then the fifth floor which is the boss room."

After everyone was healed back up, the group made their way to the mini boss that Yui mentioned. It wasn't long before they made it to their destination. A large open doorway stood in front of them. The inside of the room was too dark to see.

"Is everyone ready?" Kirito asked. Everyone nodded in response. "Alright then, let's do this."

They walked through the large open doorway and found themselves in a large room with several pillars of stone raised up everywhere. All around the room, soldiers were lying unconscious on the ground.

"What happened here?!" Asuna gasped.

"Keep your guard up." Kirito warned everyone. "The boss is probably around here somewhere."

Riku walked up to the closest knight he could find and tried to shake him awake. "Hey, are you alright? What happened?"

"Too… powerful…" the NPC said weakly. "Lady Skadi… please help her…"

The life drained out of the knight's eyes and his body went numb. Riku gently laid him back down and looked around the room. Just what happened to cause this much destruction?

In the distance, Riku was able to see a lone woman standing on wobbly legs. She had long blonde hair flowing down her head and was dressed in all white. In her hands was a bright dazzling golden bow.

"Show yourself you coward!" she yelled out. "Stop hiding and face me!"

The party all took notice of the woman shouting. She wasn't addressing them. Instead she seemed to be screaming at the empty space around her.

Saki took a step towards the woman. "Excuse me ma'am are you-" He froze as he saw her aim her bow at him. "W-Woah! Hold on, we're not your enemies!"

"Identify yourselves!" she glared. "Are you with Loki?!"

"No, we came to help stop Loki." Kirito told her. "It's the truth, we swear."

She kept her bow pointed at them, trying to judge if they were telling the truth or not. Suddenly, the sound of laughter echoed throughout the room.

"Hahahaha! Oh poor Skadi. Can't figure out who's on your side and who's a traitor?" A figure appeared on top of one of the pointed rocks, looking down on them all. "I thought a goddess of your caliber would be capable of at least that much."

"Shut up!" Skadi yelled as she aimed her bow at the figure and fired an arrow at him. The projectile phased right through him, causing him to laugh even more. Skadi's glare intensified even further. "You will pay for what you've done, Loki!"

Loki snickered and turned his gaze towards Sinon and the others. "Now then my loyal minions, please deal with this lowly goddess for me."

"What?!" Skadi gasped. She glared at Sinon and the others. "So you are allied with Loki after all!"

"No! He's lying!" Liz exclaimed.

"That's it minions, keep lying to her. Get her to trust you and then stab her in the back."

"Shut up, you liar!" Sinon yelled as she drew her bow and fired an arrow at Loki. Just like Skadi's arrow, this one phased right through Loki.

"Hahahahahahahaha! Did you honestly think that would work?" Loki laughed. "If I were you though, I'd focus on your current enemy."

The group watched as Loki faded away into nothing. Before they could do anything, a large burst of energy erupted from Skadi. The goddess glared at them.

"Prepare to die, traitors of Aesir!" Skadi yelled.

Skadi became veiled in an aura of white light. Her bow radiated with a dazzling golden gleam as she aimed it at them. Two health bars appeared next to her and above her cursor read her name. Skadi, Goddess of the Hunt.

"Everyone move!" Riku yelled. Nobody had to be told twice as they all jumped behind some of the rocks for cover as Skadi released her arrow. The arrow zoomed past the group, creating a huge shockwave as it flew. They all knew that if that had hit them, it would have been game over.

"Damn that bastard Loki." Sinon growled.

"Nothing we can do about it now." Riku said. "Right now, we need to take down Skadi."

Sinon peeked her head out to take a look. Another arrow zoomed past her as she quickly hid behind the rock again. Kirito called out to Sinon from the rock he was hiding. "Got any ideas on how we win?!"

"Sinon grabbed an arrow from her quiver and readied her bow. "Draw her attention! I'll shoot her when there's an opening!"

"Leave that to me." Riku said. He jumped out from the cover of the rock and charged towards Skadi. He dodged an incoming arrow, but was unable to dodge a second one that came his way. The arrow shaved off half of his HP and blasted him back against a rock. Before any more could make contact with his body, he quickly took cover behind the nearest rock he could find.

"Riku!" Sinon exclaimed. She got ready to take aim with her bow until a voice appeared behind her.

"So weak"

Sinon turned around to see Loki's astral image facing her. She was about to aim her bow at him, until she remembered that it would just pass right through him. Loki laughed at the glare Sinon was giving him.

"Leave me alone!" Sinon growled at Loki before turning her attention back towards Skadi. "You got us into this mess so the least you can do is butt out until we're done."

Loki leaned in closer to Sinon and whispered in her ear. "You think you can win against Skadi? A lowly archer like you against a goddess?"

"I said shut up!" Sinon yelled as she tried to swat away Loki, but her arm merely went through his body. "You don't know a thing about me so stay out of my way! Once we've stopped Skadi, you're next!"

Sinon's comment made Loki laugh even harder than before. "You're coming after ME?! Hahahaha, that's a riot! A little weakling like you?!"

Sinon tried to block out Loki's laughter as she took aim at Skadi with her bow. As she steadied her aim, Loki's taunting became even louder in her head as he hovered in the air right next to her.

"Let me guess. You're one of those types that thinks 'I can do it if I try' or 'My friends give me the strength I need'. I'll let you in on a secret girl. Things like friendship and faith are worthless in this world."

"BE QUIET!" Sinon screamed as she fired her bow. The arrow she launched went far off course and flew past Skadi, not even coming close to hitting her.

Sinon couldn't believe that she had missed. And to a stationary target no less. Her accuracy was one of the things Sinon prided herself on the most.

Loki smirked at Sinon's distressed expression. He leaned in and whispered in her ear again. "One more thing, though this one isn't much of a secret. You have no chance at succeeding."

"Sinon, look out!"

The sudden shout snapped Sinon back into reality. She saw Skadi's bow pointed directly at her. Sinon didn't even have a chance to dodge as the arrow was fired and sped towards her. The arrow made direct contact with her and sent her flying back into a rock behind her. Sinon tried to endure as the force of the arrow gradually pushed her further and further into the rock while her HP was being shaved away. When the attack finally subsided, Sinon fell to the ground inside the crater that was formed from Skadi's attack. Her health was in a deadly shade of red.

Skadi wasn't willing to give Sinon a chance to recover. She readied another arrow to finish the Cait Sith off. "Time for you to die, traitor."

'_Damnit… Is this really how it's going to end?'_ Sinon asked herself. She didn't have the strength to move her body, or rather she didn't have any will left to fight. Her eyes closed as she waited for Skadi to finish her off. _'Was Kyouji right? Am I just a pathetic weakling that was fooling myself?'_

"SINON!"

Sinon's eyes opened as she saw Riku rush over to her. He managed to leap in between her and the arrow that Skadi had just fired. The arrow lodged itself into Riku's left leg and he flinched in pain as he fell to one knee. He was lucky it had just been a normal arrow and not one of Skadi's charged up ones. If it had, Riku's leg could have been blown off entirely.

"You wish to die first? Very well then." Skadi said as she readied another arrow. This time, several more arrows appeared and floated in the air around Skadi. Every single one of them was pointed at Riku.

"What are you doing you idiot?!" Sinon yelled. "I didn't ask you to protect me!"

"That's too bad, cause I'm doing it anyway!" Riku told he. Sinon was taken aback by the unshakable determination in his voice. "Whenever you're in trouble, I'm always going to be there to protect you."

"Riku…"

Skadi fired her barrage of arrows at Riku. As each one hit, Riku cried out a little from the pain. His health was slowly being shaved away and would hit yellow soon if this kept up. Saki tried to keep his HP up with healing magic while Asuna worked on healing Riku, but he couldn't keep up with the constant damage coming from Skadi's assault.

Kirito quickly ran towards Skadi, knowing he had to do something. "Leafa! Liz! Help me get her agro on us!"

"Got it!" both girls replied as they jumped out from their cover and got ready to attack Skadi.

As the trio closed in on their target, two large white wings emerged from Skadi's back and created a powerful gust that blew Kirito, Leafa, and Liz away. With them out of the way, Skadi prepared another attack for Riku. Energy began to flow into the arrow she aimed.

Riku looked at his recovering HP, seeing it just reach back into the mid-yellow zone. Even Asuna's magic wouldn't be able to protect him from this attack.

Sinon's health finally recovered enough to the point where she could stand up again. She picked up her bow and ran past Riku, charging directly towards Skadi.

"Sinon?! What are you doing?!" Riku exclaimed.

Sinon didn't stop running. She got closer and closer to Skadi as the charged up arrow was preparing to fire. A fierce determination burned in Sinon's eyes as she grabbed an arrow from her quiver.

"Die!" Skadi yelled. As she was about to release her arrow, her eyes widened in shock as Sinon aimed her bow directly at the tip of Skadi's arrow at point blank range.

Sinon showed Skadi a winning smirk. "You can die with me."

Both arrows fired simultaneously and a huge explosion occurred where the two girls were standing. The rest of the party gasped in shock.

When the dust settled, Riku could see Skadi panting heavily with only a small sliver of health left. Next to her was a golden yellow remain light.

Riku glared as he took off running towards Skadi. Realizing there was little time to act, Skadi quickly readied another arrow from her quiver. There was no time to unleash a charged up attack so she would have to settle for a regular shot. Riku skidded to a halt as he held his spear in a tight grip and prepared to throw it. Gae Bolg became veiled in the light of a skill.

"This one's for Sinon!" Riku yelled as he threw his spear at the same time Skadi fired her bow. The two projectiles collided together and were both sent flying back in the air. "Now Kirito! Finish it!"

Kirito nodded as he charged in with his two swords. He leaped into the air and Excaliber became veiled in light. Kirito swung his sword down at Skadi with all of his might. "Raaaaaaaahhhhhhhh!"

Skadi was completely defenseless and took the full brunt of Kirito's attack. Her HP fell down to zero as she fell over onto the cold hard ground. Her body didn't shatter but her health was clearly at zero.

With the boss defeated, the group quickly ran over to Kirito. Asuna immediately began chanting a revival spell for Sinon once she was close enough. When the long and tedious chant was finished, Sinon's remain light swirled up and her avatar returned.

"You have bested me… young fairies." The party all turned towards Skadi as she managed to choke out her words. "You fought with pride and honor… no one that fights with Loki could do that. Forgive me for falling for his lies."

Sinon walked up and kneeled next to Skadi. "We'll put an end to Loki's schemes. You have my word."

Skadi gave a heartfelt smile to Sinon. "You have the pride and skill of a true archer, young fairy." Skadi grabbed her bow and handed it to Sinon. "This is the legendary Light Bow Shekinah. Please take it."

Sinon gasped in shock as she accepted the bow from Skadi. The Light Bow Shekinah, the legendary weapon she had come to get.

Skadi coughed as she gasped for air. "Please… use that bow to… defeat Loki… I beg of you."

Sinon put down the bow and held Skadi's hands. "We will defeat him. I swear it."

"Thank… you…"

Skadi managed to say those last two words as her body went numb and she shattered into fragments. Sinon lowered her head to mourn the sacrifice of the fallen goddess. Even if she had attacked them, Sinon felt the intense pride Skadi carried herself with as an archer. It was the same feeling Sinon had as both a sniper in GGO and an archer in ALO.

As the fragments that used to be Skadi vanished, a window appeared before Sinon. The message read 'Equipped weapon has been set to Light Bow Shekinah. To permanently claim item, complete the quest.'

'_I figured as much.'_ Sinon thought to herself. There was no way the main prize of the quest would be given out halfway through without some kind of condition.

Riku walked up to Sinon and put a hand on her shoulder. "Sinon, what was that all about back there? It's not like you to lose your cool that easily."

Sinon lowered her gaze. The tension she was still feeling from her fight with Kyouji had caused her to mess up during the boss fight. She had caused her friends to worry and held them back during the fight. "I'm sorry. I was just stressed out."

"No Sinon, I know there's more than that." Riku told her. "You can't keep holding this in anymore. It's messing with you."

Sinon looked at Riku and saw just how worried he was about her. She knew she had to come clean about what happened, not just to Riku but to everyone. They at least deserved that much after all the trouble they had gone through to help her get this far.

"This is about Kyouji, isn't it?" Riku asked. Kirito and the others gasped at the mention of Kyouji's name. Riku kneeled down next to Sinon and looked at her straight in the eyes. "Sinon, what happened in there?"

"Hold on." Kirito said, taking a step forward. "What's this about Kyouji?"

Sinon looked at her friends, all wanting an answer from her. She took a deep breath before she began. "I went to visit Kyouji today. I wanted to tell him the things I had been meaning to say to him for a while now. About how his life shouldn't revolve entirely around the virtual world and that there's stuff for him in the real world. But then we got into a fight before I could say anything and… I just got so angry. I started yelling at him, and saying so many hateful things. I don't know what came over me. After that I… I ran. I ran like a coward before I could tell him what I needed to."

Riku and the others watched as tears began to fall from Sinon's eyes. She slammed her fist into the ground. "I'm so useless! I couldn't help Kyouji when he was suffering, and I can't even help him now! What's wrong with me?!"

Suddenly Sinon felt Riku wrap his arms around her. They felt so warm as he hugged her tightly. "Nothing is wrong with you." he said. "No one can blame you for what happened. If anything, I'm the one to blame for telling you to go see him."

Sinon looked at Riku and saw the guilt he was feeling. Sinon shook her head at him. "Riku, none of this is your fault. If it wasn't for you, I would have never had the strength to go see Kyouji in the first place." Sinon let go of Riku and slowly got to her feet. "And your what's giving me the strength to be able to face him again."

"Are you sure that's a good idea Sinon?" Asuna asked. "I mean, you just said the last time you went, it didn't end well."

"I know." Sinon nodded. "But I still need to tell him those things. It's my responsibility as his friend."

Kirito smiled at seeing Sinon finally back to her old self. "Alright then. But first we need to finish this quest."

Sinon nodded her head in agreement. "You're right. Let's go take that bastard Loki down!"

"Yeah!" the group all cheered together.

The party of seven began walking to the end of the room and towards the stairs to the next floor. As the others walked on ahead, Sinon pulled Riku to the side.

"What is it Sinon?" Riku asked.

"I just wanted to say thanks for before." Sinon told him. "I'm sorry about how I yelled at you."

"It's alright. I'm just glad you're back to normal." Riku said with a smile.

"Riku… there's something I need to know." Sinon said. "What do you see in me? I just don't get how you can like me when I'm a hotheaded jerk. Not to mention how weak I am."

Riku grabbed Sinon's shoulders and forced her to look at him. "Sinon, you're not weak. You're one of the strongest people I know. And while you may be hotheaded sometimes, you most certainly are not a jerk. The fact that you feel so guilty about Kyouji is proof of that."

"Riku…" Sinon said in shock. She leaned in and kissed him on the cheek. "Thank you. You have no idea how much that means to me."

"Hey, hurry up you two!" Liz shouted from the distance. "Let's get a move on!"

"We're coming!" Sinon called back. She grabbed Riku's hand and ran over with him to their friends, the friends that Sinon felt so blessed to have.

**A/N: So what did you guys think? I did a little bit of research on myths involving Skadi, the wielder of Shekinah to figure out a storyline for this quest. I took a few liberties here and there, but I hope I did a good job with it. Next chapter will be the final boss fight against Loki so look forward to that everyone.**


	93. Loki

**A/N: Hey everyone. New chapter time! It's time for the boss fight with Loki. I decided to go with the form Loki has in the game Lost Song for this chapter. Hope you all enjoy it.**

Sinon and her party of seven walked through the dungeon cave. It had been a long and tough battle getting here, but they were finally at the door to the final boss.

Slung across Sinon's back was the legendary Light Bow Shekinah. It dazzled in a golden radiance that was fitting for the weapon of the goddess Skadi. Even though she was only an AI, Sinon could feel the pride of an archer through her with each shot she took during that boss fight. And Sinon was going to make sure she kept her promise to the AI goddess.

'_I'll avenge your death, Skadi.'_ Sinon told herself. _'It's the least I can do for you after you entrusted this bow to me.'_

Riku put a hand on Sinon's shoulder. "You doing alright?"

Sinon nodded her head. "Yeah, don't worry Riku. I won't go charging in headfirst again like last time."

Riku could hear the sincere tone of Sinon's voice and nodded. He was glad that she had opened up to him and everyone else about what happened with Kyouji. It put his mind a little more at ease.

Kirito unsheathed his two swords and glanced at the rest of the group. "Is everyone ready?" The response he received was a collective nod from the group. "Alright then. Let's win this and walk out with the legendary bow Shekinah!"

A resounding cheer came from the group as they got into formation. Asuna and Saki applied buffs to the party as they prepared themselves.

"Any advice before we go in, Leafa?" Liz asked. "You know the most about Nordic mythology out of us."

"Let me think." Leafa said as she pondered for a moment. "Loki's known as a trickster god. He's extremely skilled at manipulating people with his words, so I'd assume he'll use a lot of illusions or magic attacks during the fight."

"Umm… can I say something?" Saki asked shyly. The group all turned to him. "I-I don't know if it'll help much but…"

"It's fine. Go ahead and say it." Kirito told him.

Saki nodded his head and continued. "Well when I heard that this quest was to get the Light Bow Shekinah, I did a little research into myths related to Skadi, the goddess that wielded it. Based on how this quest has gone, I think I know what myth this quest is based off of. If I'm right, then it deals with when the gods imprisoned Loki by sealing him to a rock. While he was sealed, he had acid fall on him constantly without rest."

"That sounds pretty harsh." Riku said, shivering at the thought of the pain Loki must have gone through.

"There's something else." Saki added. "You know how the Loki we all saw before was an astral image? Well if that's the case, then maybe Loki still isn't at full strength or perhaps he's still partially sealed to that rock."

"I see." Riku said. "You're saying he might seem powerful, but he'll probably have some sort of weakness we can exploit."

"Precisely." Saki nodded. "If we can figure out what that is, then we might have an easier time beating him."

"That's a pretty good theory. Nice job Saki." Leafa said with a smile.

"O-Oh um… I-It's nothing really."

"No way Saki. This could really be helpful." Liz told him. "In a tough quest like this, every little detail can mean the difference between success and failure."

Saki tried to hide a blush forming on his cheeks as he looked down. "Th-Thanks Liz."

Asuna giggled to herself as she watched Saki blush. Everything was going perfectly. The quest was progressing nicely and Liz and Saki were starting to become a little closer. Her shipping senses were at their peak right now.

With everyone ready for the final boss for the quest, Kirito took the lead and opened the door. The room they were walking into was extremely dark. Very little light could be seen other than the light from outside the room. In the distance, Sinon could somewhat make out a figure standing before them.

The person at the other end of the room seemed to be male, about the same size as them. He had an odd looking, almost jester-like, hat on his head that shrouded his eyes. He wore baggy worn-out clothes and had two chains shackled to his legs that were attached to a large rock behind him.

"It's about time you got here." Loki chuckled. "I was getting tired of waiting."

Sinon took Shekinah off her back and drew an arrow from her quiver. "This ends here Loki. We're putting an end to your evil schemes here and now."

"Evil huh?" Loki said. "That's how you view things, is it? I'm the one sealed away and trying to escape so I have to be evil and those Aesir guys must be wholeheartedly good?"

"You tricked Skadi and forced us to fight her!" Leafa argued.

"And let me ask you something. Did she even listen to your side of the story for one second? No, she deemed you as traitors simply because I said it. Does that sound like something the good guys would do?"

"So you're claiming to be the heroic one instead?" Riku asked.

"Far from it." Loki told them with a shake of his head. "The point I'm trying to make is that not everything in this world is black and white. You can't just throw a label on something and call it good or evil. Those egotistical gods up in Aesir sure aren't what I would call good."

Sinon thought about what Loki was saying and couldn't completely deny it. It was true that sometimes things were more complicated than they appeared on the surface. It was the same with Kyouji. Sinon had decided to think of him as the villain as an excuse for running away and not telling him what she needed to say. Not to mention that she was partly to blame for his current mental state in the first place.

"You're right Loki." Sinon said. "Not everything is black and white. Sometimes there are hidden angles to things that we can't see." She then pointed her bow towards him. "But we're not doing this to help out the gods up in Aesir. We're doing this to avenge Skadi, a brave and noble archer that died in battle."

"Died in battle?" Loki chuckled. "And who were the ones that caused that death? That's right, it was YOU!"

"I won't run from that fact." Sinon told him. "I'll face the things I'm responsible for head on. That's the way me and my friends do things."

"Is that so?" Loki asked. "Then I guess we won't be able to come to an agreement. Guess you'll have to die!"

After he said this, a sudden burst of energy exploded from Loki. A blast of violet light spread out from him, blinding Sinon and the others. When the light died down and their vision cleared, they found a brand new Loki staring in front of them.

Loki's new form had no resemblances to the human-like form he had seconds ago. He floated in the air like a phantom with a dark grey body. Long nails acted as claws that stretched out from his fingers. A golden accessory that looked similar to wings was on his back. Two long tentacles extended from them with violet colored thorns sticking out along them.

As Sinon and the others gasped at Loki's transformation, three large health bars appeared next to him with a name reading above his cursor. Loki, God of Illusions.

"Hahahahaha! What do you think?" Loki asked as he stared down at the party. "After the deaths of all those warriors from Aesir, I've almost recovered all of my power. Once I kill you all, I'll finally have enough power to break free of this accursed prison."

Sinon fired her arrow even though she knew Loki would easily be able to block it. As Loki knocked the arrow away with one of his two tentacles, Sinon got another arrow ready. "Alright everyone, this is it! Let's take him out and complete this quest!"

A loud collective cheer of agreement came from the group as everyone got into formation. Asuna and Skadi stayed in the back and got healing spells ready.

"Divert his attention!" Sinon called out to Kirito. "I'll fire at him once there's an opening."

"Leave it to me!" Kirito shouted as he ran forward with Riku, Liz, and Leafa. He looked over to the two girls. "Liz, Leafa, keep those tentacles busy!"

"We're on it!" Leafa nodded. She and Liz took the lead, going left and right. Loki swung his two thorny tentacles at the girls, who dodged them with little difficulty.

Kirito used the opening and charged at Loki with his two swords gripped tightly in his hands. Kicking off the ground, Kirito leaped into the air and prepared to unleash a powerful assault on the boss.

Suddenly a shout came from Asuna. "Look out Kirito! Below you!"

Kirito looked down and saw a small portal opened up in the ground. A long tentacle sprouted out from it and flew up towards Kirito, impaling his stomach. A cry of pain came out from the Spriggan.

"Kirito!" Asuna exclaimed.

Before Loki could follow up on his attack, he saw something slash through the tentacle that had impaled Kirito. As the appendage disintegrated, Loki saw Riku run towards him with his Gae Bolg. A series of three consecutive thrusts to Loki's chest came as Riku activated a sword skill. The attack finished as Riku twirled his spear above his head and then delivered a downwards blow with the pointed end of his spear.

"Nice job Riku!" Kirito called out. "Now it's my turn."

"Go for it!" Riku told him with a thumbs up.

With his HP recovered thanks to Asuna and Saki, Kirito got ready for some payback against Loki. He saw Loki prepare for another attack just like before, but this time he saw it coming. Kirito leaped into the air just as the tentacle emerged from the portal. Kirito activated a sword skill and delivered a spiral slash to the tentacle, cutting it in half. As the light faded from his first sword, his second one lit up with a different colored light.

"That's Kirito's Skill Connect technique!" Asuna said with a cheer. "Go get 'em Kirito!"

The light around Kirito's Excalibur shined brightly as he swung it down at Loki, creating a large red gash that went straight down the boss's body.

"Damn it." Loki growled. "Annoying fairies! You'll pay for that!" Out of nowhere, Loki felt an arrow pierce his head. As he cried out in pain, he saw Sinon standing in the back with a smirk on her face.

"You should stay focused Loki." Sinon told him. "If not, you won't be able to dodge my arrows."

"Damn you… Damn you ALL!" Loki shouted.

"Be careful everyone!" Yui called out from Asuna's shoulder. "He's about to unleash a powerful attack!"

Yui was proven right as several portals appeared midair next to Loki. A tentacle shot out from each of them and all shot out towards the party.

From the back, Asuna could see even more portals opening up underneath Kirito and the others. "Look out! He's going to-" Asuna was cut off as tentacles sprouted out from underneath her and Saki and wrapped around them. She cried in pain as she felt the thorns covering them stab into her body.

"Asuna!" Kirito exclaimed as he turned around and saw her trapped. Before he could do anything, he found himself entangled by Loki's attack as well. "Damnit!"

Loki laughed as he saw his opponents ensnared by his tentacles. "Now for the finale! Die!"

The tentacles that Loki manifested behind him all shot out towards Kirito and the others. Each of them pierced into one of the party members. Their HP plummeted into the red.

Looking up at his HUD, Kirito could see that no one had lost all of their HP from the powerful attack Loki had just launched. But they would have to be careful, or they would get wiped out soon. "Asuna, Saki, heal yourselves back up and then work on healing us! Sinon, cover them!" He looked over to Riku, Sinon, and Liz. "Focus on dodging for now! We just need to keep the boss busy until Asuna and Saki are back to full health."

Everyone nodded and put the plan into action. Asuna and Saki quickly began drinking health potions to heal themselves quickly while Kirito, Riku, Liz, and Leafa put everything they had into evading Loki's tentacles, which were now thankfully back to two.

"Ha! This is nothing!" Liz grinned as she dodged another swing from Loki's left tentacle. "Now that he's only got two of these things again, we can handle this no pr-" Liz was interrupted midway as she tripped over something behind her and fell on her back. As she sat back up, she saw a tentacle dive down at her.

"Liz!" Leafa exclaimed.

Liz widened her eyes in fear as she saw the tentacle get closer and closer to her. Out of nowhere, she saw a dagger get thrown and knock back the tentacle. Liz turned her head back to see that the player that had just saved her was Saki.

"Are you alright Liz?!" Saki called out.

It took Liz a few seconds to snap out of her surprise and nod. "Y-Yeah! Thanks for saving me Saki!"

Asuna showed a small grin as she finally finished healing herself and started focusing on healing the rest of the party. "Look at you, going out of your way to save Liz."

Saki's cheeks blushed red as he tried to hide his face. "I-It's not like that! I just… I…"

Asuna giggle at Saki's flustered expression. "Alright. I'll leave it alone for now. We've got a boss fight to finish after all."

Saki gave a thankful nod and swung his left hand back. As if by magic, the dagger he had thrown earlier came back to him. Asuna gasped at first, wondering how he did that, until she noticed something wrapped around the dagger. It was extremely thin wire.

"You have wire wrapped around your daggers?" Asuna asked.

"Yeah." Saki nodded. "It's another perk that comes with using these two. I just have to pull my arm back and the wire automatically retracts and pulls the dagger back to me so I can use them like throwing knives."

Asuna couldn't help but be impressed. Wielding a pair of daggers like that must take a decent amount of skill. She knew she was right to pick him for the seventh member of the party, plus her shipping senses couldn't help it.

As the fight continued, Sinon couldn't help but feel something was off about the way Loki was fighting. While the two tentacles attached to his back were powerful, he didn't move them to attack directly in front of him at all. He kept them to his right and left. No boss was that on guard against the simple chance of a flank attack.

Or was there something else going on?

Sinon stopped firing her bow and started running towards Loki all of a sudden. As she ran past Kirito and the others, they gasped at her.

"What are you doing Sinon?!" Kirito exclaimed.

"Testing a theory!" Sinon called back.

Kirito was worried that Sinon was going to do something reckless and hotheaded like in the fight with Skadi, but Riku gave him a reassuring tap on the shoulder.

"Let's trust her." Riku said. "She knows what she's doing."

Sinon took an arrow from her quiver and fired it while she ran. She knew it had no chance of hitting Loki with how much her bow was shaking from aiming while running, but that wasn't the point. The trajectory of the arrow was going towards the left side of Loki. Dodging it would be a simple matter, but instead he used a tentacle to swat the arrow away. Sinon smirked, starting to believe that the hunch she had was right.

"Asuna, Saki, cover me with long range attack spells!" Sinon shouted.

Asuna and Saki quickly switched from healing spells and quickly chanted an offensive spell. Large icicles formed in front of them as they finished chanting and fired towards Loki. While Loki's tentacles swatted away the magic attack, Sinon got even closer to Loki. She slid underneath his floating body just in time to avoid his two tentacles that came diving down at her. Once she was behind Loki, Sinon turned around and saw A transparent chain connecting Loki to the stone behind him. In addition, his back was extremely damaged, covered with several wounds that seemed like it came from acid.

'_Saki's theory was right! There IS a weakness!'_ Sinon realized.

"His weak spot is his back!" Sinon shouted! "He can't turn around because of the chain!"

Kirito and the others gasped in shock as they heard this. Riku however, had a grin on his face. _'Now THAT'S the girl I fell in love with. Way to go Sinon.'_

Sinon fired an arrow from behind and hit Loki's back. The god cried out in agony from the attack and his health fell by a large amount. Loki's tentacles went behind him and dived down at Sinon. The Cait Sith easily jumped back and dodged them. "Now guys! Attack!"

The group didn't need to be told twice as they all rushed Loki. The god tried to prepare another tentacle attack, but another hit to the back from Sinon stunned him and gave Kirito and the others more than enough time to attack. The relentless assault depleted what was left of Loki's HP and he cried out in pain.

Sinon smirked as she watched Loki's phantom-like avatar dissolve and return to his more human-like form. He was on his knees and was gasping for air.

"Heh… looks like I lose. A god like me…" Loki said with a weak chuckle. "And to think I was going to destroy Aesir." He looked up at Sinon. "Not bad girlie. But don't go trusting those fools of Aesir. They'll stab you in the back the moment it suits them."

With those last words uttered, Loki shattered into fragments and disappeared. A 'Congratulations' sign appeared before the party, signaling an end to the boss fight.

Leafa let out an exhausted sigh as she sat down. "Phew. That was one hell of a boss fight."

"You can say that again." Liz agreed. "But we got our legendary weapon."

Sinon looked as a window appeared in front of her which read 'Obtained Light Bow Shekinah'. She tried to suppress the urge to break out into a huge grin, but her excitement wouldn't let her. She had finally got it. The legendary Light Bow Shekinah.

Asuna stretched her arms out. "Well I don't know about you guys, but I'm pooped."

"You said it." Saki nodded. "But I gotta say, this was a lot of fun."

"Maybe you and Liz could do a quest sometime together." Asuna suggested with a devilish grin.

Liz and Saki both blushed with embarrassed faces as they stared at Asuna. "Wh-Why do you say that?!"

"Oh come on." Asuna giggled. "Two young teens alone together on an adventure. It's perfect for-"

"Alright everyone, I think it's time we headed out." Kirito interrupted, dragging Asuna away despite her protesting. Liz let out a sigh of relief and made a mental note to thank Kirito later.

With the quest over, the party all headed back to Swilvane. After saying their goodbyes to everyone, Sinon and Riku logged out and returned to the real world.

Shino opened her eyes as she felt her consciousness come back to the real world. She sat up from her bed and looked over to Shirou, who was just waking up as well. When he saw her, he gave her his usual goofy smile that she couldn't help but love.

"Looks like we did it. Congrats Shi-" Shirou was cut off as Shino walked over and planted her lips on his. Shirou's eyes widened at first, but soon closed, trapped in the romantic moment between the two of them.

When Shino finally pulled her lips away, she looked at Shirou with a smile. "Thanks Shirou. For everything today."

"Don't mention it." Shirou told her. "I'm just glad your back to your usual self."

Shino's cheeks blushed slightly out of embarrassment. "Thanks. By the way, are you free tomorrow?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"There's someplace I want you to come with me."

* * *

Shino sat in front of the glass window once again. She composed herself, telling her that this time she could do it. It seemed like an eternity had passed before the guards brought Kyouji to the other side of the window.

"Back already, huh Sinon?" Kyouji asked. He wasn't even looking at her in the eyes and instead looked to the side.

"Kyouji…"

"Save it." Kyouji harshly told her. "I don't want to hear it. You came here to yell at me some more, right? If that's all then you should just leave." Shino could see a small tear starting to form in his eye. "I don't… I can't…"

"Kyouji listen to me." Shino said. Her tone caused Kyouji to turn his head and see tears starting to form in her own eyes as well. "I wanted to say I'm sorry. Not just for the things I said yesterday, but for everything. For not seeing how much pressure you were feeling from your family. For killing your brother. For not coming to see you when I should have."

He clenched his fists as the tears finally fell from his eyes. "My family came so many times. Even after they talked about what a disappointment I had been and finally started trying to cheer me back up. I didn't want to see them. What I wanted to see… was you."

"I know." Shino nodded. She took a deep breath and stared Kyouji straight in the eyes. "Kyouji, there's something I need to tell you. I know you felt like GGO was the only world you belonged in. But that's not true. I understand how important GGO was to you, and that the real world had nothing to offer. But that world isn't the reality you belong in."

"And this world is? The real world has nothing left to offer me. Everything I cared about here is gone."

Shino shook her head. "That's not true. I understand now how much pressure there was on you in this world. And I'm sorry I wasn't there to help you when you needed me. But swapping out your real life and your virtual life won't solve anything. I don't know about you, but this world, where I am right now, is my reality. Even if you said it was a virtual one, it would still be reality to me."

"Maybe for you, but why should that be the same for me?" Kyouji muttered grimly.

Shino looked over towards the entrance of the room and motioned for someone to come over. "Kyouji, there's someone I want you to meet." Kyouji watched as Shriou came and took a seat next to Shino. "I told you, or rather yelled at you, yesterday about how I was dating someone. This is him. Shirou Makengo."

Kyouji clenched his fists tightly. "Why? Why did you bring him here? To insult me?!"

"No Kyouji, that's not it." Shino told him with a shake of her head. "You saw me for Sinon, GGO's top sniper. But Shirou… he sees me for who I am. Both in the virtual and real world." She gave a heartfelt smile at Kyouji. "I think there's someone for you too out there. Someone that you can find that will see the real you and what a great guy you are."

Shirou could see Kyouji staring bitterly at him. He sighed to himself. "You really are a dense idiot, you know that?"

"What did you say to me?!" Kyouji growled.

"I said you're a dense idiot." Shirou repeated, staring Kyuoji right back in the eye. "Do you have any idea how much Shino cares about you? How guilty she feels about not being there for you before? She cares about you a lot, more than you could ever realize."

"And that pisses you off, doesn't it? You see me as someone standing in your way to be with her."

"It's true that it would hurt to see Shino be with you instead of me." Shirou told him. "But if that's what would make her happy… then I'd try and find a way to be ok with it."

"What?"

"It's because I love her." Shirou said. "Shino's told me a lot about you. About how you've always been there for her when she was struggling, and how you've saved her from people that would bully her. When I hear about you, I know just how much you care about her."

Shino looked at Kyouji again. "Kyouji, you're one of the best friends I ever had. I don't know if I would have made it this far without you. That's why when you get out of here… I want to have a shot at us being friends again. I don't think anything would really work out between us romantically, but it would mean the world to me if you and I could be friends again."

Kyouji saw the sincerity in Shino's eyes. Tears fell from his own eyes. "Could you still forgive me… after what I did to you?"

Shino nodded her head. "Yes I would."

For the first time since she saw him behind that glass window, Shino saw Kyouji smile a little. "You… *hic*… You have no idea how much I've wanted to hear you say that."

Shino smiled and nodded her head as she and Shirou got up from their seats. "Well we need to get going. I'll come visit again soon, ok Kyouji?"

Kyouji nodded his head. "Yeah… I'll be waiting. And Shino… Thanks." He looked over at Shirou. "You better take good care of her, you got that?"

"I will." Shirou nodded.

Shino walked out of the building as she held hands with Shirou. "Thanks for coming with me. It really meant a lot having you there."

Shirou smiled as he nodded. "Well then, you wanna get something to eat? I'm starving."

Shino giggled at the goofy boy she loved. "Sure. Let's go."

"Maybe we should stop by Dicey Café. We might run into Hyde there, where you can brag about your new legendary weapon."

Shino nodded her head and walked off with her boyfriend. She didn't know what she had done to get so lucky and be blessed with the wonderful people in her life, but she treasured them none the less.

**A/N: So what did you guys think? It's been awhile since I've written out a boss fight so I hope I did a good job. Next chapter will be a comic relief chapter since it's been awhile since I've done one for this story. After that though, there is going to be a new arc since everyone seemed to like the last one so much.**


	94. Switcheroo

**A/N: Hey guys. So I was looking back at the reviews for this story (thanks again for all you guys that review by the way) and I saw one suggestion in them that gave me the idea for this chapter. I have a feeling you're all going to like it a lot. Enjoy.**

Alicia walked through the city streets with Lilina at her side. The two girls had a day of fun planned out between themselves and Asuna and they couldn't wait to get started. The three of them had planned to meet up at Asuna's house. They were planning on going onto ALO at some point so Alicia and Lilina had brought their Amu Spheres with them.

"It's going to be nice for us girls to have a day to ourselves finally." Alicia smiled.

Lilina nodded her head. The last time they had planned a girl's day, they had gotten ambushed by Zane and his friends. Today was something that all of them needed. "I've never been to Asuna's place before. What about you?"

"Nope." Alicia said with a shake of her head. "I wonder what her place is like with her family being rich and all."

"We'll find out soon."

"Just try not to steal anything shiny you see." Alicia teased.

"Hey, I don't steal things… from friends."

"So you'll steal from basically anyone else?"

Lilina smirked at her friend. "Hey, I am a modern day Robin Hood. I steal from the rich and give to the poor, with the poor being myself."

Alicia rolled her eyes as they continued walking. It was only a few more minutes before the two girls arrived at Asuna's house. They couldn't help but give a low whistle at how fancy the house looked from the outside. Alicia and Lilina walked up and knocked on the front door.

Within seconds, the door opened and the girls were greeted by a woman that seemed to be in her early forties. "Hello. Can I help you?"

"U-Um, hello." Alicia greeted with a bow. "Is Asuna home?"

"Oh you must be Miss Yuuki's friends." the woman realized. "Please come in. I'll go tell her you're here."

Alicia and Lilina walked inside the Yuuki mansion and were even more surprised by the interior of the home. Fancy and expensive looking objects filled the place. As the two girls looked around, Asuna's voice came from the top of the stairs to the second floor.

"Alicia! Lilina!" Asuna greeted with a warm smile. "Glad you could make it!"

"Hey Asuna." Alicia waved as her friend came downstairs. "Your house is amazing."

"Seriously though!" Lilina agreed. "I knew your family was rich but… wow! I wasn't expecting this!"

"Come on you two. It's a little embarrassing when you say it like that." Asuna blushed. She looked over at her housekeeper who had let them in. "Thanks Miss Sada. And would it be ok if you kept the fact that they're here today from my mother?"

"Don't worry. Your secret's safe with me." Sada said with a smile. "Please excuse me. I must get back to cleaning."

Asuna thanked her with a bow and Sada walked into another room. She turned to Alicia and Lilina. "Sorry about that."

"Sorry for what?" Alicia asked curiously.

"For going so far to not tell my mother about you. She's not very approving of my friends from SAO, so I don't want her knowing that I'm hanging out with you two today. It's not that I feel I should be embarrassed by you or anything, it's just-"

"Relax Asuna. We understand." Lilina assured her. "We have a pretty good picture of your mother based on the things you've told us about her."

Alicia nodded her head in agreement. "Yeah. We don't mind you keeping us hanging out a secret."

"Thanks. You girls are the best." Asuna smiled. "So do you want to go on ALO now or should we wait?"

"Let's go on now." Lilina suggested. "I think the guys are on. We should go say hi."

Alicia and Asuna had no complaints so they all went up to Asuna's room. When they walked in, Alicia and Lilina couldn't help themselves and made a breakneck run for Asuna's wardrobe.

Lilina gasped as she pulled out a fancy looking dress from the back. She couldn't help but notice the color of it, red and white. "Looks like the Vice Commander of the Knights of the Blood Oath is still sticking around."

Asuna blushed in embarrassment as she took the dress. "C-Cut it out!"

"But you have so many cute clothes!" Alicia squealed. "And not to egg Lilina on, but quite a few of them are red and white."

Asuna hung the dress back in her closet and closed the doors. "I guess some habits are hard to shake. I still want to hang on to the part of me that was in SAO."

"I can understand that." Alicia nodded. She felt that everyone gained and lost parts of themselves during those two years in SAO.

"Forget about that. Let's hurry up and log on." Asuna said. Her room was fairly large so there was more than enough room for the three of them. Asuna laid on her bed while Alicia sat in a chair by the desk and Lilina sat on a large cushion in the room.

As the three of them fit their Amu Spheres around their heads, Asuna couldn't help but feel that she was forgetting something. She couldn't figure out what it was though so she simply shrugged it off. The three girls all entered the virtual world simultaneously.

"Link Start!"

Asuna felt her vision go white and her consciousness drifted away from the real world. She watched as the five senses check went by and the usual sign of 'Welcome to Alfheim Online' greeted her. Just as the sign faded away, Asuna's vision began to glitch slightly.

'_That's weird.'_ Asuna thought. _'Is there some kind of error?'_

Suddenly the ground beneath her opened up into a bottomless black pit and she fell in. "Ahhhhhhhhhhh!"

Asuna fell for a few seconds before she felt her body hit something hard. She groaned as she opened her eyes and found herself in Yggdrasil City.

'_What was that all about?'_ Asuna wondered. _'Oh well, at least I logged on safely.'_

Asuna tried to get to her feet, but her body felt weird and she fell over. The feeling wasn't just weird, it was… unfamiliar. Like it wasn't her own body.

"Alice?"

Turning around, Asuna saw two others with her. The first was Dagger and the second was… herself?! Asuna quickly rubbed her eyes, thinking she must be seeing things but it was still there. She was looking at her own avatar.

Asuna's avatar looked at Asuna. "Alice? Are you alright? I think some kind of error occurred when we all logged on together."

Asuna stared curiously at her doppelganger. "What are you talking about? I'm Asuna. And why do you look just like me? Who are you?"

"Me? I'm Dagger, who else would I be? And how could you be Asuna when that's Alice's avatar?"

Asuna gasped as she looked down at herself. She twisted and turned as she examined her body. There was no mistaking it. This was Alice's avatar! "Wh-What the hell?! What's going on?!"

Dagger's avatar finally shook the dizziness out of her head and looked at the two girls. Her eyes bulged out when she saw her own avatar. "Hey! Why do you look just like me?!" She then looked at herself. "And why do I look like Dagger?!"

Players in the streets began staring oddly at the three girls. Asuna, Alice, and Dagger took notice of this and knew they had to do something.

"Let's go somewhere private for now so we can figure this out." Asuna suggested. The other two nodded in agreement and they all took off running. It felt weird moving around in an avatar she wasn't used to, but Asuna managed to keep herself from tripping over her own two feet. They finally turned a corner and hid in an alleyway.

"Ok, now that we're alone, let's try and get this figured out." Dagger, who looked exactly like Asuna, said. "I'm Dagger." She pointed at Alice's avatar. "You're Asuna?" Then she finally pointed to her own avatar. "And you're Alice?"

Asuna and Alice confirmed with a nod. Alice broke out into a nervous sweat. "Wh-Why is this happening?! How could our avatars have swapped like this?!"

"Wait a minute… Did we make sure to adjust our Amu Sphere settings for all three of us being so close together when we logged on?" Asuna realized. The three of them stared blankly at each other before realizing their mistake.

It was a well-known, but rare occurrence in VRMMOs. If multiple players logged in within a close proximity together, or if one person logged on when someone else was using an Amu Sphere nearby, there was a chance of an error occurring. The problem could be easily avoided by adjusting the settings on one's Amu Sphere before logging on. However, it was such a rare occurrence that the fact was usually forgotten.

"Alright, let's calm down for a second." Dagger said. "If we just log off, everything should go back to normal, right?"

"I think so." Asuna nodded. "Let's give it a try."

The three girls all opened their menus and logged out. Perhaps it was paranoia, but they decided to log off one at a time to avoid any other weird things happening. The girls just prayed that they would wake up in their own bodies, no matter how ridiculous it sounded for anything other than that to happen.

As the girls all woke up back in the real world, they were all relieved to find that they were back in their own bodies.

"Thank god." Alicia said with a sigh of relief. "I don't know what I'd do if I found myself as Lilina."

"Hey, are you saying I'm not pretty?!" Lilina argued.

"N-No! Nothing like that!" Alicia assured her. "It's just it would really complicate our lives if our real world bodies were swapped as well, wouldn't it?"

Lilina giggled at the scared face her friend was making. "Relax Alicia, I'm joking. I know you'd never call me ugly."

Asuna took off her Amu Sphere and fiddled around with a few switches in the back of the device. "Alright. I think I adjusted my settings correctly. Let me log on first and make sure that we can log on in our own avatars, just to be safe."

Alicia and Lilina nodded. After Asuna logged onto ALO, they began adjusting the settings in their own Amu Spheres as well. It felt somewhat awkward with the silence after what had just occurred, so Alicia decided to ask something on her mind. "So what did it feel like being Asuna?"

Lilina stayed silent for a few seconds before looking down at her chest. "A little insecure."

Alicia giggled to herself when she realized what her friend was referring to. "Come on, it's not like you're flat or anything."

"I know but I just felt annoyed. It's not much of a difference, but I could tell hers were bigger than mine once I was walking around in her body."

"Don't put much thought into it. You're still very pretty. I know Hyde thinks so at the very least." Alicia told her.

Another minute or so passed before Asuna woke up again. She had a relieved smile on her face. "Alright. It looks like the problem is gone. I just logged in and I was in my regular avatar again."

Alicia and Lilina each took turns logging on themselves just to be safe and make sure the glitch was gone for them too. Thankfully, they found themselves in their own avatars as well. Once all three of them were done checking, they let out a collective sigh of relief.

"I'm glad the problem's fixed." Asuna said. "It would be really bad if we weren't able to return to our own avatars."

"Yeah. Plus, what would the guys think?" Alicia said with a laugh.

"That's for sure." Lilina giggled. Suddenly, a thought popped into all three of their minds. They looked at each other with the same grin on their faces.

"Are we all thinking the same thing?" Alicia asked.

"If it's that we're going to mess with Kirito, Ren, and Helios, then yes we are." Asuna smirked.

It took a bit of work, but the girls quickly managed everything. They started by logging onto ALO with their own accounts. Once they had done that, they each left the virtual world, but stayed logged onto their accounts. Once that was done, the girls swapped their Amu Spheres with each other and returned to the virtual world in different avatars. They had decided to stick with the change the system had given them when the error first occurred. Asuna was Alice, Lilina was Asuna, and Alicia was Dagger.

**(A/N: For the rest of the charade, I will be referring to each of the girls with their regular avatars. For example, when I say Alice, I am referring to Alice in Dagger's avatar. I hope that will clear up any confusion.)**

"Alright, I just checked and all of the guys are online right now." Alice said. She still felt like she had drawn the short end of the stick, having to be with Helios. But it was still a chance to mess with him so she decided to go with it.

"Ok, we have to make sure not to get caught doing this." Asuna said.

"Definitely." Dagger nodded. "Now let's move out."

* * *

Ren sat in his player home and scrolled down his menu. Alice was supposed to be hanging out with Asuna and Lilina today, so that gave him the day to himself. Now there was just the question of what to do.

'_I guess I'll just do some solo grinding in the fields.'_ Ren decided. He got up from the couch and walked outside.

Ren figured that going to the highest cleared floor in New Aincrad would be best. He enjoyed exploring the fields from his time in SAO again. It brought a feeling of nostalgia to him. As he was about to walk up to Lunet's teleport gate, he saw someone surprising appear in town from the gate.

"Alice?" Ren questioned. "What are you doing here?"

Asuna slowly tried to figure out in her head how Alice would act with Ren. Once she had the fake personality set in her mind, she showed the same smile that Alice usually had whenever she was with Ren.

"Something came up with Asuna." she explained. "So since I had nothing to do today, I thought we could spend the day together."

"Really? Asuna was busy?" Ren asked. "That's a shame. You guys were really looking forward to today."

"Yeah, I suppose so." Asuna said. "So what do you want to do?"

"Well I was going to do some hunting in the fields."

"That sounds like fun!" Asuna smiled. "Let's get going!"

Ren and Asuna walked together to the teleport gate and teleported to the highest current floor of New Aincrad, Floor 42. The fields were filled with grassy plains and hills. Boars, wolves, and other wild animals were the most common monsters here.

Asuna had another reason for wanting to train with Ren like this. Not only would she be able to mess with him, but she had also been very curious as to what it was like to fight with a scythe. She always thought Alice looked really cool whenever she wielded it back in SAO, but Asuna never spent the time to train her scythe skill since she had already spent so much time and skill points on her rapier skill. Now she would have the full experience as to what using a scythe was like.

Once the two of them arrived in the fields, the went to hunting right away. Ren faced off against a boar, clashing against its tusks with his sword in a test of strength. He finally managed to push it back and knock it off balance. "Now Alice! Switch!"

"On it!" Asuna shouted. She held Alice's Twilight's Crescent in her hands and charged in. As she swung the curved blade, Asuna instantly realized she put too much power into the swing and lost her balance. She easily slashed through the boar and defeated it but the embarrassing follow-up of landing on her but took away any pride from the kill.

"Alice, are you okay?!" Ren asked, running over to her. "What happened there? You've never fought like that before."

"My bad Ren." Asuna said, trying to laugh it off. "I guess it was just an off moment for me."

In reality however, Asuna couldn't help but wonder how she was going to do this without Ren catching on. With one swing of the weapon, Asuna realized that using a scythe was a lot harder than it looked.

'_This might end up being a bit more difficult than I thought.'_ Asuna told herself.

* * *

Kirito yawned a bit as he relaxed on his couch with Yui sleeping by his side. A day without Asuna was a boring one for him as most of his time in ALO was spent on either doing quests with friends or spending time with his girlfriend. With all his friends busy and Asuna having that girl's day out, he had nothing else to do but to entertain Yui for a while. But even that didn't last long as she tired herself out after an hour and a half of playing with him. He looked down at his daughter's sleeping face and smiled as he saw her softly snore with a smile. He was soon broken from his reverie as a soft knock came from the door.

"Kirito? Are you there?"

'_Asuna?' _

The Black Swordsman turned around to see "Asuna" walking through the front door with a smile on her face as she noticed him. "Oh Kirito, I'm glad to see you're still here. The others had to cancel at the last minute so I thought I'd spend the day with you."

"Good, to be honest I was getting kinda bored just sitting here." Kirito said as he got up and picked up Yui with him causing her to stir awake.

"Mmm… Papa? What are you doing?" she asked while wiping the sleep from her eyes. Looking to where her dad was looking, a smile burst onto her face as she saw her mother standing at the doorway. "Mama!"

Dagger fell backwards as Yui jumped out of Kirito's arms and jumped into her. The young girl smiled brightly as she looked up to her "mother". "Mama, I thought you were gonna be playing with Dagger and Alice?"

Dagger chuckled as she lifted Yui up in her arms with a bit more effort than she would've liked._ 'Damn, how strong is Asuna!? This kid is heavier than she looks!'_ She gave an affectionate pat to the young girl's head. "Well as it turns out they had to cancel last minute so here I am."

"Um Mama? Why is your player tag all funny looking?"

The merchant felt a bead of sweat go down her neck as she pulled Yui closer in her hug. "What are you talking about? My tag is just fine."

The young girl squirmed in her "mother's" grip as she looked above her head to find it still glitching in her eyes. "But Mama it's all pixely looking."

Kirito raised an eyebrow as he saw Asuna pick their daughter up and move into the kitchen while ignoring Yui's inquiries about her tag. After she found a good spot to hide, Dagger placed the little girl down and looked her in the eyes. "Okay listen Yui, I'm not your mom Asuna. It's me Dagger." Before Yui could yell an outburst, Dagger covered her mouth with her hand. "Don't freak out okay!? It's just something me and your mom and Alice are doing. Think of it like… playing a game of switcheroo."

"But isn't that considered lying?"

The merchant smiled softly and gave Yui another playful pat to her head. Bless this girl and her naive outlook. "No it's not lying it's just a practical joke. No one is gonna get hurt in this and it's all in good fun. So can you please not rat me out to your dad? That would ruin the joke."

Yui nodded her head. "Okay 'Mama' I won't say a word."

"Good girl, do a good job and I'll get you some candy later." Dagger promised. Seeing Yui's face light up with joy gave her all the confirmation she needed that she wouldn't blow her cover. _'Asuna, your money is going to be put to gooood use.'_

The two of them got out of their hiding place from the kitchen and walked back to Kirito who was awaiting them with an expectant look. "So am I gonna get an explanation for that sudden show or no?"

Dagger gave a dismissive wave of her hand to his notion as Yui did the same thing. "Oh don't worry about that Kirito. Just had to clear up some confusion with Yui. Now since we're all here why don't we out to the town and have some fun?"

"And is this fun gonna include shopping like usual?"

"Well now that you mention it my wardrobe is looking rather stale. Maybe a quick swing to the shopping district will fix that little issue."

"Of course…" Kirito sighed as he resigned to his fate as bag carrier. Good thing Leafa or the others weren't around to join in on this trip. Without Ren or Helios for help, Kirito doubted he'd be able to survive being the pack mule of the group.

* * *

Helios was surprised when Dagger showed up out of nowhere and suggested they go out on a date. She had said earlier today that she would be with Asuna and Alicia, but Helios wasn't complaining since it meant he could spend the day with the girl he loved.

Alice was thoroughly enjoying herself. She loved the idea at getting an opportunity to see the other side of Helios, the side that he only showed Dagger. She would be able to do so much blackmail with this.

'_Think Alice. What would Dagger say in a situation like this?'_ Alice asked herself. "So… beat up any noobs recently?"

Helios gave a puff of his chest as he walked with Dagger. "Please. You know that I have standards for the losers I destroy."

'_Right… standards.'_ Alice thought. Her eyes caught sight of a stand in the city streets and she ran over to it. It was lined with several different sweets and desserts. "Oh these look delicious! I definitely need to try some of these!"

"Ok then." Helios said. "Let me get some Yld out."

"No need. I can pay for it."

Helios looked at Dagger with a raised brow. "Dagger? Did you just offer to pay for something?"

Alice froze, realizing her mistake. _'Damnit! What was I thinking?! Come on Alice, you need to make sure he isn't suspicious!'_

"O-Oh well um… I can't have you paying for EVERYTHING. I mean, I have to show that I don't put my boyfriend second to money."

Helios was silent for a few seconds before he shrugged it off. "It's alright Dagger. I know that you love me more than money… no matter how hard it is to believe."

"Oh you." Alice giggled. She brought her attention back to the sweets. "Now then, what should I get?"

After selecting several sweets to buy, Alice and Helios sat together on a bench and shared them. As they ate, Alice couldn't help but be surprised at the caring side she was seeing of Helios. He was almost never like this when others were around. It just went to show that maybe there was more to him than some tough guy. The way things were going, Alice would have a lot of fun teasing Helios about his softer side.

But then something unexpected happened.

"Hey Dagger?" Helios asked. "You wanna go somewhere more private?"

A cold sweat went down Alice's neck as she heard Helios utter those words. Somewhere private usually meant romantic stuff like kissing, and even if this wasn't her avatar there was NO WAY she was kissing Helios. But at the same time, if she said no then Helios was just going to get more suspicious.

"S-Sure." Alice said nervously. "Let's get going."

Helios got up from the bench along with Alice. The two of them walked through the streets as Alice's mind frantically searched for a way out of the situation she was in without revealing who she really was.

'_I am so screwed.'_

* * *

"Are we done yet?"

"Almost Kirito, just let me look at the next store."

"You said that five stores ago!"

Kirito's cries fell on deaf ears as Dagger hummed herself a tune to ignore him. She was having a field day with spending Asuna's insane amount of Yld on all sorts of clothes in the colors Asuna didn't like. Most of them were a combination of red and white. The merchant saw it as a way to remind her friend of the glory days of SAO and her leadership role. Really she was just being a good friend, at least that's what she told herself.

Her accomplice Yui wasn't making things easier for Kirito's wallet either as she kept stopping them to order any sweet treat that came into immediate view. This caused Kirito to try to construct a route that avoided all the food stalls to save what little Yld he had left to his name.

Yui smiled as she bit into her candy apple while holding her "mom's" hand in delight. "This is a lot of fun Mama, I'm so happy that Papa is being so generous."

Dagger laughed as she noticed Kirito's look of suffering at carrying all the bags. "Well we should be glad he values us enough to put our happiness before his. He's such a caring father isn't he?"

"Mhm."

"Say Asuna, why are you buying so much today?" Kirito asked. "I mean sure you buy a lot normally but I think you're going kinda crazy here. Plus why all the red and white, I thought you hated wearing those colors in the virtual world. You said that it clashes with your blue hair or something like that."

"Oh Kirito, Kirito, Kirito. A woman's need to buy things is something you boys will never understand. You'll never understand the concepts of fashion and the like. Plus I never said I disliked red and white, I just don't wear it as often as I used to." Dagger chided with a poke to Kirito's nose. "Plus I have all this spare Yld just lying around, why not spend it on myself every now and again."

"But I thought you said you were going to use that Yld to get something for Yui's birthday?"

In reality, Yui had no set birthday that the couple knew of. But rather than celebrate the day she was created, Kirito and Asuna celebrated the day they found Yui and became their daughter. With the day approaching he was really confused at his wife's insane amount of spending.

"O-Oh well it's not like it's a problem or anything. I can just go around in the fields and get the money I need from monster hunting. Money's easy to find around here after all with that gold rabbit event happening." Dagger said trying to cover her tracks.

Now this really confused Kirito as that event was only available to players with a near maxed out treasure hunting stat. And as far as he knew Asuna's treasure hunting stat was as low as his own cooking stat. "Isn't that event exclusive to treasure hunters?"

'_Crap! He's sharper than I give him credit for!' _Dagger started to panic slightly as her grip on Yui's hand tightened out of reflex, causing the young girl to squirm in her grip. "W-Well I could just get Dagger to do the quest for me. She'd be willing to helping a friend out."

Kirito frowned at that flimsy excuse. Even friends weren't immune to Dagger's insane price splits. If she was tasked to do this she would easily charge a 75/25 split in her favor so Asuna would be getting the short end of the stick even if the rabbit dropped 100,000 Yld per kill. "Asuna is there something you're not telling me?"

"Pssh what? I not keeping anything from you Kirito my love! I have nothing to hide from you. I know that Dagger would be willing to give me a bit of leeway with the Yld if that's what you're worried about."

"Alright now I know something is up with you. You never talk positively about Dagger when it comes to her deals after the last time she split a reward with you. What are you hiding?"

Dagger felt herself become trapped between a rock and a hard place. If she kept on going he would just become more suspicious but if she tried to change the subject then he'd only pry more. She had only one chance to keep up the charade. And that was getting Yui's help to distract him. She turned her head to the young girl only to see her escaping her grip by going into her pixie form and flying into Kirito's jacket.

'_Traitor!'_ Dagger screamed inside her mind. "Why are you asking so many questions Kirito? Don't you trust me?"

"Oh I do trust you Asuna, that's why I'm gonna ask you a question that only you should know. Answer this and I'll drop this conversation but answer wrong and more questions will be raised."

Dagger felt herself relax a bit. Asuna loved telling the romantic stories between them to the girls when they were without the guys so there was very little about their mushy past that the merchant didn't know. "Okay go ahead then."

"The day after we kissed for the first time and you invited me over to drink tea, what did you do after you turned off the lights."

Now this one was easy for her. Going to Asuna's house for tea and turning down the lights? It was plain to see where a night like that would lead to. Since they were in public, Dagger didn't want to just blurt out the answer so she whispered to Kirito the answer she knew was right.

She knew she was in trouble when Kirito's frown deepened. "Wrong."

With no other options remaining and her partner in crime having abandoned her, Dagger did the only thing a girl like her would do in a situation like this.

She turned around and ran like hell.

* * *

"Alice, watch where you're swinging tha- W-Woah!" Ren ducked as the curved blade of Alice's Twilight Crescent swung over him, nearly ripping off his head.

"S-Sorry!" Asuna exclaimed. "I don't know what's wrong with me today! I just can't seem to get this right."

For the past hour, Ren and Asuna had been hunting together in the fields. Asuna had hoped she would get the hang of using a scythe quickly, but she wasn't having much luck. It was much heavier and a lot trickier to use than the rapier Asuna was used to using.

The saddest part was that she had come close to killing Ren more times than the monsters she had killed today.

"Maybe we should quit while I'm still in one piece." Ren suggested.

"No! I promise I can get the hang of this, trust me!"

Ren looked oddly at his in-game wife. "Are you alright, Alice? Something's off about you."

Asuna quickly tried to think of a way out of her situation. She had to get Ren to believe that she was Alice and fast. "Wh-What are you talking about? I'm fine. Honest."

"Then what's up with your fighting style today? You haven't been this sloppy since you started using scythes for the first time."

"I... uh…"

"Alice…" Ren said with his eyes narrowed. "What's going on?"

'_Think Asuna! Think!'_ Asuna sighed as she decided that she was going to have to give up on trying to use a scythe for now in order to keep up the ruse. "Why don't we go do something in Yggdrasil City."

"Not so fast." Ren told her. "You're not getting off by changing the subject that easily."

Asuna didn't give Ren a chance to stop her as she began running back to town. "Come on Ren. Let's get going."

"Hey wait! Alice!" Ren called out as he began running after her.

* * *

Helios and Alice walked into one of the rooms at the inn at Yggdrasil City. Alice had spent the entire trip trying to figure out how to get herself out of the situation she was in without revealing who she really was. Unfortunately, she had come up with nothing so far.

"So…" Helios began as he reached out his arm. Alice instinctively distanced herself from him, causing Helios to raise his brow. "Dagger? Is something wrong?"

"N-No. Nothing's wrong." Alice assured him. "I just thought we could… talk. Yeah, that's it."

Something felt off to Helios. Usually Dagger would be the one that would want to spend some alone time and kiss the most. But now she seemed reclusive. It was like she was an entirely different person.

"You seem kind of tense." Helios said. "Turn around. I have an idea."

"What?!" Alice exclaimed.

"Just trust me. I'm not going to do anything dirty or perverted, Dagger."

Alice reluctantly decided to follow Helios's instructions. Not long after she did, Alice felt Helios's hands press against her back and massage her. "H-Helios?!"

"Just relax." Helios told her. "I know what I'm doing, trust me."

Usually a massage WOULD have felt relaxing to Alice. She remembered when Ren gave her one every now and then. But in this situation, mostly dealing with the fact that it was Helios giving it to her, all it accomplished was making things more awkward.

"Geez Dagger, your body's really tensed up." Helios said.

"S-Sorry." Alice said. "I don't know what's wrong with me."

"I know what'll clear your mind. Come on, sit up."

Alice silently breathed a sigh of relief that the message was over. As she sat up though, Alice gasped as she saw Helios lean in for a kiss.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Alice screamed as she instinctively threw a sucker punch at her friend. The impact of her fist connected with Helios's cheek and sent him flying across the room and crashing into the wall.

'_Crap!'_ Alice thought to herself. _'I think I went too far.'_

"Ow…" Helios moaned as he picked himself up. Looking at Alice, his brow furrowed. "That punch… I only know two girls that hit that hard. And Dagger isn't one of them."

Sweat began to fall from Alice's forehead as she realized she had been found out.

"So… now the question is which one of the two are you. Asuna or Alice?"

Alice gulped as she answered nervously. "Y-Yeah. It's me. Asuna."

"Don't lie to me." Helios glared. "Asuna hits hard, but she does it with a slap. You hit me with a sucker punch. And that means you're Alice."

"N-Now Helios, I-I have a very good explanation for this."

"I'm listening."

"Well… you see… um… bye!"

Helios watched as Alice zoomed out of the room at a speed that nearly rivaled Ren's. He quickly gave chase. "Get back here!"

* * *

Alice ran. She ran and ran as fast as the legs of Dagger's avatar would carry her. She could hear Helios yelling at her in the distance, meaning she had to find a way to lose him and fast.

As Alice ran into the city square, she turned her head around to see if Helios was still tailing her. As she was looking away, Alice felt herself crash into something. She fell down on the ground and saw that she had run into Asuna and Dagger.

"What are you two doing here?!" Asuna gasped.

"No time for that! Kirito's on my tail!" Dagger exclaimed.

"I've got Helios chasing after me!" Alice told them.

"Found you!"

The three girls turned around to see Kirito looking at them with Yui on his shoulder. As they were about to run the other way, they found Helios blocking their path.

"Alright, what is going on?!" Kirito asked, pointing a finger at Dagger. "Who are you and why do you have Asuna's avatar?!"

"K-Kirito, we can explain!" Asuna told him.

"Good because I REALLY want to hear about this." Ren said, running over to them as well.

Asuna, Alice, and Dagger all looked at the three male players glaring at them, realizing there was no way out of this except to come clean.

"Ok, here's the truth." Asuna told them. "We all swapped our avatars around to try and mess with you. We were only trying to have some fun, nothing more."

Ren raised his brow. "So who's who then?"

"Well I know SHE'S Alice!" Helios glared, pointing at Dagger's avatar.

"Then that means Asuna's impersonating Alice." Ren realized.

"And Dagger's impersonating Asuna." Kirito added. "That explains why she was spending so much money freely."

"Wait, what?!" Asuna gasped. She glared at Dagger. "How much of my Yld did you spend?!"

Dagger gave a nervous laugh as she rubbed the back of her head. "Oh… Ten something thousand or so."

"Ten thousand!?" Asuna exclaimed. "What the hell Dagger?!"

"That's nothing." Alice groaned. "Helios was about to-"

"Why would you girls do something like this?!" Ren yelled. "What you three did went way past a little good clean fun!"

"Yeah! You were messing with our hearts!" Kirito added.

"And YOU spent half a fortune of my money!" Asuna yelled, pointing at Dagger.

Alice felt slightly annoyed from being ignored. "Guys, Helios almost-"

"I can get you the money back!" Dagger assured her, terrified of the raging Undine. "At least half of it, give or take."

"Oh no! You're paying me back in full!"

"Are you three even going to apologize to us?!" Kirito asked.

"HELIOS TRIED TO KISS ME!"

The entire group fell silent after Alice's outburst, all of their mouths open wide. A few seconds passed before all of their heads collectively turned towards Helios.

"W-Woah, hang on!" Helios said. "In my defense, I thought she was Dagger at the time!"

Ren pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. "Alright, I'm going to try and forget what Alice just said. But that doesn't mean you girls are getting off easy for this."

"We're really sorry." Asuna told them. "We promise never to do anything like this again."

"Oh no. You're not sorry just yet." Helios glared. "I think a little payback is an order. Don't you think so?"

"Definitely." Kirito nodded.

"My thoughts exactly." Ren said in agreement.

The three girls shivered in fear as to what the guys had planned for them.

* * *

"Ah, this is nice." Ren said as he leaned back in his chair and took a bite of the sandwich Asuna made. It was his fifth one and he wasn't planning on stopping anytime soon.

"You said it." Kirito agreed as he grabbed a sandwich from the platter. "Hey Asuna sweetie, is the next batch done yet?"

"Just a minute." Asuna moaned from the kitchen.

Ren and Kirito were relaxing in the home Kirito and Asuna owned on Floor 22. Asuna had been working to the bone cooking them meals for the past two hours. She had also been forced to prepare lunches for the guys in the real world for a week.

Ren looked over to Kirito. "Is Dagger back yet?"

"Should be any second now."

As if on cue, Dagger walked through the front door of the house, drenched in sweat. She had spent the last hour hunting out in the fields to try and earn back the money she had lost. Not only had she been forced to pay back Asuna for all the clothes she had bought, but also for upgrades to Kirito, Ren, and Helios's weapons, each of which was done by Liz.

Speaking of Liz, there was also Alice's punishment.

Helios and Alice walked into the house with Helios having a satisfied grin on his face and Alice moaning to herself. The two of them had just paid a visit to Liz's shop in Yggdrasil City, where Helios had spent a good hour messing up, knocking chairs and tables over, and spray-painting the wall while Liz was gone. Alice had been forced to take full responsibility for it and she was not looking forward to the scolding she was going to receive from Liz later.

"This is the life." Helios grinned as he took a seat on a free chair. He grabbed the last sandwich from the platter. "I still don't get how you can go so crazy for these Kirito. It's just a sandwich."

"Try it for yourself and you'll see." Kirito told him.

Helios shrugged as he decided to take Kirito up on his offer. With one bite of the sandwich, he felt like he had died and gone to heaven. He fell to his knees and looked at the sandwich in his hands. "Sandwich-kun…" He quickly yelled over to the kitchen. "Asuna, we need more food!"

"I'M COMING!" Asuna screamed from the kitchen. She walked out into the room wearing a red and white apron and carrying another platter of food. Ren had picked the colors out himself.

"I gotta say Asuna, those colors really suit you." Ren smirked.

"Shut up." Asuna mumbled as she walked away.

Ren, Kirito, and Helios all raised their drinks into the air. "Revenge is so nice, isn't it?" Kirito said.

"You bet." Ren and Helios said together as the three of them all guzzled down their drinks.

**A/N: Vengeance is a dish best served cold... and with sandwiches made by Asuna. Hope you all enjoyed the chapter. Next one will be the start of a brand new arc so look forward to that!**


	95. Ghost From the Past

**A/N: Hey everyone. Time for the new arc I promised you all! I've gotten multiple messages from readers asking me to do something involving a new VR game so this is what I came up with. Hope you all like it.**

Dan was dreading today. He had really hoped this wouldn't have happened, but he knew that it was just wishful thinking in the end. There wasn't much room for him to complain though since he had more or less asked for this.

"_Kikouka, I need you to trace Alicia's cell for me."_

"_What? But that's-"_

"_I'll do whatever goddamn favor you need in return after this, just do it!"_

Dan sighed as he walked into the fancy restaurant. He didn't get why a government official Kikouka had such a weakness for sweets, but that wasn't important. What was important was that he had called Dan out here for that favor he now owed him. _'I should have picked my words more carefully back then.'_

* * *

-A few hours ago-

Dan had just finished eating breakfast. He had a date with Alicia today and couldn't wait to enjoy the day with her, watching a movie at his house while snuggling up on the couch. Which is exactly why he groaned when he heard his phone ring and saw that the person calling him was Seijirou Kikouka.

Reluctantly, Dan picked up his cellphone and brought it to his ear. "Hello?"

"Hello Ren. It's me."

"Let me guess. This is about that favor I owe you?"

"I see nothing gets past you." Kikouka said on the other line. "Do you think you can meet me around noon today?"

"Fine. What is it you need me to do?"

"I'll explain when you're there. It's a bit complicated. I'll text you the address. See you at noon."

* * *

'_I am never asking the government for help ever again.'_

That thought went through Dan's mind as he walked into the dining room. Several high class fancy people were sitting in tables. He wasn't a fan of the rich and snooty type, but luckily he wasn't here to see them.

"Hello Ren. Over here."

Dan looked over to see Kikouka waving over towards him. Standing around wouldn't make this go away, so Dan decided to walk up, take a seat, and get whatever Kikouka needed him to do over with. "I take it this is about that favor I owe you."

"I don't want it to sound that way, but yes it is." the government official nodded. "Sorry. I had honestly planned to just have you repay me by paying my tab for a meal or something. Unfortunately though, something recently came up where we need help from a top gamer."

"And you had to go with me since you ran out of favors for Kirito." Dan assumed. Kikouka's expression told him he was right. "Alright then. What is it you need me to do?"

"Pretty straightforward huh? I won't beat around the bush then." Kikouka said. "Recently there have been a few incidents involving a VRMMO called Galaxy Star Online. Have you heard of it?"

Dan nodded his head. "Yeah. Nothing specific, but I've heard a bit about it here and there."

Galaxy Star Online, or GSO as it was called, was one of the VRMMOs created using the Seed program. It was one of the few VRMMOs that was set in space, this particular one using each of the planets in the solar system. Players could choose which planet they want to be from, somewhat similar to the race system in ALO, though there were very few forms of magic in GSO.

Kikouka continued his explanation. "Recently there have been players that were PKed in GSO. All of them seem to be from the same PKer. The problem is that every single player that was PKed had their Seed account deleted."

Dan raised a brow at this. It had already been known that a skilled enough hacker can cause the deletion of a player's Seed account upon being PKed. Gabriel Miller had been able to prove that much. But there was still one question at hand. How were these incidents and the government related?

"There's one more important thing." Kikouka added. "The main reason we were called in to investigate. A player on GSO knew one of the players that was PKed personally. After hearing their friend's account was deleted, they went over to check on them. When they arrived, they found the house was completely empty."

"Empty?" Dan asked. "How long ago after their account was deleted was this?"

"According to the logs, about two days." Kikouka explained. "The one thing that was found was an Amu Sphere lying on the bed, plugged in and turned on. The person living there, a woman by the name of Natsuki Fuchujima, had completely vanished without a trace. No one seems to know where she is."

Dan wanted to say something like _"She could have just gone on a trip and forgot about it"_ but he knew better than that. That would be far too big of a coincidence.

"After Ms. Fuchujima went missing, a thorough investigation was done for each of the players that were PKed and had their accounts deleted. When police arrived, they found the same scene. Empty house and an Amu Sphere rig plugged in and turned on with nobody using it."

"So let me get this straight." Dan said. "You're saying that these players getting PKed are disappearing, both from the real and virtual worlds."

"That's what it seems like." Kikouka nodded. "We suggested to the company that runs Galaxy Star Online to temporarily shut down its servers. Then this happened." He slid his tablet over to Dan with a message on it. "This was anonymously posted on GSO's message board."

Dan took a look at the tablet and read the message.

_To All of Galaxy Star Online,_

_As I am sure many of you have heard by now, several PK incidents have occurred in GSO. I am claiming responsibility for those deaths. With my power, any who fall to me will disappear. They will no longer exist in both the virtual and the real world. If you have the courage to stop the power of a god, then face me with your very life on the line. The world of GSO is only the beginning of my reign. My name is…_

Dan froze as he looked at the name at the end. He checked again just to make sure he wasn't seeing things. But there was no mistake in what he saw.

_My name is Akihiko Kayaba. I am coming to reclaim my rightful position as god of the virtual world._

This couldn't be possible. He had heard from Kirito that Kayaba had somehow downloaded his consciousness onto the internet, as impossible as it sounded. But for him to do something like this… was he really back?

"I believe you understand now why we need your help with this." Kikouka said. "If this threat really is somehow being caused by Kayaba, then a SAO Survivor is the best way to combat him."

"But that still doesn't explain anything." Dan said. "Even if Kayaba is PKing and deleting players' avatars, there's no way he could possibly do anything to their bodies in the real world."

"That's what we believe too. But the fact remains that people are still disappearing. And if what this message says is true, then the same thing could happen to players in other VRMMOs."

Dan couldn't deny what Kikouka was saying. Left unchecked, this could turn into a very serious problem for the VR industry. "So what do you want me to do?"

"GSO's company is refusing to back down from this. They feel that shutting down their servers would be a sign of defeat. So the only way to stop this is to take care of it now before things get worse. What I want you to do is log onto GSO and find the player responsible for the PK incidents, who may very well be Akihiko Kayaba, and deal with him."

"Do you have a name for this player?"

"Yes. According to the server records, the name of the avatar is… Ghost."

Dan thought about everything Kikouka had said. Even Kayaba wouldn't have done something like this. He firmly believed that the creator of SAO was no longer a threat to anyone. Besides, there should be no possible way for Kayaba to make people vanish into thin air. But the main question at hand was could Dan do it? He had had enough fighting with his life on the line for a lifetime. He wanted nothing more than to stay out of dangerous situations like this. But what was going on posed a threat to the virtual world. And as much as he hated to admit it, he did owe Kikouka a favor.

"I'll do it." Dan said. "But let me make this clear. I'm not going in to test and see if getting killed by this Ghost person will make me disappear. I'll fight him and try to figure out how he made the missing players disappear."

"I'm not asking you to get killed Ren." Kikouka assured him. "We'll have you log in from a hospital room so we can monitor you and make sure nothing goes wrong."

"Fine. But this is the last time I do you a favor like this, understand?"

"Completely." Kikouka nodded. "Ren... I doubt you'll believe me, but for what it's worth I'm sorry for having to get you involved in something like this again. I don't know if it'll help but I am willing to pay you for your work here."

"Whatever." Dan said as he walked away. He didn't know if Kikouka was telling the truth or not and frankly he didn't care. What mattered was that this would be the last time he'd be dealing with the government official.

There was still one thing he had left to do now. Something that was going to be a lot harder than finding and stopping Ghost. Trying to explain this to Alicia without her disapproving.

* * *

When Dan left the restaurant, it was close to the time he agreed to meet up with Alicia. They were supposed to meet at his house for their date so Dan decided to text her to meet him at the park on the way there. Alicia soon replied back telling him she'd meet him there.

As he finally entered the park, Dan couldn't help but feel a little more at peace. It was odd since what he was going to be doing for Kikouka would be anything but peaceful. But it didn't matter. Even if this was a favor, Dan felt a personal connection to it with the player going by the name of Ghost claiming to be Kayaba and it was up to him to put a stop to it.

Suddenly, a pair of hands covered Dan's eyes from behind him. "Guess who?"

Dan didn't need to guess. He knew who's voice that was all too well. Turning around, he was face to face with Alicia as she leaned in and kissed him on the lips. When their lips separated, he smiled at her. "Hey Alicia. You ready to get going?"

"You bet." Alicia nodded. "What movie did you have picked out for us?"

"You'll have to wait to find out."

Alicia gave a mocking pout at him, but couldn't keep it up and ended up giggling. Dan took her hand and the two of the began walking to his house.

Dan spent the entire trip back to his house thinking of how he was going to convince Alicia to be ok with him doing something dangerous like going into GSO and fighting this Ghost player, who could very well be Kayaba according to that message Kikouka showed him. He didn't want to lie to her either, she would just end up being angry and hurt if he did that.

So how the hell was he supposed to pull this off?

When they finally reached his house, Dan still couldn't think of an answer. He couldn't afford to put this off any longer though so he decided to just hope for the best.

"Alicia" Dan began. "There's something I need to talk to you about?"

"What is it?" Alicia asked as the two of them walked inside.

"It's a bit complicated." Dan brought Alicia over to the couch and sat down with her. "You remember during the whole Noboru incident how I told you I found out where you were by having Kikouka trace your cell?"

Alicia nodded her head. "Yes. Of course."

"Well… He finally called in that favor."

Alicia suddenly realized where Dan was going with this. "What is he making you do? Is it dangerous?"

"Sort of."

"Then tell him no! I don't care if we owe him or not for his help, how can you possibly agree to put yourself in danger again?!"

Dan put a hand on Alicia's shoulder. "It's more complicated than that. If it wasn't, I would have refused."

"Then what is it?! Why do you have to do this so badly?!" Alicia pleaded.

"Because it might involve Kayaba."

Alicia tensed up at the mention of Kayaba. Dan went on to explain everything Kikouka had told him, from the mysterious disappearances to the message from someone claiming to be Kayaba. By the time he was finished, Alicia was speechless.

"I know it's dangerous." Dan told her. "But if Kayaba really is behind this, then I have to stop him before more people get hurt."

"But… But…"

"Alicia, the last thing I want to do is worry you." he said, bringing her in for a hug. "But I have to do this."

Alicia wanted to say something to talk Dan out of it. Something that would just make all of this go away. But she knew she couldn't. Dan was right. If Kayaba was behind these attacks, then something had to be done.

But that didn't mean he had to do it alone.

"I'm going with you." Alicia said.

Dan widened his eyes as Alicia said this. "No. There is no way I am letting you put yourself in danger."

"And I'm supposed to be ok with you doing it?!" Alicia exclaimed. "I'm not sitting on the sidelines, worrying while you risk your life! I said I'm going with you and I meant it!"

"But-"

"We're partners Dan. You don't have to fight all your battles alone. Let me help you."

Dan sat there in silence for a few moments. He worried about what could happen. The dangers Alicia might face if she went in with him. But at the same time, he realized how much Alicia worried about him and what might happen if she didn't go with him.

"Alicia…" Dan slowly said. "I'm sorry. I really don't want to get you involved but your right. Just promise me you'll be careful."

"Of course." Alicia nodded as she pulled herself closer to Dan. The two of them stayed there, snuggling for what seemed like hours as Dan started the movie for them to watch.

* * *

The world of GSO was vast. The outreaches of space stretch on for what seemed like forever. Stars and asteroids as far as the eye could see. Each planet was covered with dungeons and other places to explore. It was the perfect VRMMO for anyone with a sense of adventure. It was so big.

But everything seemed big when you were only about four feet tall.

One female player walked outside of the city on Jupiter. Everywhere along the planet there were rocks, rocks, and more rocks. But the way some of them were shaped were what she really like about them. Each one of the mountains and rock formations seemed like a work of art to her.

The girl's avatar had red hair tied up into two long ponytails. Her attire consisted of a dark green combat vest and shorts of the same color. A pair of handguns were tucked away safely in their holsters at her waist. Any heavy weapons were out of the question for her, considering her avatar's small height of three feet eight inches. That was the downfall to Ayumi in this world.

'_I could stare at this place all day.'_ Ayumi thought to herself.

"Well look at what we have here?"

Ayumi turned around and saw three players walking over to her. They were all at least five feet tall, far bigger than Ayumi. She flinched slightly, knowing the type of players these guys were based on the looks they were giving her.

"What do you think you're doing here, Plutarian?" one of them asked.

Plutarian. The name of Ayumi's race. It was easy to spot their kind, considering their defining feature was their small size. But the way the player had said it made it sound like she wasn't even a player. Just some joke for their amusement.

"I-I have just as much of a right to be here as you!" Ayumi told them, unable to completely hide the hint of fear in her voice. "I'm simply looking at the scenery so leave me alone!"

"Wow. This girl has quite the mouth on her." another one of them smirked. "Maybe we should put her in her place."

"I agree." his friend nodded, cracking his knuckles.

Ayumi quickly tried to reach for one of her handguns, but the player on the left brought out a hammer and knocked her back. She slid across the hard rocky ground painfully and watched her HP go down into the yellow. The muscular one of the trio, who seemed to be a brawler that fought only with his fists grabbed Ayumi 's arms and pulled them back, placing his boot firmly on her back.

"You Plutarians are so weak and pathetic. I wonder how soft your bodies are. Why don't we find out?"

Ayumi felt her arms being yanked back as she cried out in pain. The torturous process kept going for another thirty seconds before he finally let go. But they weren't done with her just yet. They kicked her over and over again while she laid on the ground.

"Plutarian trash!"

"Worthless scum!"

The insults kept flying around as they kicked her. Ayumi cried as they kept doing it with no end in sight.

'_Is this how it's always going to be for me?'_ Ayumi asked herself. _'A useless doll that has nobody to care about her. That is who I am.'_

* * *

"_What about this one?"_

"_Hmm… It seems to be having a strong effect on her."_

"_She's so young though. Do you think we should hold back the output a bit?"_

"_No. We have plenty of test subjects. If it fails and she dies, there are more than enough replacements."_

"_Understood. Should we throw her into one of the virtual testing rooms?"_

"_Yes. Go ahead." The scientist walked away while she stayed submerged in a pod. Walking away from her. Treating her like trash. The one that stayed behind typed something into the keyboard in front of him. _

_When he hit the last button, she felt her mind scream out in pain. It was as if something was attacking it. Eating it from the inside out. She cried out in pain, but her screams were muffled by the strange liquid she was submerged in and the oxygen mask that was feeding her air._

"_From now on, you are our puppet" the scientist grinned. "Your new name will be… Ayumi."_

* * *

"AHHHHHHHHHH!"

Ayumi suddenly cried out with a shout of rage and fury. A sudden surge of strength overtook her as she violently attacked the three players bullying her. She pushed them back with physical skills that rivaled a military soldier.

"Wh-What the hell?!" one of them gasped. He lunged towards Ayumi to try and attack her, but froze as Ayumi turned her head and stared at him with a murderous glare that he had never seen before.

"Kill… I'll kill you… I'LL KILL YOU!" Ayumi growled as she leaped at him. She hooked both her legs around the player's neck with the rest of her body hanging behind him.

"Get this crazy bitch off me!" he yelled. Soon he found himself falling back as Ayumi pulled her legs back, choking him. She jumped off of him just before he fell onto the ground. Grabbing the two guns at her waist, she shot two laser bullets that blew his legs off and left him helpless.

"You'll pay for that!" the hammer user yelled. He charged at her, but Ayumi easily dodged the blow from his hammer and shot him with a barrage of bullets from her handguns that whittled away his HP quickly. The final shot was aimed directly at his head and was more than enough to finish the job.

With one of their members crippled and the other one dead, the only one left was the brawler of the group.

"What the hell are you?" he asked, trembling in the wake of Ayumi's sudden rage.

Ayumi cried out like a wild animal as she lunged at him. Her small size may not have given her much in terms of raw power but it made up for it in speed. She clawed her right hand at his face, throwing him to the ground. She put the barrel of her handgun in his mouth and grinned madly as she pulled the trigger. One shot wasn't enough to finish him off, but it brought a large amount of pain. The second shot from her gun put the player out of his misery.

Now the only one of the trio left alive was the player that Ayumi had crippled by blasting his legs off. She looked at him with a murderous grin that made him quiver in fear, as if his life was at risk.

"N-No… Stop… G-Get away from me!"

Ayumi's breathing increased rapidly as she looked at her prey. She took a step towards him, but a sudden message appeared in front of her vision.

'Heart rate too high. Emergency disconnection.'

Ayumi's avatar disappeared in a flash of light and her consciousness drifted back to the real world. She awoke with a startle, panting heavily as her heart rate slowly went back to normal.

She was no longer Ayumi. She was once again Alana Heatherton, her real world identity. Tears with a mix of sorrow and rage fell from her eyes as she realized what had occurred and shivered in fear of herself.

'_It happened again.'_

**A/N: For those of you who are wondering, I based GSO off an old game that's still a favorite of mine called Phantasy Star Online. I made a few changes here and there for it to work with the story I have planned out. Hope you all enjoyed the chapter and what's to come.**


	96. Galaxy Star Online

**A/N: Hey guys. Time for the next chapter of this new arc. I'm planning on making this arc last around seven chapters or so, so you guys can look forward to that. Also I'm so excited for Castle Point Anime Convention this Sunday! It's gonna be great!**

**And to the person that keeps leaving hate reviews, if you don't like the story then don't read it.**

**Anyways, on with the chapter.**

Dan and Alicia stood in front of Chiyoda Hospital. This was the place that Kikouka had told Dan to come to for diving into Galaxy Star Online. It made sense for him to choose this place since they had already done something similar here when Kirito logged into GGO during the Death Gun incident.

Kikouka had already been informed by Dan that Alicia was joining him in this mission. The government official didn't have any objections, as the addition of another skilled player would most likely help. He had mentioned however that he already had someone picked out to assist them in GSO and that Alicia might not like her. Dan couldn't tell if he was referring to the fact that the mystery assistant was a female and Alicia would be jealous or something else.

"You ready for this?" Alicia asked, snapping Dan out of his thoughts.

"Yeah." he nodded. "Are you sure you want to log in too though? You could just stay in the room and-" Dan stopped as he noticed the glare Alicia was giving him. "N-Never mind. Forget I asked."

"Good." Alicia said. "Cause there's no way I'm letting you go in alone."

"To be fair, Kikouka did say someone would have been joining me anyway."

"Oh yeah, a government worker like Kikouka. That would have made me feel SO much better."

Dan couldn't argue with her on that. They didn't exactly have the best of relations with people working for the government. There was no point in continuing to stand outside, so the couple walked into the hospital.

Once they entered the building, Dan and Alicia were directed to the room they had to go to by the receptionist. After a short walk to their specified room, Dan and Alicia saw Kikouka standing outside the door waiting for them.

"Good to see you two." Kikouka greeted with his usual smile. "And sorry again for making you do this."

Alicia didn't provide any verbal response and instead glared at him as she walked into the room. The government official looked back at Dan. "She seems happy."

"Can't really blame her, can you?" he replied.

"No, I suppose not."

Dan walked inside the room with Kikouka. In the room, there were two women already present. The first was a nurse that was most likely here to keep an eye on their bodies while they were diving. The second was someone Dan had never seen before. She seemed to be in her late twenties and had short black hair. Based on her attire, Dan and Alicia assumed she was a scientist.

"Is this the assistant you said would be logging in with us?" Dan asked.

Kikouka shook his head. "No, the person I mentioned will be here soon. She's running a little late." He walked forward and gestured to the black haired woman. "Allow me to introduce you. This is Rinko Koujiro."

Dan gasped when he heard her name. He had only heard it once or twice, but the name was forged into his memory.

Alicia noticed the surprised look on her boyfriend's face. "Dan? What is it? Is something wrong?"

"Rinko Koujiro. She's one of the scientists that worked in the same lab as Kayaba. She also happens to be the person that took care of his body during SAO."

Alicia's eyes widened as she looked back at Rinko. The woman nodded at Dan. "Yes that is correct. Kikouka called me here to help with this incident due to my knowledge of Akihi- I mean Kayaba."

'_She nearly called Kayaba by his first name'_ Dan realized. _'Just how close were the two of them?'_

Kikouka took over the conversation from there. "We aren't sure if Kayaba is somehow involved in this, but considering the possibility we found it best to ask the help of someone that knew him personally."

Dan and Alicia nodded understandingly. "So if she isn't the person logging in with us, who is?"

Kikouka gave a nervous chuckle as he rubbed the back of his head. "Well-"

Before the government official could say anything more, the door opened behind Dan and Alicia. Both of them turned around to see a blonde woman that they both recognized. Alicia gasped at who it was.

"Elza?!"

The woman gave an annoyed look to Alicia. "You know, the least you could do is call me Elizabeth in the real world."

Alicia shot a glare right back at her. "Geez, you're the same as ever."

Dan realized now what Kikouka meant when he said that Alicia wouldn't like the assistant he had picked out. He knew she was a good choice considering her experience in VRMMOs and the fact that she was already acquainted with them. But there was also the fact that she and Alicia had never been on the best of terms with each other.

"What is she doing here Kikouka?" Elizabeth asked. "I thought I was just diving in with one person."

"Well… there's been a slight change in plans." he said. "She was very insistent on coming along so now you'll have two partners."

Elizabeth rolled her eyes. "Fine. As long as she doesn't get in the way."

Alicia was grinding her teeth as she clenched her fists. Of all the people for Kikouka to choose, it just HAD to be Elza.

'_This just keeps getting better and better.'_ Dan sarcastically thought to himself.

Alicia and Elizabeth both grumbled as they each laid down on a hospital bed. Dan took the last one. As the equipment was set up, Kikouka gave them a brief rundown of their exact mission.

"We don't know the exact location where Ghost is." Kikouka explained. "However, we assume he is most likely around Saturn or one of the nearby planets around there, since that was the last known location that an incident occurred."

"Got it. We'll start our search around there." Dan nodded.

"Elza has already transferred her account to GSO and gotten some decent gear for you all to use. She'll meet you both at the starting point of the game where you'll both first appear. Remember, you just need to find out who Ghost is, whether it's Kayaba or someone posing as him. If it is Kayaba, we'll try and figure out his motives by having Rinko here talk to him. If not, then I guess you'll have to figure something out on your own."

Dan sighed as he laid back on the bed and fit his Amu Sphere around his head. Alicia did the same, as well as Elizabeth. The three of them entered the virtual world together.

"Link Start!"

* * *

Before coming to the hospital, Dan and Alicia had done some preliminary research on GSO, or Galaxy Star Online. It was based throughout the solar system, so it used the same planets. Earth, Mercury, Venus, and the rest of them.

Players could choose to be from any one of the planets for their race, even Pluto though technically it wasn't a planet. The developers of the game probably just didn't want to start a nerd war or anything when they decided that. In addition to the planets, both the Moon and the Sun were possible choices for one's home world. Each race had a selected set of special skills that usually corresponded to the planet they chose.

Dan and Alicia had already stored all of their items with Agil for the time being so they wouldn't be lost when they transferred their accounts to GSO. After going through the process of transferring his Seed accounts to GSO, Dan found himself in what seemed to be the hanger room of a spaceship. Several different avatars were shown up in front of him with a window popped up asking which race he would like to be.

An AGI focused race was what Dan had wanted the most, and the research he did showed that Saturnians and Plutarians were the fastest races. However, neither of them really appealed to his taste. Sturnians, the race of Staurn, were fast due to skates that allowed them to glide along the ground, but Dan's poor skill at skating made that a bad choice. Plutarians, the race of Pluto, were fast but they were extremely small and had very little strength, so that was a no. Deciding to improvise, Dan had decided on the Lunarian race which were the inhabitants of the Moon and had high midair maneuverability. Alicia had gone with Mercury's race, Mercuran. It was a race that focused on close range combat, a perfect choice for her.

After selecting his race, Dan was teleported out of the hanger. When he opened his eyes, he was Ren once again, though his avatar was vastly different than his ALO one. His skin was paler than usual. Short silver hair fell from his head and fell down to about halfway down his neck. Dark blue basic armor was what he was equipped with, and no weapons to speak of. After he opened his menu and looked at his inventory, he found an item called Laser Sword.

'_Basic starter equipment. Good thing Elza should have better equipment for us to use.'_ Ren thought. _'Now then, how do I find Alice?'_

Looking at the area around him, Ren assumed he was in some sort of galactic space station like he had seen in science fiction movies. The outer windows showed the far reaches of space they were floating in. Futuristic looking buildings populated the area with players all over. Finding Alice in this crowd would be difficult.

"Ren! Where are you?!"

Ren looked over and saw a female player calling out his name. She had black hair and her voice was exactly the same. That was too good to be a coincidence.

"Alice!" Ren called out. "Over here!"

Alice saw Ren waving over to her and ran over to him. Her hair was jet black like it was in SAO instead of the black and violet mix it was for her Imp avatar in ALO. Her skin kept its usual color, unlike Ren's, and she was wearing starter equipment that was a muddy brown color.

"So now we just have to find Elza." Ren said. As if on cue, a message window popped up in front of him.

_Turn to your four o'clock._

_-Elza_

Ren did as the message said and saw a female player with violet colored hair looking at him and Alice. Ren could only assume that was Elza. The two of them walked over to her.

It was easy to see that Elza had been busy getting good equipment for herself. She seemed to be from the Vensian race, which was the race for the planet Venus. If Ren remembered correctly, it was a race that excelled in skills that dealt status effects such as poison or paralysis. Her armor was a much higher grade than the starter equipment Ren and Alice were wearing. In addition, a scythe with a pink handle and a curved red photon blade was hooked onto her back. Alice couldn't help but feel a little jealous at how incredible the scythe looked and that Elza had it instead of her.

"Let's hurry up and get this mission over with." Elza said. She opened her menu and sent a trade request to both Ren and Alice, giving them a better set of equipment.

Ren's new armor was a silver color that went with his Lunarian avatar. The weapon Elza had provided him was a pair of laser swords that extended from gauntlets strapped to his wrists. It would work well with his AGI build.

Alice had received light-weight black colored armor that came with a breastplate. Her weapon was a pair of white gauntlets that had futuristic looking violet line pattern on them. She noticed the smirk Elza was giving her that meant she had decided to keep the beam scythe for herself. Alice cracked her knuckles, as if to say to Elza that she could still take her down with simple hand to hand combat.

Ren could feel the tension between the two female players and decided to step in. "Alright then. Kikouka said we should start our search around Saturn, so let's start there." He looked at Elza. "Any ideas on how we get there?"

Elza pointed over to the distance. "There's a ship that takes players to several different locations around the world map. We just need to get tickets for the next one going to Saturn."

"Ok then. Let's get going."

The trio left the square they were standing in and went to the docks with Elza leading the way. As they walked, Elza quickly explained the basics of map travel to Ren and Alice.

Apparently where they were just now was a space station in the center of the world map. There were several others in the game, but this was the one that all players start at. It was also a common place for players to gather since there were good shops and plenty of information going around. At each space station, and at every city on each planet, there were ports where players could either fly their own ships or take the main traveling ship that most used to different planets. The main traveling ships could fit large amounts of people and left the station every hour.

"Our objective right now should be to get to Saturn and dig up what information we can on Ghost." Elza told them as they walked. "We need to do as much as possible today since the servers will be down for most of tomorrow for maintenance."

"Do we have any info on Ghost's style of fighting?" Ren asked.

"There's too many rumors flying around. Some say Ghost uses a large two-handed sword, others say it's a long range gun. We won't be able to tell what's true until we actually encounter Ghost ourselves." Elza explained.

"So we've got nothing to go on. Lovely." Alice muttered.

As Ren, Alice, and Elza walked through the station, a sudden scream was heard. "Leave me alone!"

The three players looked over towards a hidden alley in between two stores where the sound came from. Ren and Alice quickly ran over to check things out.

"Where are you going?! We need to get moving or we'll have to wait another hour to get a ride to Saturn!" Elza called out.

"You heard that scream just now. Someone's in trouble." Alice told her as she and Ren continued to run over.

When the couple arrived at the entrance to the alleyway, they saw a small girl with red hair getting bullied by five other players. The girl's height couldn't be any higher than four feet so Ren and Alice could only assume she was from the Plutarian race.

"Alright brat, hand over your money if you know what's good for you." one of the players told her.

"Leave me alone! I didn't do anything to you!" the girl yelled back.

"So? What do we care?" another asked. "It's survival of the fittest and shrimps like you are easy prey."

The girl reached for the guns at her waist, but one of the five players grabbed her by the throat and slammed her against the wall.

"Oh no you don't. You think we're letting you get away that easily?"

Alice had seen enough. She took a step forward. "Back off you jerks!"

The five players turned their heads to Alice and Ren. "Who the hell are you?"

The Plutarian girl took advantage of their distraction and sent a swift kick to the jaw of the player holding her. He held his jaw in pain as he dropped her. As she was about to run off, she felt someone grab her hair to keep her from running away.

"That wasn't very nice, now was it?" he snickered. "Looks like you need to be put in time out you little-"

Before he could finish what he was about to say, Alice sped at him and threw a punch to his face. He lost his grip on the girl's hair and was sent flying back to the end of the alley way.

"You're gonna pay for that, bitch!" one of his friends said as he lunged at her. Alice easily dealt with him as she ducked and then used the momentum to throw him over her and smash him painfully onto the ground. The other three tried to attack her, but Alice took one out with an uppercut and another with a kick to the gut. The last player was dealt with by Ren, who parried away his attack with one of his two laser swords and then pointed the second one at his throat.

"Now be a good little boy and apologize." Ren said with a smirk.

"I-I'm sorry! Please, have mercy!" he begged as he fell to his knees.

Ren grinned as he retracted his laser sword back into its gauntlet and walked back over to the female player that Alice was with right now.

"Are you alright?" Alice asked.

The girl nodded her head. "Y-Yes. Thank you for your help."

"Don't mention it." Alice said with a bright smile. "We were happy to help."

The girl smiled back. Looking behind Alice, she saw the player that Ren had taken care of just now get to his feet and charge towards Alice. "Look out!"

Alice didn't even bother to turn around. Instead she drove her elbow back without having to even look, lodging it right into the player's gut. He felt the air rush out of his lungs as he fell to his knees and gasped for air.

"Seriously how low can you get picking on a little girl like this?" Alice asked.

"I'm not a little girl!" the Plutarian said harshly. "I just look this way because of my race!"

"R-Right. Sorry, my bad." Alice apologized. "We're still new to GSO. My name's Alice and this is Ren."

The female player gave an understanding nod of her head. "My name's Ayumi. Sorry about yelling at you. I'm just a little sensitive when it comes to my height."

"Are you done yet?!" Elza called out from the distance. "We need to get moving!"

"Alright! Just give us a second!" Alice bit back. She turned back towards Ayumi. "Sorry, we need to get going. Maybe we'll see you around sometime."

"Where are you going?" Ayumi asked.

"We've got business at Saturn." Ren explained.

"Saturn? That happens to be where I'm going too." Ayumi said in a surprised voice. "I was on my way to get a ticket before those guys jumped me."

"Cool. Then we can chat while we go there." Alice smiled.

"We won't be going at all if you don't get moving!" Elza told them. "Come on. The ship's going to leave soon."

Alice clenched her fists at how frustrating it was to work with Elza again. She knew that Elza had issues with making friends due to her past, but it didn't excuse her harsh attitude.

The group raced for the ticket counter to get on the flight to Saturn. The hour was fast approaching and they had to get there fast.

"Over there!" Ayumi told them, pointing in the distance. "That's the counter."

Ren and the others all ran up to the counter. The NPC there smiled at them. "Welcome. How may I help you?"

A window popped up in front of them, asking them where they would like a ticket to and how many. After quickly purchasing four tickets, the group ran for the docks. Luckily, it wasn't that far.

As they ran through the docks, Ren looked in awe at the large amounts of spaceships there were. It seemed like something out of a Star Wars film.

"There's our ship!" Elza told them. They all quickly ran over and boarded almost a minute before it took off.

Standing on the deck of the ship, Ren and the others sat down to catch their breath. "That was way too close."

"Well maybe if you weren't off playing hero, then we wouldn't have come so close to missing the ship!" Elza told them.

Alice glared at Elza. "What's your problem?! We were only helping Ayumi here!"

Ayumi and Ren watched as Alice and Elza bickered with each other. Aymui looked at the Lunarian. "Is it always like this with them?"

Ren nodded his head. "Yep. Pretty much."

**A/N: Well that's the second chapter for this arc. I plan on making all the chapters for this arc fairly long (around 4,000 words or so at least). Until next week readers.**


	97. City of Speed

**A/N: Hey guys. Went to Castle Point Anime Convention Sunday and it was SO MUCH FUN! Got to meet tons of awesome people, including Bryce Papenbrook (english voice actor for Kirito). This was my second time going and I definitely plan on going a third time too. I'll stop there before I start rambling on and on. Enjoy the chapter everyone!**

Space was surprisingly beautiful in the world of GSO. Twinkling stars in every direction. A comet in the distance shining brightly. Ships off all shapes and sizes passing by every now and then. It was a lot different than what Alice had been expecting.

Alice stood on the deck of the ship as they soared through the vast reaches of space on their way to Saturn. According to what she had heard, the trip was supposed to take about twenty minutes or so. Usually such a long time to get from one place to another would have felt annoying, but the ship had several things to keep players busy. There were gambling games below deck, news articles about game updates and whatnot in the lounge, and of course star gazing on the deck like Alice was doing right now.

"It's so beautiful, isn't it?"

Alice turned her head and saw Ayumi take a seat next to her. Alice still had a hard time telling her age based on her Plutarian avatar making her height so small, but she decided to try and ignore it. "Yeah. The last game Ren and I played didn't have anything like this."

"What game was it?" Ayumi asked.

"I'm sure you've probably heard of it. Alfheim Online." Alice noticed Ayumi seemed surprised at the mention of ALO. "Ayumi? Is something wrong?"

Ayumi quickly shook her head. "N-No. It's nothing. I was just curious why you two would come here. I've heard ALO is really popular."

Alice thought to herself for a moment. Would it be the best choice to tell Ayumi about why they were really in GSO? She was just a regular player after all. Alice decided to try and be discrete with her answer.

"Ren and I have some business to do in GSO. We aren't planning on staying here for long, maybe just a few days."

"I see…" Ayumi said. "Well, if you want, I can show you the sights when we get to Saturn. It's really amazing."

"You sound like you know a lot about GSO. How long have you been playing it?" Alice asked.

"About six months." Ayumi replied. "I enjoy the adventures in the dungeons on the map, but what I really love about this game is the scenery."

"The scenery?"

Ayumi nodded her head. "Yeah. I've always loved how beautiful the landscape on certain planets in the game look. Each one of them is designed with beautiful artwork and it complements the race on it perfectly. For example, there's Neptune. The planet has all kinds of paths you can take made of water and the Neptunian race has the special ability to walk on liquid surfaces."

"That sounds so cool." Alice said in amazement.

"It really is." Ayumi agreed. "I wish I could adventure on some of the harder dungeons in the game… but that's impossible."

"Why?"

"Because I'm a Plutarian." Ayumi explained. "Plutarians are the least popular race in the game. We have our speed, but that's about it. Our small size makes us really puny so we don't do much damage with our attacks. Barely anyone parties with Plutrians. Most of the time, we get picked on and discriminated instead."

"That's so awful." Alice gasped.

"Well I guess I have myself to blame. Picking the weakest race and all."

"If you say that, then you're just proving the players bullying you are right." Ren said suddenly. Both girls turned around to see him sit down with them. He showed a smile to Ayumi. "In any game with a job class system, each job has their own strengths and weaknesses. It's up to you to find the best way to use that to your advantage."

Alice nodded her head in agreement. "He's right Ayumi. I'm sure there's a way for you to show how strong you are to everyone."

"Like how?"

Ren pondered to himself for a moment before answering. "That's something you'll have to figure out for yourself. But for starters, you could stop focusing on what you can't do and focus on what you can do."

'_Focus on what I can do.'_ Ayumi thought to herself on what that would be. She could run fast, that was true for any Plutarian. But what good was speed without any power to back it up?

The sound of the ship's loudspeaker snapped Ayumi out of her thoughts. "Attention. We will be arriving at Saturn in ten minutes. Please be prepared to disembark by that time."

Aymui got up from her seat and stretched her arms out. "I'm going to log out for a couple minutes before we arrive. Do you mind watching my avatar?"

"No problem. Go ahead." Alice assured her.

Ayumi waved her hand and opened her menu. She pressed the log out button and her consciousness drifted back to her real body.

* * *

Alana opened her eyes and got out of the bed she was lying in. She stretched her arms, getting back to the feeling of not being so small anymore. She wasn't particularly tall, being only fourteen years old, but she was still nearly a foot taller in the real world compared to her GSO avatar.

She brushed the bangs of her red hair that were in front of her eyes and looked out the window. The city streets outside were as busy as ever. It only made sense since the Internet Café she was diving from was in the middle of the city of Yokosuka.

Internet cafes like the one Alana was in had become popular throughout Japan. People could rent rooms to use for a certain amount of time. Amu Spheres were already set up for people to use, or they could bring their own.

It had cost most of the money Alana was able to scrape together just to buy Galaxy Star Online. Something as expensive as an Amu Sphere was out of the question for her to afford. Most kids her age would get their parents to buy one for them. Unfortunately, that was a problem for Alana since she had no parents to speak of.

Looking at the time, Alana saw that she still had a few hours before she needed to be back at the orphanage. That would be plenty of time to explore Saturn for a bit.

The owner of the internet café Alana was in was a very kind man. He knew about Alana's situation and decided to help her out. He usually kept a room reserved for her on weekends to use, free of charge. In exchange, Alana helped out around the café when she could after school.

Alana thought back to what Ren had told her. Focus on what she could do. It was what she could do that scared her. _'Can I keep myself in control in front of Ren and Alice? If I went berserk again, what would they think of me?'_ She quickly shook the thoughts out of her mind. _'It won't happen. They're different than the others. I'll be fine.'_

Her few minutes of rest were drawing to a close so Alana laid back on the bed and fit the Amu Sphere around her head. She closed her eyes and returned to the virtual world.

"Link Start!"

* * *

"So what should we do when we get to Saturn?" Alice asked. "I doubt standing in the middle of the city and asking Ghost to reveal himself will work."

"For now, we should try asking around." Ren suggested. "It hasn't been that long since the last incident. I'm sure someone must have reliable information."

Alice nodded her head. "Yeah. We need to find Kayaba, Ghost, or whoever this is and put a stop to this."

"Did you say Ghost?"

Ren and Alice turned their heads to Ayumi as they noticed she was back. A nervous sweat went down their backs as they wondered how much of their conversation Ayumi had overheard.

"H-Hey Ayumi. You finished everything you need to do IRL?" Ren asked, trying to get her attention away from the conversation she had overheard.

Aymui gave a pout at him. "Don't go trying to change the subject. You two were talking about Ghost, right? The player that's been responsible for the recent incidents in GSO?"

Ren and Alice looked at each other, trying to figure a way to play it off. They weren't able to come up with anything though and they didn't want to have to lie to Ayumi.

"Yes." Alice nodded. "Look Ayumi, there's something we need to tell you."

The three of them stayed seated as Alice and Ren explained their reason for being in GSO, and how they needed to stop Ghost. They decided to leave out the part about Akihiko Kayaba possibly being involved. Things would get very complicated if they were forced to explain that.

"So let me see if I get this straight." Ayumi said. "The players that have been attacked by Ghost have all mysteriously disappeared in the real world. So you were both hired to log into GSO in order to find out if the rumors about Ghost are true, and stop him if they are. And the reason you're going to Saturn is because that was the last reported incident."

Ren nodded his head. "Yeah. That's basically it."

Ayumi took a moment to wrap her head around Ren and Alice's story. She had heard a few rumors about Ghost after the message was posted on the chat forum in GSO. But the extent of what she had heard was players not logging in after being defeated by Ghost. She had no idea they had also gone missing in the real world.

"Look Ayumi, I know this is a lot to take in but we're not lying." Alice told her. "If you know any information about Ghost, we'd really appreciate it if you told us."

Ayumi shook her head. "It's not that I don't believe you or anything. I just don't know much about Ghost other than the rumors going around. I wouldn't be much help."

"I see." Alice said. "Well we appreciate anything you can tell us regardless."

"I can't provide any new information based on what I know, but maybe I can still help." Ayumi said. "You're going around Saturn to ask around about Ghost, right? Let me help you."

"Ayumi, this isn't fun and games. This could get very dangerous." Ren told her. "You could very well end up like all the missing players."

"I know it's dangerous, but I don't care!" Ayumi told them as she stood up. "I love this game. I can't stand hearing about anyone that wants to harm it. I know I won't be much help in a fight, but let me help you track this guy down."

Ren and Alice looked at each other. Having someone familiar with GSO like Ayumi would certainly be helpful. But at the same time, could they expose her to that kind of danger?

"Aymui are you sure about this?" Ren asked.

"Positive."

"… Alright then." Ren sighed. "If you're that set on this, then you can help us."

Ayumi nodded her head. "Thanks. I won't let you down."

The ship's loudspeaker sounded again. "Attention. We will be arriving at Saturn momentarily. Please be ready to disembark when we land."

Looking out the window barrier around the deck, Alice and Ren could see Saturn. It looked a lot like how it did in real life, though they assumed it was probably a lot smaller than the real thing. In real life, Saturn's outer ring was made up of debris. The one in GSO instead seemed to be a full solid ring, with players of the Saturn race, Saturnians, skating around the ring in what seemed like a race.

"Saturnians take a lot of pride in their speed." Ayumi explained. "They hold races like this around Saturn's ring multiple times a day."

"This is amazing." Alice exclaimed. "I'd love to be able to race like that."

"It sucks how their only fast because of their skates though." Ren sighed.

Ayumi looked at Ren curiously. "Why do you say that?"

Alice giggled before she explained. "Because Ren here can't skate if his life depended on it."

Ayumi looked at Ren and saw him grumbling to himself, making her laugh at his expense as well.

The ship soon landed on the docks at Saturn and everyone got off the ship. Ren, Alice, and Ayumi met up with Elza. The Vensian woman didn't seem too delighted to have another kid helping them out, but she decided to let it go since it would help them complete their mission faster.

The main city of Saturn, Rigein, had the same hustle and bustle as Tokyo. Players were moving all around the place. Tracks were set up for the Saturnian race to skate across and get to places easier. Most of the buildings in the city were tall towers. One tower in the center of the city was by far the tallest and had a ring hovering around its peak. All of the city's tracks seemed to converge around it.

"Welcome to Rigein." Ayumi said as they walked off the ship. "The city that never slows down."

"It's amazing!" Alice gasped. "The cities in ALO are nothing like this."

"I know, right." Ayumi said with a smile. "This is the most exciting city in GSO. There's all kinds of stuff to do here. The races are the most popular attraction of course."

"Sounds like a pretty lively place." Alice said.

Ayumi nodded her head. "Yeah. I also like Saturnians since they're one of the few types of players that don't discriminate Plutarians. We get along since we're both AGI based races."

Ren couldn't help but imagine what it would be like to have the same speed as his ALO avatar in here. Running along the tracks in a race would have been a blast. But of course the only two AGI type classes had to be ones that would either make him puny or force him to skate. The depressed feeling made him sigh.

"Let's split up." Elza suggested. "We'll cover more ground that way."

Ren and the others watched as Elza walked away. Alice could tell her wanting to split up was most likely to get away from them, but she had to admit it would save time.

"You know this place the best Ayumi." Ren said. "Any suggestions on where to start?"

Aymui thought to herself for a moment. "Hmmm… Well there is the central tower. A lot of players go there so it's our best chance at finding some information."

"Then that's our first stop."

"Alright. Follow me." Ayumi led Ren and Alice through the complex city streets. As they walked, Ren could see Saturnians skating around on the tracks above them. He had to admit, the sight of them almost made him want to give skating another try. Almost.

After a few minutes, the group of three could see the entrance to the central tower. Saturnians entered the tower through the openings around the tower where the tracks went in. Everyone else had to go in through the main door.

As they entered, Ren and Alice could see the inside of the tower was filled with the tracks all converging together. Players of all races were gathered around as they looked up at monitors that showed players racing along the tracks in the city. There was even a place to place bets. A thought went through Ren's mind at how much money Dagger would have scammed off from players if she was here.

"It's always really lively in here." Ayumi explained. "Players love watching the races here."

"Well there's certainly a lot of people here." Ren said. "Let's split up and ask around."

Alice and Ayumi nodded in agreement and the three of them went in different directions. Ren asked as many players as he could find about Ghost or anything related to the incidents. Unfortunately, no one seemed to have any good information at all.

'_I hope Alice and Ayumi are having better luck than I am.'_ Ren thought. As he walked back to meet up with the two girls, he could see that their efforts had been in vain as well.

"Nobody seems to know anything new." Alice sighed. "How can Ghost be this stealthy. Surely someone must know something about the incidents, or at least where he was last seen."

Suddenly, the room was filled with a huge burst of screams and cheers. Ren, Alice, and Ayumi all looked to see a Saturnian enter the tower at a surprisingly fast speed. He leaped off the track in a very stylish way and landed on the floor, showing a victory sign.

"Another win! That's how it's done people!"

Cheers of female players filled the air as they all gathered around the male Saturnian. He had blonde hair that was greased. At his feet were the skates that all Saturnian players had, two donut-shaped rings per foot.

"Kai, you're amazing!"

"I love you Kai!"

The player called Kai seemed to love the attention he was getting from his adoring fans. "Ladies, ladies, there's plenty of me to go around. But who wants to see another race?" The screams from his fans was answer enough. "Alright then. Who wants to eat my dust?"

Alice pointed over to Kai. "Maybe he'll know something. He seems like a skilled player." As she turned her head back to face Kai, Alice was greeted with multiple glares from the girls around Kai. "Wh-What?! Did I say something rude?"

"You were just making fun of Kai, weren't you?!" one of the girls asked.

"What?! No I wasn't!" Alice exclaimed.

"Don't lie! We saw you pointing at him!" another girl yelled. "It's rude to point, you know!"

"Look, I'm sorry but I wasn't trying to be rude or anything." Alice told them.

"What, do you think you're too good for Kai?! A loser like you would be lucky if he even looked your way!"

"Excuse me?!" Alice glared.

"Woah, let's all calm down for a second girls." Kai said, stepping in-between them. He looked at Alice. "Sorry about that. They tend to get a bit excited when I'm around and overreact."

"Fine, just keep your lapdogs in line." Alice said, glaring at the girls behind Kai.

"Might I ask your name, miss?"

"Huh? O-Oh, i-it's Alice."

"Alice, huh? That's a cute name."

Now it was Ren's turn to glare as he took a step forward. "Excuse me, but do you mind if we ask you a few questions?"

"What about?" Kai asked.

"We're looking into the recent incidents involving about players disappearing from GSO. Do you know anything about it?"

Kai thought to himself for a minute before snapping his fingers in realization. "Oh, you mean the stuff about that Ghost player, right?"

"That's him." Alice nodded.

Kai grinned as he brought out his skates. "Well I might be obliged to tell you something. But first, I need a favor."

"And what would that be?" Ayumi asked.

Kai gestured to the girls behind him. "You see my fans here love watching me race. Seeing me win makes them go crazy. So if you find some players willing to race me that can win, I'll tell you everything I know."

"A race, huh?" Ren asked with a grin. "How about us?"

Kai narrowed his eyes at Ren. "You? You think the three of you can beat me in a race? You're not even Saturnians. You may have a Plutarian with you, but there's still no way any of you could win here."

"Then it should be an easy win for you." Ren told him. "If any one of us finishes before you, you answer all of our questions. You up for it?"

Kai thought for a moment before smirking. "Alright, you've got yourself a deal. Let's race." He retracted his skates back into his feet and walked away. "Oh and if I win, then miss Alice over there goes on a date with me."

"What?!" Ren exclaimed. "Absolutely not!"

"Oh?" Kai questioned with a smirk. "That's not very fair, is it? I should get some sort of prize if I win, don't you think?"

Ren grinded his teeth as he glared at Kai. If this was ALO, Ren knew he would win no problem. But in this situation, Kai had a clear advantage.

"We're in." Alice said.

Ren turned around to his girlfriend. "Alice?!"

Alice grinned at him. "Come on, Ren. I saw you working your brain on the way here. You already have a strategy for racing against Saturnians, don't you?"

Ren blinked in surprise. He hadn't expected Alice to realize that. "How did you know?"

"Because I know my favorite speed demon tactician." Alice smiled. "Besides, we need to get information about Ghost. We can win this, no problem."

"Is that so?" Kai asked. "You think you stand a chance against me? Looks like I'll have to put you in your place."

Alice smirked at Kai. "Ren's gonna leave you in the dust. There's no way you'll win."

Kai grinned at the challenge. "Then let's get started. Follow me."

* * *

There was a strong gust at the highest entrance point of the central tower of Rigein. Ren, Alice, and Ayumi felt the wind blow their hair around as they stood at the top of the track. Kai didn't seem to mind it and instead had an excited grin on his face.

"We'll start from here." Kai explained. He pointed off into the distance towards a building that looked like a colosseum. "The arena will be the finish line. Whoever makes it to the end of the track there first wins. As you can see, the track splits up multiple times along the way. You can take whatever route you want to, as long as you get to the finish line first."

"So just to make sure" Ren said. "You're saying anything goes as long as one of us reaches the end first?"

Kai grinned at what Ren was implying. "That's right. But if you're thinking of attacking me, you're gonna have to keep up with me first."

"Oh no, nothing like that. I have something else in mind." Ren smirked.

Kai raised his brow at what Ren could possibly be thinking. There was no way that a Lunarian or a Mercurian could keep up with his speed. The Plutarian girl maybe, but on the tracks of Rigein, Saturnians had the advantage in speed. He brought out his skates from the soles of his feet and got ready to race.

The track was simple. It started off with a steep drop that Kai had ridden down more times than he could count. Then it all came down to taking the shortest path. He knew every single part of Rigein's track like the back of his hand so he already knew the shortest path.

A floating board hovered in front of the four players to count off to the start of the race. Kai got in his starting position.

3

'_This is gonna be an easy win.'_ Kai thought.

2

"Alright Alice, listen closely." Ren whispered.

1

"You got it?" Ren asked.

"Leave it to me Ren." Alice nodded.

START!

Kai took off immediately, going full speed down the slope. He felt the wind rush past him as he skated down. Once he reached the bottom, he kept skating as fast as he could.

This was what he loved. The feeling of the wind rushing past him as he rushed through the city. The only thing that could compare to this feeling was the rush of being in a thrilling race. But unfortunately there was no way those three players could win against his speed.

But all that changed when Kai saw on the screen that he had dropped to second place out of nowhere and Ren soared into first.

Kai blinked in surprise as he took a second look at the board flying next to him. He looked around him. When had Ren passed him? He hadn't seen him run past him, nor would he be able to. He was just a Lunarian. Lunarians couldn't go that fast.

Suddenly Kai saw something above him. It was a player jumping off one side of the building to another as he raced through the city at the same speed as Kai.

"No way?!" Kai exclaimed. "But how?!"

"Like you said, anything goes as long as one of us makes it to the finish line first!" Ren yelled down as he bounced off the side of another building.

Kai growled as he picked up the pace even more. So this was the plan that Ren had come up with.

He was clever, Kai had to give him that. Lunarian's didn't have nearly as high of a running speed as Saturnians, but their legs were still powerful. The midair mobility advantage Lunarians had was due to two things: their ability to maneuver their body better in the air and their powerful legs that allowed them to jump higher, or in this case farther, than any other race. Combine those two together, and jumping off the sides of buildings as if he was a ninja was easily possible. Not to mention the fact that Ren just had to take a straight path, going zigzag from one building to another. Kai was forced to go along the path the track chose for him through the city.

But one thing didn't add up. Where could he have possibly gotten enough momentum to get to the first building? As far as Kai knew, there were no buildings near the height they had started at within relative jumping distance, even if he had a running start.

'_Unless…'_ Kai gasped, finally putting the pieces together. _'The Mercurian girl.'_

"Go Ren!" Alice shouted from the starting line. "You can do this!"

Kai couldn't help but chuckle to himself at how unconventional this Ren guy was. The Mercurians were a race focused in close range combat, so their STR stat was pretty high. Ren had used that to his advantage by having Alice throw him at full straight towards the closest building for him to ricochet off of using his legs. Combining two races unique features to keep up with a Saturnian was something Kai hadn't expected.

'_Even so'_ Kai thought to himself. _'I will not lose this! Not when this race is just starting to get good.'_

Suddenly Kai saw a laser bullet zoom past his head. Within seconds, Kai was evading a barrage of laser bullets coming from behind him. He turned his head around to see Ayumi running behind him, firing her pair of handguns.

'_Damnit!'_ Kai growled. _'I can't run at top speed and doge at the same time like this!'_

He had planned it out perfectly. Using the Mercurian's strength to throw him far enough, his legs to continue jumping around like some kind of ninja, and the Plutarian's speed to be able to somewhat keep up and attack from a distance in order to slow him down. Was this Ren guy a freaking master tactician or something?!

Even with this new development, Kai still wasn't willing to give up. He decided to give up on dodging and put everything into his speed. He zoomed ahead like a rocket. Several bullets from Ayumi's two guns pierced his body but he paid no mind to it. He endured the pain and continued going faster and faster. He had to if wanted any chance at winning this race.

Ren could see Kai catching up with him. He amped up his speed too, putting even more power into each jump. The arena was only another hundred meters away. He jumped off the last building and landed on the track, breaking out into a run the second he landed. It was just a straight run to the end. Only another fifty meters.

"Don't think it'll be that easy!" Kai yelled from behind him, coming into view. Ayumi must have been too far behind now to hit him with a blast from her two guns.

'_Come on!'_ Ren silently begged as he kept running as fast as his legs would allow him. _'I have to win!'_

As badly as Ren was against Kai winning this and going on a date with Alice, there was also another force driving him to win. His pride as an AGI type player. Speed had always been his best friend in the virtual world and there was no way he was willing to give up that pride here.

Kai also felt the same pride driving him. Ever since he had started playing GSO, he loved the feeling of the speed he had. It was everything to him. He wouldn't let someone else be faster than him.

"I WILL NOT LOSE!"

Both Ren and Kai yelled out those words as they raced to the finish line. Players standing around at the arena could see the two speeding players coming towards them and all got as far away as possible. No one wanted to think what would happen if they got in their way.

The finish line was a hair's breath away as both Ren and Kai were neck and neck. Both of them stretched out their hands to get first. A huge gust of wind blew by as they both skidded to a halt once they reached the end of the track. Everyone was silent, wondering who was the winner.

A large screen appeared at the end of the track, showing who had crossed first. Ren and Kai both looked up at the screen. The difference between their times was a fraction of a second, but one was still ahead.

1st: Ren

2nd: Kai

Everyone gasped at the fact that a Lunarian had won the race. They all looked over at Ren, expecting to see him cheering for his victory or striking a victory pose. Instead they saw both him and Kai collapse onto the ground, desperately trying to catch their breath.

Another minute passed by before Ayumi arrived, and Alice another few minutes later. Even after they had arrived, Ren and Kai were still recovering.

As he laid down on the ground, Kai began to chuckle to himself, slowly breaking out into a hysterical laugh. Ren soon joined him, laughing to himself as they both sat up.

"You were awesome out there, man!" Kai grinned.

"You weren't half bad yourself." Ren said back to him.

The two racers both got to their feet and grinned at each other. Alice ran over to her boyfriend with a smile on her face. "See, I told you Ren would win."

Kai nodded his head. "I'll admit defeat. You won fair and square. Though I wasn't expecting you to use the buildings instead of the track."

"What can I say? Sometimes adding something a little unconventional helps." Ren shrugged.

Kai laughed as Ren said this. "Unconventional is an understatement. Your teamwork was perfect though. I can see why you two are a couple."

"Wait a minute... you KNEW we were dating?!" Alice exclaimed.

"Well your boyfriend kinda made it obvious with that death glare he gave me when I called you cute."

"Then why the hell did you make a wager like taking me out on a date if you won?!" Alice yelled. "That was uncalled for, don't you think?!"

"Simple." Kai told her. "I wanted you guys to come at me with everything you had. With stakes like that, I knew your boyfriend wouldn't hold anything back."

Alice gave Kai a pout. "You didn't have to go that far though."

"Yeah, sorry about that." Kai chuckled as he rubbed the back of his head. "I'm just so used to winning easily so I wanted a challenge to push me to my limit."

Suddenly a collection of screams broke out as Ren, Kai, Alice, and Ayumi all turned to see Kai's fan club of girls running over to them. They all quickly surrounded Ren.

"You cheater!"

"There's no way you could have beaten Kai!"

"You didn't even go along the track! That has to be cheating!"

The insults kept flying around until a sudden shake of the ground caused all of them to fall silent. The girls backed away and revealed a small crater made in the ground by Alice's fist. She lifted her fist out of the ground and cracked her knuckles. "Anyone else want to call my boyfriend a cheater?"

At this point, Kai stepped in between Alice and his fans. "Alright, calm down ladies. Ren here beat me fair and square. Don't worry though, I'll be sure to win next time."

"Kai, you're so cool!"

Alice rolled her eyes at the fangirls. Were they really this desperate to have Kai's attention that they'd go along with whatever he said?

Kai turned back to Ren, Alice, and Ayumi. "Well a deal's a deal. I'll tell you guys everything I know about Ghost. Follow me."

Kai led Ren, Alice, and Ayumi into the arena. They took a seat a one of the tables in the lobby. Ren took notice of the fact that there weren't nearly as many players here as there were in the central tower. "It's pretty dead in here."

"Yeah, that's how it is on Saturn." Kai nodded. "It's not like there aren't any fans of PvP duels. It's just that racing's a lot more popular here. Us Saturnians take a lot of pride in our speed after all."

"Back to the point at hand though." Alice said. "What can you tell us about Ghost? Have you heard any rumors or something?"

The look on Kai's face suddenly turned grim as he leaned his elbows on the table. "I haven't just heard about him. I actually saw him once."

"Seriously?!" Ren gasped. "When?! Where?!"

"It was about a week ago." Kai explained. "I had been exploring outside the city. I was skating around until I heard something. It sounded like a fight so I decided to check it out. I walked up to this cliff and looked down at the canyon bellow. Down there, I saw two players dueling each other. It was easy to see what a one-sided fight it was. This guy in heavy armor was wiping the floor with his opponent. His HP and defense were incredible. Anyway, the fight went on for about a minute or so until he finally finished off the player he was fighting. I saw them shatter apart, like how everyone does when their HP hits zero. Then the armored guy yelled out that he was Ghost and started spouting some crap about being a god or something."

"And then?" Alice asked. "What happened next?"

Kai looked down at the table and his body tensed up. "I ran. I'm not a fighter, so I knew I had no chance if he set his sights on me next. It wasn't until the next day that I heard about a player suddenly disappearing from GSO. I knew immediately who it must have been."

"You said you got a good look at him though, right?" Ren questioned. "What did he look like?"

"Let me think… Well his armor was sort of like a knight, or a gladiator. It was a light blue and it covered his whole body. There's no doubt that he's a tank type player. His weapon was this big ass buster sword that had some kind of aura around it."

An armored tank type player. Ren couldn't help but notice the similarities to Heathcliff, though the weapon of choice was different.

Kai sighed as he looked back up. "That's everything I know. I've got no clue where he is now, since he could just take his armor off and seem like any other player when walking around in public."

"Great, so we're back to square one." Ren sighed. "Let's hope Elza's having better luck than us."

Out of nowhere, the group all heard a blast come from outside. They could hear screams and shouts from several players.

"What's going on?" Ayumi asked.

"Let's go and see." Kai suggested. They all got out of their seats and rushed to the front door. As they ran, they saw Elza come flying in through the entrance. Her body tumbled across the floor.

"Elza?!" Alice gasped. They all ran over to her as she picked herself up off the ground. If her heavy panting was any indication, she had just been fighting someone. "Are you ok?"

"I'm fine!" Elza snapped, swatting Alice away. "But that bitch sure isn't going to be when I'm done with her."

Before Alice could ask who Elza was referring to, she heard footsteps and looked as someone else entered the room. It was a female player that seemed to be in her mid-twenties. Her avatar was of the Vensian race, like Elza. Long black hair fell down almost all the way to her feet. She was wearing a fancy looking violet dress that made her look like royalty. Her piercing violet eyes looked at Elza and them as she smirked.

"Is that all?" she asked. "I thought you were stronger than that. What a disappointment."

Kai gasped as he stared at the female player. "Viola…"

The woman shot a grin towards Kai. "That's Lady Viola, thank you very much."

Ren turned his gaze towards Kai. "You know this player?"

Kai gave a small nod of his head. "She's an infamous player in GSO. She's probably the richest player in the game and she uses it to hire all kinds of lowlifes and thugs to work for her. One of her favorite hobbies is harassing other players and extorting them for money and items."

"Who are you calling lowlifes, pal?!" a voice asked. Three more players walked in and stood next to Viola. The one out of the three of them that had just spoken widened his eyes as he looked at Ren and Alice. "Hey those are the two punks I was talking about boss! The ones that interfered with our business earlier!"

Ren and Alice glared as they recognized them. They were the players that had tried to rob Ayumi before when they had first met her.

"That's them for sure boss!" another one nodded. "They came out of nowhere and attacked us!"

"Is that so?" Viola asked. She smirked at Ren and Alice. "Well then, I guess I'll have to teach you kids a lesson for getting in my way."

Ren clenched his fists as he could tell where this was headed. First a high speed race and now this? They just couldn't get a break today.

**A/N: Hope you guys liked a longer chapter than usual. This arc is just getting started so stay tuned for more everyone.**


	98. Something to Fight For

**A/N: Hey everyone! Last week of the semester for me at college! Wooooo! I was able to get this chapter done before getting swamped studying for finals. But after this, it's going to be summer vacation and I'll be able to write as much as I want! So for all of you reading my other stories, I'll be able to update those soon. Now then, it's time for the chapter you guys have all been waiting for.**

The air was filled with tension in the lobby of the arena as Viola and her underlings stood across from Ren's group. Ren could tell based on Kai's description of her, plus the smirk she had on her face, that this Viola person was someone feared throughout GSO.

"I'll knock that bitch into next week." Elza growled as she glared at Viola.

Viola seemed amused at Elza's rage. "Is that so? You just went a round with me and couldn't even land a scratch."

"You said you had intel on Ghost and had your goons attack when my guard was down!"

"Well I could see you were interested on the subject since you were asking players all over the city." Viola smirked. "Once I saw that opening, I just couldn't resist beating you into the dirt like the worm you are."

"You little-" Elza was cut off as Kai put his arm in front of her. The Saturnian walked forward.

"Viola, you may have a lot of influence throughout GSO, but I won't stand for you attacking players here in Rigein. Now if you would be so kind, please-"

Kai didn't even get the chance to finish his sentence as Viola's hand became veiled in a malicious black aura and grabbed him by the throat. Viola stretch her arm and smashed Kai into the wall behind Ren and the others. She let him go and he fell to the ground with a painful thud. "I thought I told you, boy. It's Lady Viola to peasants like you."

"Kai!" Ren exclaimed as he and Alice rushed over to him. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah… more or less." Kai replied with a weak nod. "That power though. I never thought she'd be that strong."

Viola laughed at Kai's weak state. "Pathetic insects like you need to learn your place. It's those with power that make the rules."

Alice glared at Viola and clenched her fists tightly. "Who do you think you are?! What gives you the right to treat people like that?!"

"Watch what you say, girlie." one of the players standing next to Viola said. "You may have beaten us, but Lady Viola's on a whole other level."

"And you better believe she's gonna make you regret getting in our way." another one of them added.

"Now, now, boys let's not lose our heads over something this small." Viola said. She smirked at Ren and the others. "I'll make this simple for you. Give us your money and we'll forget this little incident happened. Oh and we'll need to take that Plutarian girl with us too. I heard she was quite rough with some of my men."

"Like hell that'll happen you bitch!" Alice yelled.

"Hold on a second." Ren said, stopping Alice before she could charge in. He looked over at Viola. "Is what you said true? About having some info related to Ghost?"

"Yes, I have informants here and there that have told me things, some very recently." Viola grinned. "What of it?"

"Then how about this?" Ren suggested. "We're here in the arena already so let's have a PvP match. If we win, you tell us everything you know about Ghost. You win, we give you all the money we have on us."

"Interesting." Viola said with an amused grin. "I have a better idea though. If I win, then I get rights to the account of that Vensian over there." She pointed over to Elza. "I'm sure I can make some good money selling off your account."

"Fine by us." Elza said, glaring at Viola. "I'm going to beat you into the dirt."

Alice looked at Elza skeptically. "Are you sure?"

"Positive."

Alice saw the determination in Elza's eyes. She knew that Elza could handle herself in a fight. With her and Ren there as well, they would be able to handle this, even if they didn't know just how strong this Viola player might be.

"Then it's settled." Viola smirked. "I'm going to enjoy this."

* * *

After registering for a PvP match at the arena, the group of Ren, Alice, Elza, and Ayumi made their way into the arena. The players outside had all gone to the stands to watch the upcoming fight.

The battle field was a perfect circle and the land was completely flat. It was perfect for Saturnians, but as Kai had said they were more focused on racing instead of PvP fights. It was why he hadn't even been able to put up a fight against Viola even though he had a fairly high level.

Finally Viola and three of her lackeys showed up as they appeared on the other side of the field. All three of them seemed to be either tank or powerhouse fighters, fitting for someone like Viola to have at her side.

As the timer began to whittle down, Alice noticed Ayumi's legs shaking. "Are you alright Ayumi?"

"I-I just… I don't know if we can do this." Ayumi said grimly. "Viola's known for being ruthless in her fights. And this avatar of mine can't help in a fight at all. I'll just slow you guys down."

"That's not true Ayumi." Alice said, kneeling down next to her. "You can do this. I know it."

"But how?"

Elza sighed as she rolled her eyes. "Great. This might as well be three against four if you're going to be like this."

Alice shot a glare at Elza. Before she could say anything, Ren gave Ayumi a reassuring smile. "Remember what I told you Ayumi. If you can't do something, then don't. Focus on what you CAN do."

"But… I have no idea what that is."

"Just trust yourself."

There wasn't any more time to talk as the timer began ticking down to its last few seconds. The second it hit zero, a loud horn sounded, signaling the start of the match.

Ren, Alice, and Elza all went on the offensive from the start. They all charged at Viola and her teammates, who didn't make a move. Ren couldn't tell why they were just standing there until he saw Viola take a deep breath.

"Have a taste of this." Viola smirked. She blew out a thick black fog from her mouth that quickly spread out and made its way towards Ren and the others. The second they were engulfed by it, Ren saw a poison icon on his HUD.

'_Shit! I need to get out of here!'_ Ren told himself. Before he could even make a move, he was impaled by a long shadowy hand. Ren could only assume it was the same attack Viola had used on Kai. The combo of poison and Viola's second attack sent his HP plummeting down.

Outside of the poisonous fog, Ayumi could only watch helplessly as she heard cries of pain coming from Ren and Alice. _'I knew this would happen.'_ she silently thought. _'Viola is too powerful.'_

Elza wasn't as affected by the poison as Ren and Alice, since she was a Vensian like Viola. She leaped out of the fog with a tight grip on her beam scythe. Before the blade could make contact with Viola, one of her teammates blocked it while another one sent her flying back with a hit from his hammer.

"Too easy." Viola smirked. She could see her poisonous fog was beginning to fade so she looked at her three underlings. "Take them out."

The three of them nodded and charged forward. They approached Ren and Alice just as the fog faded around them. The couple didn't even have a chance to react as they were hit and sent flying back to the other side of the arena.

"Damnit. I wasn't expecting that." Ren groaned as he got to his feet.

"We should just give up now." Ayumi muttered. "We don't stand a chance against them."

"Shut up, you little brat!" Elza barked at her. "If you want to give up then fine! Show what a worthless coward you are! I'm not going to be so weak though!"

A tear fell from Ayumi's eyes. It wasn't because the harsh words that Elza said hurt her. It was the fact that she knew they were true. She was just a weak coward, like every other Plutarian in GSO and just like she was in real life. Ayumi and Alana were the same, worthless losers that no one truly cared about.

"Ayumi, snap out of it!"

Ren's shout broke Ayumi's train of thought. She looked up at Ren to see him staring at her. "You need to stop thinking you can't do this and you can't do that. It's that defeatist attitude that's holding you back more than anything." He turned around to face Viola and her team. "Most importantly of all, you need to ask yourself why you fight."

"Why I fight?" Ayumi asked.

"For me, fighting for the sake of my friends is enough. But if that isn't enough, then fight for your pride as a gamer."

Before Ayumi could say anything else, Ren and Alice sped off towards viola. _'My pride… as a gamer?'_ Memories of the past flooded Ayumi. _'I'm not a gamer. I was forced into the world of virtual reality. But then… why did I return?'_ Ayumi couldn't help but ponder that question. _'Why do I play GSO?'_

In the distance, Viola readied another toxic breath attack. Ayumi knew that if they got caught in the same attack again, they would lose. She grabbed the handles of her two guns and held them tightly. _'I'm not a gamer. I have no pride to fight for. But I can still fight for my friends. For Ren and Alice, the first people to believe in me.'_

"Ren! Alice! Spread out!" Ayumi shouted as she pulled out her two guns from their holsters. They didn't know what she had in mind, but Ren and Alice followed her direction and made an opening for Ayumi. Now there was nothing in her way. "Take this!"

As Viola was about to exhale her poisonous breath a laser bullet pierced her body, causing her to flinch and for her attack to cancel out. A barrage of gunfire from Ayumi's two guns showered them. They quickly began dodging the assault of bullets from the Plutarian.

"What are you doing, you idiots?!" Viola barked at her teammates. "Kill that Plutarian brat!"

They didn't need to be told twice as they all began charging towards Ayumi. She may have been able to attack with a barrage of gunfire, but the weak power in them wasn't enough to bother them. For a brief moment, they saw Ayumi stop firing her weapons. At first they thought she had given up trying to damage them. Their theory was proven wrong though when Alice appeared in front of them.

"Maybe you forgot, but I'm still here too!" Alice yelled as she delivered a painful uppercut to one of them, sending him flying into the air. As the other two tried to attack her, Alice ducked and delivered a powerful punch to both of their stomachs. She put some distance between herself and them as they held their guts in pain. "Your turn Elza!"

"My pleasure!" Elza smirked as she leaped into the air. The player that Alice had sent midair with her uppercut widened his eyes in fear as he saw Elza's beam scythe come for him. The curved blade slashed through his avatar, reducing his HP to zero and causing him to shatter into fragments.

"We've got this Ren!" Alice called out to her boyfriend. "Go finish Viola off for us!"

"You got it!" Ren yelled back as he sped towards Viola.

Viola was surprised by his speed, but she could still see him coming. As she was about to meet his attack, she saw Ayumi jump up from behind him and throw several small orb-shaped objects at her._ 'Grenade charges?!'_

She instinctively put up a defense, but her eyes widened in shock as the orbs exploded with a burst of smoke that covered the area. Before she could react, she felt Ren's two blade gauntlets slash her avatar as he sped past her. The smoke quickly cleared, but then she saw several other grenades fly at her from Ayumi.

"Those were smoke grenades." Ayumi smirked. "But THESE aren't."

A series of explosions hit Viola and caused her HP to plummet down into the red. As she cried out from the explosions, Ren ran over to Ayumi and gave her a high five, which she gratefully accepted.

"Nice job Ayumi." Ren told her. "You did great."

Ayumi shot Ren a grin. "That wasn't anything special. I just did what I was able to."

Ren smiled at seeing Ayumi finally having confidence in herself. The cheerful moment didn't last long though as Viola's aura hand reached out from the debris caused by the explosions from Ayumi's charges and grabbed Ayumi by the throat. The arm retracted and showed Viola holding Ayumi in a tight grip with a small sliver of HP left and a murderous glare in her eyes.

"How dare you insects do this to me!" Viola growled. "I'll make you pay!" She took Ayumi in her hand and smashed her into the ground. Viola then proceed to stomp Ayumi with her foot repeatedly. "You worthless Plutarian scum! You need to learn your place!"

'_N-No… How is this possible?'_ Ayumi thought as she got hit by another stomp from Viola. _'Even that wasn't enough?'_ Suddenly her head began throbbing in pain. _'Is she right? Am I weak? Are Ren and Alice just being nice perhaps because they pity me?'_

"Die you piece of trash!" Viola screamed as she prepared to drive her foot down again. Before she could though, she felt something rush past her and cut into her. She looked over to see Ren glaring at her as her avatar's HP hit zero and shattered.

"The one who needs to learn their place is you." Ren said to the shattered fragments that had been Viola's avatar. He looked over into the distance and saw Alice and Elza driving their opponents into a corner. They would be able to handle themselves, so Ren ran over to Ayumi to check on her. "Ayumi, are you alright?"

"My… My head." Ayumi muttered. "It hurts…"

Ren watched as Ayumi held her head, cringing in pain. He couldn't understand why though. The only time headaches occurred in the virtual world was when someone was still getting used to diving, and that obviously wasn't the case here.

"Ayumi." Ren called out to her. "What's wrong? What happened?"

"My head… the pain…" Ayumi said. Suddenly the pain in her head exploded. "AAAAAHHHHHHHHH!"

"Ayumi?!"

Hearing Ayumi's scream, Alice, Elza, and Viola's two lackeys that were still alive paused their fight and all looked at Ayumi, who seemed to be struggling for some reason.

"Ayumi, what's wrong?!" Alice yelled. "Are you alright?!"

Ayumi continued to scream in pain, until she went silent out of nowhere. Her body froze for a few moments before she got to her feet. She looked over at Alice and the others and grinned madly.

"Kill…" she muttered. "I'll kill you…"

"A-Ayumi?" Ren gasped, wondering what had just happened to the Plutarian girl. Before he could do anything, she dashed towards Alice, Elza, and their two opponents. "Ayumi!"

"Wh-what the hell is wrong with that girl?!" one of Viola's underlings gasped. Ayumi's burst of speed overwhelmed him and she lunged at him, clinging onto his body. "H-Help! Someone get this lunatic off me!"

Ayumi took one of her two guns and pointed it at his face and point blank range. She gave a murderous smile as she pulled the trigger. "Die!"

The shot to the end was more than enough to kill him with his depleted health and he shattered. With the first enemy out of the way, Ayumi set her sights on the last remaining member. As she took a step forward, Alice blocked her path to him.

"Ayumi, what are you doing?!" Alice asked her. "This isn't you! What's wrong?!"

Alice's plea fell on deaf ears as Ayumi sped at her next. She delivered a swift kick to Alice's legs, knocking her off balance. Her eyes widened in fear as Ayumi stood on top of her. "Ayumi… what are you doing?" A bullet from Ayumi's gun pierced her chest and she cried out in pain.

"Alice!" Ren cried out. He didn't know why Ayumi was acting the way she was, but she had to be stopped. As he sped over to her, Ayumi chucked a grenade at him. Ren had no time to react and was blown back from the explosion.

"A-Ayumi…" Alice gasped.

Ayumi looked down at Alice with a mad grin painted on her face. She was about to finish her off, but the whimpering sound of Viola's last teammate brought her attention back to him. She stepped off of Alice and made her way towards him.

"N-No… Stay back… Get away from me!" he cried out in pain as Ayumi lunged at him and brutally attacked him. It was like watching a psycho murderer in a horror movie. It felt like a mercy to him when his HP finally hit zero and his avatar shattered.

Ren, Alice, and Elza gasped as they looked at Ayumi. The victory window showed up above the arena for Ren's team, but nobody was cheering. They were all too shocked at what had just happened. Things got even worse as Ayumi turned to face Alice and Elza. The murderous look in her eyes was still present.

"What the hell is wrong with her?" Elza asked as she got ready to fight. Before she could charge at Ayumi, Alice signaled for her to stop by putting her arm out in front of her. "What are you doing?"

"Just trust me." Alice told her. She got to her feet and walked forward to Ayumi. Ayumi lunged at her and tackled her to the ground. She took the gun in her tight hand and aimed it at Alice. Instead of fear however, Alice showed her a caring look. "Ayumi, I know you're in there. I don't know why you're acting like this but you have to fight it. This isn't you."

Ayumi stared at Alice as her heartbeat continued at its rapid pace. All eyes in the arena were watching her, seeing what she would do next. As Ayumi looked into Alice's eyes, she felt the pain in her head begin to die down. Her heartbeat slowed back to normal and the look in her eyes subsided.

"What… What happened?" Ayumi asked herself. She looked down at Alice and saw the gun in her hand. She gasped as she dropped her weapon and stepped off of Alice. "N-No… Not again…" She looked at Alice, horrified of what she had done. Tears welled up in her eyes. "Did I…"

"Ayumi." Alice said. "What was-"

Before Alice could finish, Ayumi quickly opened her window and logged out. Her avatar vanished and the entire arena was filled with silence.

**A/N: Bum, bum, BUM! Cliffhanger! I'm happy to see you guys all like this arc so far. The arc is about halfway done, and I promise you the next half will be just as exciting as this half. I'll also have a nice surprise for all you readers next week! See you guys then!**


	99. Memories

**A/N: Hello readers! Summer vacation is here at last for me! Now I have much more free time to write!**

**Also as I said last chapter, I have a special surprise for you all. As some of you may have seen, this story is nearing 100 chapters. To celebrate that fact, I will be uploading two chapters this upcoming week. Thank you to all of you guys that have stuck with me for so long.**

Alana opened her eyes as her consciousness returned. She sat up on the bed and removed the Amu Sphere she was wearing. It only took a few seconds before the tears began to form in her eyes.

"It happened again." Alana cried to herself. "Why? Why did it have to happen there? In front of them? In front of everyone?"

Alana continued to cry in the room for the next few minutes. It had always been like this for her. Ever since that day.

"_There's something different about this one. There's still some effects lingering over her."_

"_The poor thing. To have to be put through those experiments at such a young age."_

"_She has no memory from before the experiments. All we could find out was her name."_

"_What about family?"_

"_According to the papers we were able to dig up, she has no family."_

No family. That was what she was told. That she had no one who cared about her. No one to comfort her after what she had gone through. The only lead they had was a relative of hers somewhere in Japan, but they had yet to find them. She got calls from the government every month or so, saying they still hadn't found them but they would keep looking. At some point, Alana had come to the realization that they didn't care enough to find her family. They were too busy helping the others. The ones who actually had a family.

The closest thing that Alana had to a home now was the orphanage that had agreed to take her in until this relative of hers was located. She didn't dislike the orphanage. A lot of the people who worked there were very kind. But she still felt it was more pity than kindness. She couldn't really blame them for feeling that way though. A fourteen year old girl with no family and having been subjected to human experimentation. If that didn't deserve pity, she didn't know what did.

The experiments had also left a horrible scar on her mentally. When she was in the virtual world and lost control, she would go berserk and freak out. At first, playing VRMMOs had been for her to try and move past what had happened to her. But when she found out about the side effect that had occurred due to the experiments done on her, it became more than that. She wanted to overcome it. To be able to take control of her life again. But she still had yet to succeed at that.

When she was finally cried out, Alana got up from the bed and turned the Amu Sphere off. She removed her copy of Galaxy Star Online and put it in her schoolbag. After she left the room, she thanked the owner of the Internet Café once again and walked away.

As Alana walked through the streets of Yokosuka, she passed by several families. Each one she saw looked happy and cheerful. It was that very thing that Alana wanted more than anything. A sense of belonging somewhere.

After a long walk, Alana finally arrived back at the orphanage. As she walked in, one of the caretakers smiled at her. "Hello Alana dear. How have you been today?"

Alana didn't want to make her suspicious so she put on a fake smile. "I've been fine thank you. I'm going to my room to do some of the homework I have for school."

"Alright then. Dinner should be ready in a few hours."

"Thank you, ma'am." Alana said with a bow before heading upstairs.

When Alana reached the top of the stairs, she turned the corner and walked into the girls' room. The orphanage had two large bedrooms, one for boys and one for girls. Several beds were lined up against the wall as Alana walked over to hers. Instead of doing her homework like she had said earlier, Alana laid on her bed silently with tears rolling down her eyes.

* * *

After Ayumi had logged out suddenly, Ren and Alice had logged out for the day as well. Elza had told them that she'd get all the information they needed out of Viola and that they could go home for the day. The couple assumed that Elza also wanted the opportunity to have a crack at Viola all to herself.

When they returned to the real world, Dan and Alicia had given Kikouka a full report of everything they had been able to dig up so far. Usually they would have come back tomorrow to continue their investigation, but GSO's servers would be down for maintenance for most of the day. That meant they would be returning Monday after school.

As they left the hospital, Alicia sighed to herself. "I wonder if Ayumi's alright. What happened to her back there?"

"I don't know." Dan said as he walked next to her. "It's like she was possessed back there or something."

"Could her account have been hacked or something?

Dan shook his head. "I don't think so. If that were the case, I don't think we would have seen any emotion from her avatar. But that murderous intent she gave off definitely had emotion with it."

"What do we do Dan? I don't want to just leave her like that."

"I want to help too. But we have no clue where she is. We'll just have to hope she'll be online when we return. But even then, I'm not sure if she'll be up for talking."

Alicia nodded her head. She wanted to do something to help Ayumi with whatever demons she was facing, but right now they could only hope they would be able to talk with her when they logged back on. She leaned her head on her boyfriend's shoulder as they continued to walk back home.

"Hey, Alicia?" Dan asked. "Are you free tomorrow?"

"Yeah. Why do you ask?"

"There's something I want to check out."

* * *

Dan and Alicia walked through Fuefuki as Dan took another look at the address Kikouka had given him. The couple didn't have anything to do today since it was a Sunday and Dan felt it would be best to try and figure out as much as he could about what was going on with the incidents in the real world. So he had Kikouka text him the address of the woman who discovered the first missing player.

"So what's the plan?" Alicia asked. "I don't see how we're supposed to find any new details that the police haven't come up with."

"I felt this would be easier than going through case files." Dan explained. "Besides, we might catch something the police could have missed."

Alicia nodded her head understandingly as they got closer to the house they were looking for. It didn't take much walking once they had arrived in Fuefuki, since it was a small rural town. It actually had a nice peaceful feeling in the air that Alicia liked.

When they finally arrived at their destination, Dan did a quick check to make sure they were at the right place. Sure enough, the addresses matched. The couple walked up to the front door and knocked. Not long after, the door opened, revealing a woman that seemed to be in her mid-twenties. "Yes? Can I help you?"

"Hello." Dan greeted. "Are you Miss Shue by any chance? The person who reported Natsuki Fuchujima missing?"

"Yes I am" she nodded. "Excuse me, but who are you exactly?"

"We're investigating the disappearances of the players that have gone missing from GSO." Dan explained.

"You?! But you two are just children!"

"We're not involved with the police or anything. We were just hired to investigate things inside GSO. If it's alright, do you mind if we ask you a few things?"

The woman seemed hesitant for a moment, but decided to believe their story. "Alright then. Come in, I'll get you something to drink."

"Thank you."

Ms. Shue led Dan and Alicia into her home and brought them to the living room. The couple sat on one couch while the woman sat on the one across from them. "So what would you like to know?"

"I was hoping you could tell us about Ms. Fuchujima." Dan explained. "Anything out the ordinary that had been happening with her recently, and whatnot. Something that would make her a target."

"I highly doubt there's anyone that would want to harm Natsuki." she told them. "This is a small town and almost everyone gets along with each other. It's a very supportive community."

"What about in GSO?" Dan asked.

"I honestly don't know much about what Natsuki did in GSO. I just know she played it every now and then. It's actually a bit surprising, considering what the VR industry did to her."

"What do you mean?" Alicia asked. "Was she fired from a job or something."

The woman shook her head. "No, I'm afraid it's much worse than that. You see, her son was one of the four thousand people that died in Sword Art Online."

Dan and Alicia gasped as they heard this. The amount of SAO Survivors that still played VR games, or any games for that matter, was a small percentage. Close relatives of players that had died in the death game playing VRMMOs was almost unheard of.

"Her son was fifteen years old when he logged into SAO." Ms. Shue explained. "Natsuki had been an emotional wreck after her son was trapped in the death game. About six months after the SAO incident started, she got a call from the hospital saying her son had died. Needless to say, she was devastated."

"Can't say I blame her." Dan said grimly. "I'm surprised anyone that went through that would even touch an Amu Sphere."

"She did curse out virtual reality for quite a while. But over time, I think she started to play GSO to get a better understanding of the virtual world. I believe it helped her recover from the scars left by her son's death. But now this happened."

"Is there anything else you can tell us?" Alicia asked. "Anything that might help?"

The woman shook her head. "Nothing comes to mind I'm afraid. I'm sorry I wasn't able to be of more assistance."

"No, actually you've given us something to think about." Dan said. "Thank you for your help."

"You're welcome." Ms. Shue replied. "Please, I'm begging you to help find out what happened to Natsuki. She's a very kind woman and a good friend."

"We will." Dan nodded as he and Alicia rose from their seats.

After the couple left the house and walked away, Alicia looked curiously at her boyfriend. "What did you mean by something to think about?"

"It's just a possibility right now. I need to do a bit more digging to prove my theory." After Dan said this, he felt his phone vibrate. He opened it up and saw a text message.

"Who's it from?" Alicia asked.

"It's Rinko Koujirou." Dan told her. "She wants to meet us and talk about something."

* * *

There wasn't much that Dan had heard about Rinko Koujirou. All he knew was that she had worked with Kayaba and taken care of his body while he was diving during the SAO incident. From what he had heard, she was forced into helping Kayaba. Some sort of blackmail or something like that.

The real question was why did she want to meet so suddenly?

Dan and Alicia walked up to the café that Rinko had texted them to meet her at. Unlike the fancy restaurant that served several types of sweets that Kikouka liked to dine at, the place Rinko had chosen was nice and simple. The couple saw her sitting at a table outside, waiting for them.

"Glad you could make it." Rink said as Dan and Alicia sat down. "I'm sorry to call you so suddenly."

"No, it's fine." Dan assured her. "Actually there's something I wanted to ask that you may know the answer to."

"Really? What is it?" she questioned.

"Kikouka filled you in on the details of the missing people, correct? Were any of them related to people that were trapped in SAO by any chance?"

Rinko nodded her head. "Yes actually, they all are. Each one of them had someone close to them die in SAO. It's one of the main reasons that they're convinced Akihiko might actually be behind this."

"And what do you think about it?" Alicia asked. "You seem like you were pretty close with Kayaba."

Rinko showed a sad smile on her face as she stared at her reflection in her tea cup. "I honestly don't think he's the one doing this. I heard from a boy named Kazuto Kirigaya that he's still out there somehow, but even still I can't believe that he could or would do this. I know he's done some horrible things, but that message didn't sound like him. He may have created Sword Art Online, but he never wanted to be a god or take over the virtual world itself. He simply wanted to create a world that allowed people to break past human limitations."

"Well he certainly did a good job at it." Dan muttered grimly.

Rinko nodded understandingly. "I know you both must resent Akihiko for trapping you in Sword Art Online. But I don't think he's behind this."

"To be honest, neither do we." Dan told her. "I may not know him personally or anything, but I met and talked with Heath- I mean Kayaba on multiple occasions in SAO. Maybe he was faking it back then, but from what I know about him I don't think he's behind this. It just doesn't sound like him. But for some reason, relatives to people that have died in SAO are being targeted."

"I don't get it though." Alicia said. "Why would someone target them? It just doesn't make sense."

Rinko shook her head. "I don't know. It may sound selfish and foolish of me, but I want to do this to clear Akihiko's name."

Alicia narrowed her eyes at Rinko. "You sure seem like you knew Kayaba pretty well. Just how close were you two?"

The same sad smile returned to Rinko's face. "It may seem stupid of me, but I was in love with him."

Alicia blinked her eyes in surprise. "Wait, you mean you and he… you were…"

"No, no, it's not what you think." Rinko told her. "Truth be told, I'm pretty sure the feeling was one-sided. I don't think he had any special feelings for me."

'_Wow.'_ Alicia thought. _'What Asuna would have done with that information if Kayaba was still alive.'_

"Actually, this is part of the reason I asked you both here." Rinko told them. "I want to apologize to you."

"Apologize?" Alicia asked. "Why?"

Rinko seemed hesitant to look Dan and Alicia in the eyes. "I'm sure you've heard that I helped take care of Akihiko during the SAO Incident. That I was forced into taking care of his body. Unfortunately though, that's not entirely true."

"What do you mean?" Dan asked.

"After the truth about SAO was revealed, I searched for Akihiko. I knew him well, so I had a pretty good guess as to where he was hiding. I was planning to go find him and kill him to put an end to the madness he had created. I found him in a cabin up in the mountains, diving with a Nerve Gear attached to his head. I stood there, contemplating whether to kill him or not and in the end I just couldn't do it. It sounds silly, but I still loved him, and still do now. So instead I ended up taking care of his body during the two years of SAO when he was diving for days on end."

"But then how did you make the police believe you were forced into helping him then?"

To answer Alicia's question, Rinko pointed to her chest. "During one of the times he was logged out of SAO, Akihiko implanted a fake, long-distance remote bomb in my sternum to make the world think I was innocent." She showed a soft smile on her face. "The sad thing is, it's the only present he ever actually gave me."

"I see" Alicia said. "So Kayaba did that to make everyone think he was threatening you."

Rinko nodded her head. "Yes. The truth is I'm to blame for SAO lasting as long as it did. I could have ended it right there and saved hundreds, maybe thousands of lives. I could have freed you and brought you back to the real world. You both must hate me."

Alicia shook her head. "No, I wouldn't say that."

Rinko looked at Alicia in surprise. "But why? You spent two years in that death game and I could have stopped it."

"Well I doubt most of the survivors from SAO will agree with me" Alicia told her as she reached for Dan's hand and held it softly. "But I'm truly glad that SAO happened. It's because of it that I met Dan. If you had pulled the plug early, I never would have been able to fall in love with him, and I never would have met all my friends from SAO." Alicia showed Rinko a soft smile. "What I really want to say is, thank you."

Dan nodded as he turned from Alicia to Rinko. "I feel the same way. I don't think I'll ever be able to completely forgive Kayaba for the things he did, but I'm grateful that I logged into SAO that day. And I know Alicia and I aren't the only ones."

Rinko stared at the couple in disbelief before showing an appreciative smile. Tears rolled down her eyes. "Thank you. Hearing you say that means a lot."

"Well I guess there's only one thing left to do." Dan said. "Take down whoever this Ghost player is and find out what happened to the missing players."

* * *

When school ended the next day, Dan walked towards the front gate of the school to meet up with Alicia. They had told the rest of their guild that they would be busy for the day, not mentioning the fact of what they were really doing. They didn't want their friends worrying about them.

As Dan walked through the halls, he ran into Kazuto. The raven haired teen waved over to his friend. "Hey Dan. You free after school today?"

Dan shook his head. "Sorry, no can do. I'm going shopping with Alicia today."

"I see." Kazuto said. "Good luck surviving that."

"Thanks, I'll need it."

Dan walked away from Kazuto and kept going towards the school gate. He'd need all the luck he could get, but it wasn't for shopping. He didn't like lying to his friends, but it was his only choice right now. He had already gotten Alicia involved in this, which Dan would have rather avoided. He couldn't put anyone else in danger.

When Dan arrived at the school gate, he saw Alicia was already there waiting for him. She smiled at her boyfriend as he walked over to her. "You ready to get going?"

"Yeah." Dan nodded. "Let's go."

The couple walked away from the school and headed towards the hospital. They knew that today would most likely be their most dangerous battle in GSO yet. If the info Elza obtained from Viola was good, then they would probably be able to find Ghost today. At the same time, that meant going head to head against the person responsible for all of the recent disappearances.

There was also another thing on their minds. What had happened the other day with Ayumi was still bothering them. They hoped they would be able to find her and figure out the reason for her odd behavior before.

Two missions, and neither one of them seemed like they would be easy.

* * *

Alana walked back from school. She hadn't been able to concentrate at all during class today. What had happened two days ago was still weighing heavily on her.

'_What am I supposed to do?'_ she asked herself. _'Am I going to be like this for the rest of my life?'_

She thought back to Ren and Alice and how they had acted towards her. They had stood up for her without even knowing the first thing about her. They had been the first two people to ever truly believe in her. Those two players had taught her so much.

'_And how did I repay them? By letting that thing take me over again and attack them.'_ She clenched her fists tightly. She wanted to go back to that moment. To try and find some way to prevent it all from happening.

"_If you can't do something, then don't. Focus on what you can do."_

Ren's words echoed through her head. She thought to herself. Focus on what she could do. Going back and trying to change the past wasn't something Alana could do. But what was it that she could do?

'_What I can do… What I NEED to do'_ Alana told herself. _'Is find them again. I have to make things right.'_

Alana stopped walking towards the orphanage and instead made her way over to the Internet Café. It was a Monday afternoon so the place was fairly busy, but the diving rooms wouldn't be too crowded.

The manager saw Alana walk in and greeted her. "Hello Alana. I'm surprised to see you here today. Not much schoolwork?"

Alana shook her head. "That's not why I came here sir. I don't want to take advantage of the kindness you've shown me, but would it be if I use one of the Amu Spheres today? I know it's not the weekend and I promised to help around here on weekdays when I'm free, but I really need to."

The manager looked at Alana in the eyes. He could sense the seriousness in them. "I trust this is something important you have to do?"

"It is." Alana nodded.

He smiled at her and nodded his head. "Alright, I'll make an exception today. It's not too busy right now anyway."

"Thank you so much, sir!" Alana said with an appreciative bow of her head. "I promise I'll make this up to you."

"Just get going and do what you need to do. You said it's important after all."

Alana nodded and grabbed the key to one of the diving rooms. She walked in and closed the door behind her. After inserting GSO, Alana fit the Amu Sphere around her head and laid on the bed. She brushed back the strands of red hair in her face with her hand and closed her eyes.

"Link start!"

* * *

Dan and Alicia walked into the room they had logged in from yesterday in Chiyoda Hospital. Kikouka was already there waiting for them, along with Rinko and Elizabeth.

"Took you two long enough." Elizabeth said. "Let's hurry up and get this mission over with."

Alicia shot a glare at the blonde woman, but decided to leave it at that. They had more important things to do than bicker. "So what were you able to find out?"

"Apparently one of Viola's informants saw Ghost still roaming around the fields outside Rigein a few days ago. That means there's still a good chance that Ghost is still on Saturn."

"Got it. So we'll continue searching around there." Dan said.

Elizabeth nodded and the three of them laid down on the beds provided for them. They fit the Amu Spheres around their heads and closed their eyes.

"Link start!"

Dan's consciousness drifted away from his real body and went to the virtual world. When he opened his eyes, he found himself in Rigein at the same area he and Alice had logged out from the other day. Looking to his right, he saw Alice's avatar materialize as well.

"Hey Ren." Alice greeted. "You ready?"

"Yeah." Ren nodded. "Let's end this."

The first objective for the couple would be to meet up with Elza. Then it was off to the fields outside of Rigein to search for Ghost. Just as they were about to start walking, the two of them heard a voice call out to them.

"Ren. Alice."

The two of them recognized the voice as they turned around and saw Ayumi looking at them. The same look of guilt in her eyes from when she had logged out the other day was still there.

Alice took a step forward. "Ayumi-"

Before Alice could go any further, Ayumi cut her off with a raised hand. She looked at Ren and Alice with a serious expression on her face.

"There's something I need to tell you two."

**A/N: Alright everyone. That's it for this chapter. Next chapter should be up sometime around Friday. See you then, readers!**


	100. Confrontation

**A/N: It's finally time readers. Chapter 100 is here at last! When I first started this story, I never thought it would last this long and boy was I wrong. I also noticed that this story is on the first page of stories for SAO when filtered by reviews. I can't thank you all enough. It's because of the great reviews you guys have all left me that this is possible. I hope this story keeps up to your expectations where you guys keep leaving reviews.**

**With all that said and done, here it is people. Chapter 100.**

Ren, Alice, and Ayumi sat together in one of the nearby café's in Rigein. The Plutarian girl sat across from them as she tried to find the right words to say.

"Ayumi, why did you run off like that the other day?" Alice asked. "And why did you go berserk during the fight?"

Ayumi stared down, not looking either of them in the eye. "Ren… Alice… I'm so sorry for what happened. I didn't mean to attack you."

"We know Ayumi." Ren told her with an understanding nod. "You said you needed to tell us something, right? What is it?"

"That's… complicated." Ayumi said. "I suppose I should start from the beginning. Do you both remember the incident that happened last summer? When a man named Gabriel Miller unleashed an army of brainwashed soldiers on ALO."

Ren and Alice looked at each other, wondering what Gabriel had to do with this. They both gave a nod to Ayumi.

"The truth is… I'm his daughter."

The couple gasped as they stared at Ayumi in shock. After a long extended silence, Ren managed to speak. "You're… You're Gabriel Miller's DAUGHTER?!"

"Well, yes and no." Ayumi answered. "I'm not his biological daughter. My real parents gave me up for adoption when I was born apparently. From what I've been told, I lived as an orphan until I was ten. Then somehow I ended up being adopted by Gabriel, who then proceeded to use me as one of his many Guinee pigs for experimentation on the human mind."

"Ayumi…" Alice gasped. "I'm so sorry."

"Wait a minute, you keep saying things like "apparently" and "somehow". Are you saying you don't remember?" Ren asked.

Ayumi nodded her head. "Because of all the damage done to my brain from the experiments, my entire memory of everything before the experiments started is more or less a complete blank. Apparently I seemed to be one of their best candidates. My mind reacted perfectly with the mind control they used so I was put through even more experimentation than the others. Because of how perfectly the technology synched with my brain, they weren't able to completely remove its effects. I still relive memories of the painful things they did to me sometimes." Ayumi shivered slightly as the thoughts went through her head.

"That's so horrible." Alice said.

"It gets worse. Due to the brainwashing they put me through, I sometimes lose control when I'm in the virtual world. The result is that berserk state I was in before."

Dan clenched his fists as he silently cursed out Gabriel. If there was one thing he couldn't stand about him, it was his complete disregard for human life. Kidnapping was bad enough, but he experimented on them on top of that. It was completely unforgivable.

"When they were working on freeing all the players that had been experimented on and getting them back to their families, they hit a bump in the road when they came across me." Ayumi explained. "The American government was able to find out who I was after a few tests, and found out who my birthparents were. As luck would have it though, both of them had died about five years ago."

"What about the rest of your family? Aunts or uncles?" Ren questioned.

"The closest thing they were able to dig up was my mother's younger sister, and the most recent records they were able to bring up said she was somewhere in Japan. So they sent me over there to live in an orphanage for what was supposed to be a few weeks until they could find out where she lived. That was six months ago." The look of depression on Ayumi's face was plain to see. "They're too busy dealing with the rest of the brainwashed victims. Looking back, maybe I should have just stayed in the U.S and let them put me somewhere."

"That's not true!"

Ayumi was surprised by the how Ren suddenly raised his voice. He soon realized how loud he had just talked as his eyes widened. "Sorry, I didn't mean to shout at you. But if you have even the slightest chance of finding your family, you need to take it Ayumi."

"Easy for you to say." Ayumi muttered with tears beginning to form in her eyes. "My own parents cast me aside. It's because of that that I went through so much suffering. And now I'm going through the same thing for what? To find someplace for me to belong?! I don't belong anywhere!" Suddenly Ayumi felt Alice embrace her tightly. "A-Alice?!"

"Ayumi… I'm sorry about the things you've been forced to go through." Alice said. "But you do belong somewhere. You don't know why your parents gave you up for adoption as a baby. Maybe they had good reasons, or maybe not. The important thing is that you have a chance at finding your family. If you have that chance, then I say go for it."

"But…"

"No buts Ayumi." Ren told her. "Family is an important and irreplaceable thing. You came this far already, so it would be a waste to give up now. And at least there's a chance your parents could have left you for good reasons, which is a lot better than them simply abandoning you. Believe me I know."

Ayumi raised her brow as he said this. "What do you mean by that?"

Ren widened his eyes as he realized what he had just said. Alice could tell and quickly covered for him. "It's nothing Aymui. But he's right. You wouldn't have come this far if you didn't want to find your family. Just hang in there."

Ayumi thought to herself for a few moments before nodding her head. "Maybe you're right. Maybe there is still a place for me."

"That's the Ayumi I know." Alice said with a cheerful smile.

"Ren. Alice." Ayumi said as she looked up at the couple. "Thank you. For believing in me and helping me so much."

"What are friends for?" Ren said with a smile.

"I want to make it up to you guys. You're still looking for Ghost, right? Let me help."

Ren and Alice grew slightly worried at what the girl was saying. They still didn't know all of the details at how Ghost was pulling off these incidents and this could very well put Ayumi in danger. "Ayumi…"

"It's like you said. What are friends for?"

Ren and Alice glanced at each other, wondering what to do. Finally, Ren gave in and sighed. "Alright, you win. We'll fight Ghost together."

Ayumi nodded her head and stood up. "So where should we start looking?"

"Funny you should ask that because-"

"There you are!" Ren, Alice, and Ayumi turned to see Elza walking over to them. "What the hell have you been doing?! Perhaps you forgot, but we have a job to do."

"Sorry, our bad." Ren apologized. "We just needed to talk with Ayumi."

"Of course you did." Elza sighed. "Let's just get moving."

"Um… Elza? There's something you should know." Alice said. She looked at Ayumi. "It's alright if she knows, right? Elza works for the Japanese government."

Ayumi nodded her head. "Yeah, I guess it's alright if she knows."

"And what is it that's so important?" Elza asked.

Alice leaned in and whispered a quick version of Ayumi's situation to Elza. The woman widened her eyes in surprise as she listened to what Alice told her. "Oh… I see…"

"Do you know anything you might be able to do?" Alice asked.

Elza sighed and shook her head. "Unfortunately I'm not involved with any department that would be able to help her. The truth is, they've probably put her case on hold to help get the other brainwashed victims."

"I figured as much." Ayumi frowned.

Ren could see the sadness in Ayumi's expression. "Ayumi…"

Ayumi shook her head. "No, don't worry. I'll be fine. I know it's going to be hard, but I'll keep trying to find my family. Right now, we need to focus on finding Ghost."

Ren, Alice, and Elza nodded. The group of four all left the café and headed out towards the field with Ayumi leading the way.

As they walked, Alice pulled Ren back and whispered so Elza and Ayumi couldn't hear them. "Ren… about what you said earlier… about knowing what it's like having your family gone."

"Alice, just drop the subject." Ren told her.

"It has to do with your father, doesn't it?"

"I said drop it!" Ren harshly said. When he realized what he had just said, he bowed his head down. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to yell at you. It's just-"

"It's ok Ren. I know your dad is a sensitive subject." Alice told him as she put a comforting hand on her boyfriend's shoulder. "But if you ever want to talk about it, I'm here for you."

Ren showed an appreciative smile to Alice. "Thanks. That means a lot."

After Alice gave Ren a quick peck on the cheek, the couple ran on ahead to catch up with Elza and Ayumi.

* * *

Kazuto and Asuna sat in the cafeteria of the school. Both of them had some homework to catch up on, so they thought it best to help each other in their weaker subjects.

"Hey Asuna" Kazuto said as he leaned in closer to her. "You wanna go do something after this?"

Asuna felt annoyed at being distracted from her homework, but since it was Kazuto she couldn't help but giggle. "Ok then. Maybe we could do some shopping when we're done."

Kazuto groaned as he went back to doing his homework. "Great. My afternoon is going to be playing pack mule. Maybe we'll see Dan and Alicia and he could help me."

"What are you talking about?" Asuna asked.

"Dan told me he and Alicia were going shopping together after school." Kazuto explained.

Asuna raised her brow. "Alicia told me they were going to see a movie together."

"Really?" Kazuto questioned. Something felt odd, but he decided to shrug it off. "Maybe they're just doing a quick shopping trip so they can do both."

"I guess that's possible." Asuna nodded.

"Hey guys!" a sudden voice called out. The couple looked to see Emi walking over to them with an innocent smile on her face. "Oh cool, you're doing homework? We can all do it together then."

"Emi" Asuna began with narrowed eyes. "I'm not giving you answers to your homework."

"Wh-What? Whoever said I was thinking of doing that?" Emi asked nervously. "I just meant us all helping each other out."

"Ok then." Kazuto said, sliding his textbook over to Emi. "You solve these Calculus problems and I'll help you out."

Emi groaned as she took a seat and planted her head on the table. "Why do Alicia have to be with Dan at his place? I could use her help with these subjects."

Kazuto and Asuna glanced at each other before looking over to Emi. "They told you they'd be at Dan's?"

Emi nodded her head. "Yeah. They were both busy over the weekend and now today too. How am I supposed to get this homework done without their help?"

"Yeah… Listen Emi. Asuna and I actually need to go somewhere."

"What?!" Emi exclaimed. "Great, now I'm never gonna get this done."

"Sorry. Maybe another time." Asuna apologized. She and Kazuto quickly put their books into their schoolbags and walked away.

Kazuto waited until they were out of earshot to begin talking. "Alright something's not right here."

"You're right." Asuna nodded in agreement. "I don't get why Dan and Alicia would lie to all of us about something like this. It doesn't make sense." Suddenly she gasped. "You don't think their caught up in something dangerous, do you?!"

"It's a distinct possibility." Kazuto said. "On the other hand, they may have just gone on a date and didn't want you or the other girls spying on them."

"Hey! What are you implying?!" Asuna pouted.

"So you're saying you wouldn't spy on them?"

"Well… maybe."

"I can find out where they are Mama." Yui said from Asuna's phone. Asuna took out her cellphone for her daughter to speak. "I can find them by tracing the signal on their phones if they're still turned on."

"Yui, that would involve hacking into government systems." Kazuto told her. "Doing something illegal like that for all this might be stretching it. After all, it could just be nothing."

"But you said you were worried about Ren and Alice."

"I know. Don't worry though sweetheart. Dan and Alicia can take care of themsel-…" Kazuto's voice trailed off as he began thinking of something. "Wait a minute. Phone tracing…"

"What is it, Kazuto?" Asuna aksed.

"Asuna, how did Dan say he found Alicia back when Noboru posted that video?"

Asuna tilted her head. "He said he had Kikouka trace her phone. What about it?"

A theory began to run through Kazuto's head. He pulled out his cellphone and began dialing a number.

"Who are you calling Kazuto?" Asuna asked.

"Someone that better not be doing what I think he's doing." Kazuto said. After a few rings, the person on the other end picked up.

"Hello. I'm surprised to be hearing from you Kirito."

"Kikouka, I'm going to ask you a question and for your sake you better give me the truth." Kazuto said. "Do you know where Dan and Alicia are right now?"

"Oh… you mean your two friends right?" Kikouka replied with a nervous laugh. "What makes you think I would know anything about where they are?" After a few seconds of silence, Kikouka could feel the cold glare Kazuto was giving him on the other end. "Okay, okay, I do. But trust me, they're perfectly safe."

"Where are they?"

"… Chiyoda Hospital. But I assure you everything is-"

Kazuto didn't give Kikouka a chance to finish as he hung up. He looked over at Asuna. "We're going to the hospital. Kikouka has a few questions to answer."

* * *

The team of Ren, Alice, Elza, and Ayumi walked through the fields outside of Rigein. The area was wide and open with a surprisingly smooth surface. Ren assumed it was designed this way to allow Saturnians to use their skates freely around here. A few mountains and other rock formations appeared every so often, but other than that, the area seemed to be more or less empty and void of players.

"I'm surprised there aren't any Saturnians out here at the very least." Alice said as they walked.

"The stories about Ghost have probably spooked a few of them from coming out here." Ayumi said. "But the fields out here are usually desolate anyway. Saturnians usually don't focus on fighting, and the only time they come out here is to grind for cash or practice in secret for racing."

"That explains why there's been so few players that have seen Ghost out here." Ren realized. "Hopefully Ghost is still lurking around here. If not, we'll be back at square one."

"We don't even know if he's online right now." Alice pointed out. "Pinning down Ghost's location is going to be really tricky with so little information to go on."

Ren nodded his head. "The worst part is, we don't even match the target description for Ghost's victims. None of us are related to players that died in SAO."

As the group continued to walk, they came across a valley. If Ghost would have wanted to ambush them, it would be the perfect spot. Ren wasn't a fan of giving Ghost a field advantage, but at this point he was willing to try anything to sniff him out. Alice and the others seemed to read his train of thought and silently nodded in agreement. They walked into the valley, which must have stretched out for a length of at least a hundred meters or so in an oval shape. Once they reached the bottom of the valley, all they could do was wait.

"So how do we tell if Ghost will even show up?" Ayumi asked.

Suddenly Ren heard the swing of a blade. He looked towards the top of the valley and saw an energy slash come towards them. "Move!"

The others didn't need to be told twice as they all jumped out of the way of the slash. When the blast hit the ground, a slash mark could be clearly seen in the ground, as if an actual blade had cut into it. Looking towards where the attack had come from, Ren and the others saw a lone player standing at the top. Heavy azure-colored armor covered their entire body, so details such as their gender were impossible to tell. A large two-handed buster sword was gripped firmly in the player's right hand. It matched the description Kai had given them almost perfectly. This was the player known as Ghost.

"Does this answer your question Ayumi?" Alice asked as she got ready to fight.

Ghost swung his blade and fired an energy slash again at the group. As they all jumped out of the way to dodge, Ayumi drew her two handguns and fired a barrage of shots at the player. Ghost didn't seem worried in the slightest and simply held his blade up to block the incoming attack. Ayumi's laser bullets didn't seem to even scratch Ghost's sword.

"I heard there was a group asking around about me." Ghost called down to Ren and the others. "What business do you have with me?"

"You've been making players disappear from both the real and virtual worlds." Ren responded. "All of your targets have been players related to people that died in SAO. Am I wrong?"

Ghost stared at Ren. It was impossible to tell his reaction under the armor he was wearing, but the two of them stared at each other in silence for a few moments before Ghost finally spoke. "Impressive. I'm surprised someone's managed to figure out that much."

"So you don't deny it?" Ren said. He brought out his two laser swords from his gauntlets and got into his battle stance. "Then it's time to put an end to this."

Ren charged towards Ghost at full speed. He wished he had the same level of speed as he did in Alfheim, but he would have to make do with the Lunarian avatar he had. Ghost sent a wave of energy slashes Ren's way, but he nimbly dodged each of them as he continued to run towards Ghost. Once he was within striking distance, Ren quickly went on the offensive and slashed at Ghost with a continuous barrage of slashes. Ghost managed to block most of the attacks with his sword as he endured the relentless assault. Finally he saw an opening and swung his blade down at Ren, who back flipped away.

"There is one thing that you're wrong about though." Ghost said as he and Ren stared each other down. "I'm simply starting with those related to the players killed in SAO. They will be the first sacrifice to my reign over the virtual world." He pointed the end of his sword at Ren. "You aren't even worth using my powers on. I'll just kill you, so don't worry about disappearing from the real world."

Ren stood his ground. He knew there had to be something else going on here. He had considered the possibility of this being similar to the Death Gun incident, where one person PKed in the virtual world while the other dealt with the physical body in the real world. But there was one fatal flaw with that theory. Each of the homes of the missing people had no signs of a struggle whatsoever. Ren highly doubted that someone could subdue a person without any struggle. And if murder was involved, there would have been some sort of trace left.

So what was going on here?

"That's right, you're no match for me." Ghost laughed. "I am Akihiko Kayaba! The god of virtual reality!"

"Oh give it a rest!" Alice yelled as she came crashing down from above. Ghost moved back just in time to avoid getting hit by Alice's attack, but became blinded by the debris kicked up from the impact from Alice's fist smashing into the ground. Using Ghost's distraction to her advantage, Alice sprang out from the debris with her fist reeled back. Ghost took the punch that came next in full, but was only pushed back a couple of feet.

Alice gasped at how her attack seemed to barely do anything to Ghost. "No way?!"

"Are you satisfied now?" Ghost asked as he charged forward and impaled Alice with his sword. He swung the massive blade and threw the girl off. "This is the power that I, Akihiko Kayaba, posses!"

Ren rushed over to Alice as she tumbled across the ground with a large gash at her stomach. "Alice, are you alright?!"

"I'm fine, Ren." Alice said as she slowly got to her feet. She glared at Ghost. "You can stop impersonating Kayaba you know?"

"What?!"

"You can't fool us." Alice smirked. "Kayaba is many things, but he's not the type to brag about being some type of god."

Ren nodded as he looked at Ghost as well. "So why don't you tell us who you really are?"

Ghost stared at the couple, wondering how they could have possibly figured him out. He gasped when the answer hit him. "You're both SAO Survivors!"

"Bingo." Ren smirked. "The real Kayaba would have recognized us by now. And since you're not him, then I'm willing to bet your whole disappearing act for your victims is a fake too."

"Damn you…" Ghost growled. He stabbed his sword into the ground and opened his menu. After shuffling around for a few seconds, a powerful azure aura surrounded his body. He pulled his sword out from the ground and got into his battle stance. "I can't allow any of you to leave here!"

"Sorry, but you won't be stopping us that easily." Ren said as he got into his stance as well. "You can't make our bodies vanish IRL, so the outcome of this fight doesn't even matter. Even if we die, we'll still be able to log out. Then we can just tell the world your secret."

"I wonder about that." Ghost said as he swung his blade to his right, creating an energy slash at least ten times more powerful than the ones before. "Impressive, isn't it? This power boost doesn't just increase my stats. Once a person is hit by my energy slash, they'll be teleported to a hidden area of the world map, where you won't be able to log out unless I allow it."

"What did you say?!" Ayumi gasped.

'_He has an admin account! There's no other explanation for that kind of power!'_ Ren realized. He turned his head to Alice, Ayumi, and Elza. "I'll draw his attention! Log out and tell Kikouka and the others that someone working for GSO's company is behind this!"

"No way Ren!" Alice said. "I'm not leaving you!"

"I'll log out once you're all gone, just hurry!" Ren yelled back.

"As if I'll let you go free that easily!" Ghost shouted as he raised his sword in preparation for an energy slash. Ren quickly dashed forward and blocked the sword as it swung down to keep it from firing an attack. The weight of the blade pushed down on Ren as he struggled to hold his ground.

"Ren!" Alice exclaimed.

"GO!" Ren yelled. "I'll catch up, just trust me!"

Alice hesitantly nodded and opened up her menu, as did Elza. Elza hit the log out button and her avatar disappeared, but Alice seemed hesitant to leave. Ghost took notice of this and knocked Ren back with a kick.

"I won't let you leave! You're staying right here!" Ghost yelled as he prepared to swing his sword down. Before he could, two bullets hit his helmet, forcing him to stumble back a bit. Ren looked back to see Ayumi holding her two guns with a determined look in her eyes.

"What are you doing, Ayumi?!" Ren exclaimed. "Get out of here!"

"I'll cover for you guys while you leave! I can get away with my speed." Ayumi explained.

"Damn brat" Ghost growled as he looked at Ayumi. "If you want to be first then fine!"

Ayumi grabbed two grenades and held one in each hand. She threw the first one at Ghost, which turned out to be a smoke grenade, covering the area around Ghost and making it impossible for him to see.

"Take this!" Ayumi yelled as she threw the second grenade. As the explosive device flew towards Ghost, an energy slash appeared from the thick cloud of smoke. Ayumi gasped as it blew back her grenade and came for her. The grenade exploded in-between the two players while the slash made contact with Ayumi. As her avatar vanished in a flash of light similar to teleportation, she mouthed "Go" to Ren and Alice.

"AYUMI!" Ren exclaimed.

Alice gasped as she watched the Plutarian girl disappear. "No… Ayumi…"

"Hmph, what a joke." Ghost said as the smoke around him cleared. "As if a trick like that would be enough to beat me."

Alice glared at Ghost with hatred in her eyes. She was about to charge at him until Ren called out to her.

"Wait! We need to get out of here right now!"

Alice looked over at Ren. As she was about to say something, she noticed the look in Ren's eyes. He didn't want to run. More than anything, he wanted to stay and fight. But if they did, they would be throwing Ayumi's sacrifice away. She reluctantly opened her menu and prepared to log out, seeing Ren do the same thing.

"Where do you think you're going?!" Ghost said as he fired an energy slash at Alice.

Alice gasped and quickly moved her finger towards the log out tab. It would come down to the last second as to whether she would escape or not. As she hit the log out button, she realized it was too late. The slash would hit her before she would leave.

She was proven wrong though and hit the log out button in time, but not because the slash didn't reach her in time. It was because someone else blocked the incoming attack with their own avatar. Alice gasped as the last thing she saw before her vision went white was Ren getting hit by the attack as he threw himself in front of her.

"REN!"

* * *

Kikouka, Rinko, and the nurse they had stationed in the room sat and watched the three diving players. There was no way to tell what was going on right now in GSO. The only thing Kikouka did know was that there were two more people on their way and he was not looking forward to when they arrived.

The door swung open and the two people the government official had been expecting walked in. Kazuto took one look and Dan and Alicia lying in hospital beds with Amu Spheres on their heads and glared at Kikouka. "Alright Kikouka. Talk. What are you making Dan and Alicia do?"

"Kirito, calm down."

"You better have a good explanation for this! Haven't we all done enough for you?!"

"This is an important matter Kirigaya." Rinko said from her seat.

Kazuto blinked in surprise, just now realizing Rinko was there. "M-Ms. Koujirou? Why are you here?"

It's a bit complicated" she explained. "Have a seat."

Kazuto and Asuna looked at each other and decided to sit down. Kazuto had met Rinko Koujirou a couple of times in the past after the Alfheim incident with Sugou and the three hundred SAO players. He felt that she was trustworthy, at least more trustworthy than a certain government worker.

Rinko and Kikouka went on to explain the situation to the couple, starting from the mysterious disappearances to the appearance of Ghost, who claimed to be Kayaba. They then explained that Dan and Alicia were diving along with Elza in GSO to find out Ghost's motives and put a stop to the incidents. By the end of it, Kazuto and Asuna were in utter shock.

"So let me get this straight." Kazuto said. "You had them go in KNOWING that players have been disappearing from the real world when they're PKed by this Ghost person?!"

"Kirito, I think we can all agree that people vanishing into thin air is most likely not what's going on here." Kikouka said calmly. "Besides, your friends are perfectly safe here."

Suddenly Elza sat up from her bed. She pulled the Amu Sphere from her head and gave a serious look to Kikouka. "We've got a problem."

"Where're Dan and Alicia?" Asuna asked. "Why didn't they log out with you?"

"They'll log out momentarily. Now shut up and let me talk." Elza quickly said before turning her focus back to Kikouka. "Ghost has admin privileges. Someone from the company that runs GSO is behind this."

"Admin privileges?! Are you sure about this?!"

Elza nodded her head. "The kids could tell right away that Ghost wasn't Kayaba. When he got found out, he turned his sword and gave it extremely OP powers. That's something only an admin or GM can do."

The group sat there in silence, figuring out that Elza must be right. Asuna soon broke the silence with the main thing on her mind. "Um… Elza? Didn't you say Dan and Alicia would log out any second?"

Elza gasped as she looked at Dan and Alicia and saw that they still hadn't woken up yet. "Damnit. Don't tell me he got them."

"What do you mean?" Kazuto asked.

"One of the skills Ghost gave his weapon was to make it teleport players to a place they can't log out from." Elza explained. "I thought at the very least that the girl logged out at the same time I did."

Kazuto glared over a Kikouka. "Perfectly safe, huh?"

"N-Now hang on. I'm sure there's nothing to worry abou-"

Kikouka was cut off as Alicia suddenly woke up with a jolt and sat up on her bed, with tears rolling down her eyes. "Ren…"

**A/N: Ok, I know a lot happened this chapter and it's a lot to take in with Ayumi's past, a foreshadow at Ren's father, and what happened at the end there. There's still two more chapters to go for this arc though so stay tuned everyone. Next chapter will be up on Tuesday as usual.**


	101. Ghost's Secret

**A/N: Phew. Writing this chapter in half a week was a lot harder than I thought it'd be. But don't worry, the chapter is here on time. For all of you guys who reviewed last chapter, thanks so much. I don't know if it's just for me, but there's currently a review freeze going on with the site. The reviews show up on the count, but not the list. It's happened before and usually goes away within a week or two so I will respond to all your reviews once it's fixed.**

"Alicia are you alright?!" Asuna asked. "What happened? Where's Ren?"

"Ren… he…" Alicia took a moment to calm herself down. "He got hit by Ghost's energy attack. Both he and Ayumi are… who knows where!"

Asuna sat on the edge of the bed. She hugged her friend as Alice started crying. "It's alright. Ren'll be fine, I'm sure of it."

"Couldn't we just cut the power for his Amu Sphere?" Elizabeth asked. "It'll log him out automatically, even if he can't log out himself."

"That's true!" Alicia gasped. She moved in to pull the plug on Dan's Amu Sphere, but was suddenly stopped as the nurse grabbed Alicia by the arm. "What are you doing?!"

"Alicia… I'm not so sure cutting the power is a good idea." Rinko said. She pulled out her phone and showed it to Alicia. "A few minutes before you all logged out just now, we received this email from an anonymous address."

Alicia looked at the email on the screen. There was no return email address, so it was most likely a skilled hacker and someone working with Ghost. She gasped as she saw the message. "No… That's impossible."

"What is it?" Kazuto asked.

Kikouka seemed grim as he explained things to them. "The sender said that they've hacked into the GSO servers and maxed out the levels of the signals being sent to player's brains via their Amu Spheres. If we forcibly log him out, or if anyone playing GSO is forcibly logged out for that matter, there will be a serious risk of possible brain damage."

"Brain damage?!" Asuna gasped. "Is that even possible?"

"To be honest, I'm not sure." Kikouka said. "For all we know, it could just be a bluff. But right now I don't think we should risk forcibly logging him out."

"And Ren can't log out on his own either, since he got hit by that attack from Ghost." Kazuto pointed out, glaring at Kikouka. "Yeah, this job seems perfectly safe so far."

"I'm afraid it gets worse." Rinko added. "Whoever sent this email is using this threat as leverage. They're saying that unless GSO's servers are shut down and permanently deleted, they won't make it safe for us to safely remove any player's Amu Sphere.

Alicia couldn't stand the thought of sitting around and doing nothing while the person she loved was trapped and unable to do anything. She grabbed the Amu Sphere sitting on her lap. "I'm going back in to save him." Before she could fit the device around her head, she felt Elizabeth stop her by forcibly grabbing her arm.

"Don't be stupid!" Elizabeth sternly told her. "If you go in and get hit by that attack, then you're just adding to his list of hostages."

"I don't care!" Alicia bit back, yanking her arm out of Elizabeth's grasp. "I'm not sitting here while Ren is stuck and at Ghost's mercy!"

"Do you even have a plan?!"

"Yes! Go in, kick Ghost's ass, and rescue Ren and Ayumi!"

"That's not a plan, you idiot! That's being reckless!"

"And what do you suggest I do then?!"

Elizabeth sighed before muttering to herself. "Geez, the similarities just never stop do they?"

"What was that?"

"N-Nothing!" Elizabeth said. "Anyway even if you beat Ghost, and considering he has admin privileges I highly doubt you can, what next? Do you really think he'll just tell you where they are?"

"I may be able to help." Yui said suddenly from Asuna's phone.

Elizabeth blinked in surprise. "I'm sorry, who is that exactly?"

"I'm Yui" she said. "Ren and Alice are good friends with Mama and Papa."

Hearing the words Mama and Papa only added to Elza's confusion, as well as the rest of the group. Asuna ignored the fact and spoke to her daughter. "What do you mean you might be able to help, Yui?"

"If I link myself to Alice's Amu Sphere while she's diving, I should be able to assist her in GSO." Yui explained. "Her Seed account is linked to Ren's since they were married in ALO. By following that link, I may be able to figure out his location."

"Really?! You can find Ren?!" Alicia gasped.

"I believe so. All you need to do is link me to your Amu Sphere."

"Yui, are you sure about this? Won't you be in danger too?" Kazuto asked.

"I don't think my program will have any negative effects, even if I get hit by that strange attack Alice mentioned. Since I'm not a player, I don't have to log myself out like others."

Kazuto and Asuna looked at each other. They weren't too keen on any possible risk of putting Yui in danger, but she seemed determined. Plus Alicia was desperate to free Ren.

"Alright." Asuna said. "Just promise me you'll be careful."

"I promise, Mama." Yui said.

"Thanks you guys." Alicia told them as she fit her Amu Sphere around her head. "Don't worry. I won't let Ghost lay one finger on Yui, I swear."

"Thanks Alicia. You be careful too."

"H-Hold on a second!" Kikouka interrupted. "Look, things are already bad enough as it is. I can't allow you to go back in there if we won't be able to get you out."

"I don't remember asking for your permission." Alicia stated harshly. "It's your fault we're in this mess to begin with so keep your nose out of it."

"But-"

"It's fine. Let her go." Elizabeth said. Kikouka and the others stared at her with a perplexed look. Even Alicia was surprised at the woman supporting her. "I'll take the heat if something goes wrong."

"Elza…" Alicia quickly cleared her throat when she saw the stern look the woman was giving her. "Sorry. Elizabeth. Thank you."

"Just hurry up and get going." Elizabeth told her. "Make sure you pound that moron of a boyfriend you have for getting himself caught so easily."

"What about you?"

"I'll be working on sending a team over to the company that runs GSO so we can find the person that sent that email, as well as the person that's probably controlling Ghost's avatar."

Alicia nodded her head and lied down on the hospital bed. "There may not be a Ghost left by the time you get there."

"You underestimate me." Elza smirked. She gave Alicia a thumbs up. "Good luck."

"Thanks." Alicia said. She closed her eyes and entered the virtual world. "Link Start!"

* * *

Alice opened her eyes and immediately went into battle mode. She turned around, looking for where Ghost was. After a few seconds, Alice realized he was no longer there.

"He's gone…" Alice muttered. She had thought this might happen, but she was still hoping for better luck. Now she had to go search for Ren and Ayumi.

Suddenly, a cluster of light appeared in front of Alice. The light condensed into a small yellow orb and then burst, revealing Yui as a small sprite. Her sprite form didn't look all that different from how she looked like as a Navigation Pixie. Her dress was yellow now and her wings resembled that of a butterfly, but other than that, she looked more or less the same.

"So this is how you look in GSO, Yui." Alice said as Yui flew onto her shoulder. "So how is it, Yui? Can you find Ren?"

"I think so. Just one second." Yui said. She closed her eyes and held her hands to both sides of her head. After several seconds had passed, she opened her eyes. "I've got it. It's in an area called the Nova Nebula."

"The Nova Nebula." Alice said to herself. "I don't remember hearing it before. Do you know where it is?"

Yui nodded her head in response. "Yes. It's in a secluded part of the world map, far away from most of the dungeons. It seems to be a fair distance from the planet we're at right now."

"Which planet is it on?"

"It's not on a planet. According to what I can see, it's hidden in a large asteroid belt in space."

"So that means we're gonna need a ship." Alice said, thinking to herself. "I doubt I'd be able to fly us safely, even if I had enough cash to buy a ship. Come on Alice, think!" Suddenly she snapped her fingers. "I've got it! I know someone that can probably get us a ship!"

"Where are we going?" Yui asked as she hung on to Alice's shoulder while she ran.

"We're going to see a friend of mine." Alice told her.

Alice ran through the fields of Saturn and finally arrived back in Rigein. She only knew one person in Rigein and she was going to have to place all her hopes of getting to Ren on him. Players Alice ran past looked skeptically at her, wondering what was causing her to be in such a rush. She paid them no mind as she made her way to the central tower.

Once inside Alice looked around the open area, hoping for the player she was looking for to be here. Her eyes gleamed with hope when she saw Kai sitting at a table and having a sip of… whatever it was you could drink here in Rigein. Alice had never paid much attention to the cuisine in GSO since she hadn't planned on staying long.

"Kai!" Alice called out, waving over as she ran to him.

The Sturnian lifted his head and saw Alice running over to him. He blinked in surprise. "Alice? What are you doing here? I thought you and your boyfriend were looking for Ghost."

"Long story." Alice said. "Ren's in trouble and I need a ship. Think you can help me find someone with one?"

"Better than that. I've got a ship of my own we can use." Kai said. "But what's this about Ren being in trouble?"

"I'll explain on the way. We need to hurry." Alice said, grabbing Kai by the arm and dragging him away. Before she could leave with him, Alice found Kai's legion of fangirls blocking her path.

"Where do you think you're going with Kai?!" one of them asked.

"I don't have time to deal with you desperate morons!" Alice groaned. "Get out of my way!"

"Not a chance!" another one of them glared. "If you think you can just steal Kai away from us you-"

Alice didn't bother giving the girl a chance to finish as she swung her fist and sent her flying back and skidding across the floor. All the girls looked at Alice in fear as she glared at them. "Look, I'm not interested in your stupid little idol here that you're all obsessed with! You can have him back after he helps me out, got it?!"

The girls quickly made way for Alice and Kai, mostly due to the fact that they didn't want to be the next one that Alice swung her fist at.

Alice ran out of the tower with Kai leading her to the docks. As they ran, Kai looked at Alice. "That was a little bit much, don't you think?"

"I've been wanting to bash their heads in ever since I saw them." Alice said simply. "I can't stand girls going all gaga like that over one guy."

"… I'm not sure whether I should feel insulted or not."

"Sorry." Alice sighed. "I'm just really worried about Ren right now."

"What kind of trouble is he in anyway?"

Alice went on to quickly explain what had happened, including the truth about Ghost's powers and the disappearances. She then went on and told him about Ren and Ayumi's current situation.

"-and that's basically the gist of it." Alice told him.

"I see." Kai said. "So Ren and that Plutarian girl got hit by Ghost's attack and were teleported off somewhere. And wherever this place is, it doesn't allow them to log out."

"You got it." Alice nodded.

"Well I do owe you guys for driving off Viola and her goons the other day, so I guess it's worth a little danger. Do you know where Ghost's attack sent them?"

"Yes, it's a place called the Nova Nebula."

Kai stopped dead in his tracks and looked at Alice as if she was insane. "The Nova Nebula?! THAT'S where they are?!"

Alice nodded her head. "Yes. Is that a problem?"

"Oh boy." Kai said, scratching his head. "This is gonna be a lot harder than I thought."

"Why?"

"Alice, the Nova Nebula is impossible to reach. You have to go through a massive asteroid belt, and you can't touch any of the floating debris or it'll detonate. Everyone's given up on trying to reach it. No one is that good of a pilot."

"I could navigate us." Yui suggested.

Kai blinked in surprise as he looked at the small sprite on Alice's shoulder, just now realizing she was there. "When did you get a Cosmos Sprite? Those cost a ton of money."

"Huh? Oh well… that's a bit complicated." Alice said as she rubbed the back of her head nervously. "This is Yui. And trust me, she's the best AI to have around."

"Ok, but how does that help us get to the Nova Nebula without my ship getting blown to bits?"

"I can take control of the ship's navigation system and fly us through. I should be able to avoid the explosive debris you mentioned."

Kai seemed hesitant at the idea. "I don't know. Trusting the fate of my ship to an AI? That seems a bit risky."

"Kai, please. I'm begging you." Alice clasped her hands and bowed her head. "I need to get to Ren before who knows what happens to him! You can trust Yui, I swear! Please Kai!"

Kai looked at Alice, seeing a few teardrops fall from her eyes. He sighed in defeat. "Alright, let's get going."

"Thank you so much Kai! I'll make this up to you, I promise!"

"Really? How about that date then?" Kai saw the look Alice was giving him and laughed. "Just kidding. I owe you guys anyway so think of this as me paying you back."

"Thanks Kai." Alice told him. "I really appreciate this."

* * *

Ren slowly opened his eyes. The last thing he remembered, he had jumped in front of Alice and got hit by Ghost's attack.

He was no longer on Saturn though. Instead, he was just floating around in an empty space like a spirit. The scenery around him was filled with bright shining vortexes that made him feel like he was looking at the universe from afar.

'_Where am I?'_ Ren wondered.

As he looked at his surroundings, Ren saw no sign of Ayumi anywhere. Right now, all he could hope for was that Alice had gotten away and been able to log off. If she was safe, then that was all that mattered to him.

'_I should really try finding a way out of here though.'_ Ren told himself. _'But how am I supposed to even do that? All I see is these vortexes and stars stretching for miles.'_

Ren sighed as he decided to give up on escaping for now and tried to figure everything out. He was able to discover that Ghost's powers were due to an admin account, so he most likely worked for the company that ran GSO. With that in mind, he could definitely conclude that Kayaba wasn't Ghost. It would also explain how Ghost had managed to stay hidden without GSO's company ever being able to trace his account. Someone working in the company could easily bypass system security.

The one thing that didn't add up though was a motive. What did this person have to gain by kidnapping people in the real world and faking them as mysterious disappearances? All it would do was make GSO lose popularity. It just didn't make sense.

"It's been a long time since I've seen you think this hard."

Ren gasped as he heard the sudden voice which snapped him out of his thoughts. He saw a new person arrive, slowly descending from above. The sight of the person made Ren's eyes widen. He was at a loss for words.

'_No way…'_

"Long time no see Ren."

"Kayaba." Ren gasped. He still couldn't believe it was him. The creator of SAO and the man that had trapped ten thousand people in it for two years. He didn't know what to do. Say hi? Attack him? Something. Ren eventually decided to do the only thing that came to mind.

"Why are you here?"

"That's it? No 'hello'? No 'how have you been'?" Kayaba asked sarcastically.

Ren rolled his eyes. "Fine. How have you been? Find another ten thousand people to trap in a death game?"

Kayaba seemed amused by Ren's response. "A witty retort. Just what I'd expect from the front line's top tactician. But back to the matter at hand. You seem to be in quite the sticky situation."

"Yes. Dealing with someone impersonating as you." Ren told him. "Sounds like you still have at least one fan out there."

"I wouldn't say that. After all, they are making me out as a villain here."

"Compared to the things you've done, this is nothing." Ren said. "So I'll ask you again, why are you here?"

Kayaba shrugged his shoulders. "I thought I'd lend you my help. After all, you are working to clear my name."

"So you know who's behind this?"

"Of course." he replied. "I basically live on the internet now. There are very few things I don't know."

"So who is it?" Ren asked.

"Well if I told you that wouldn't be much fun, now would it?"

Ren rolled his eyes as he sat down, or at least took a seating position. There was no solid ground for him to sit on here.

Kayaba continued talking. "I suppose I can at least tell you where this is. You see, after you were forcibly teleported by our mystery man Ghost, your avatar was teleported to a remote location in the game. To add to your troubles, your consciousness was split from your avatar, leaving it as an empty shell while you float around in here so you can't log out. Quite the ingenious programing if I do say so myself."

Ren sighed as he crossed his arms and went back to trying to figure out the main problem he was faced with. "I still can't figure out a motive. What does Ghost stand to gain from all this? GSO would shut down, putting him out of a job."

Kayaba shook his head at Ren. "You're asking the wrong questions. There's something else you should be asking yourself first."

"Something else?" Ren asked. "And what would that be?"

"You'll figure it out. After all, what sort of challenge is there for a tactician if he's given all the answers?"

Ren groaned as he closed his eyes. "I can't believe this."

"What?"

"You." Ren told him. "You show up out of nowhere saying you want to help me, but you're making me figure out everything by myself. You're just so… aggravating! I don't know how I even feel about you being here!"

"Is that so?" Kayaba asked. "Perhaps that's because you don't hate me as much as you say. Perhaps… you're grateful to me? For trapping you in SAO?"

"Shut up!" Ren yelled, throwing a punch at Kayaba that was easily dodged. He glared at the man. "SAO was a nightmare! Four thousand people died! All for what?! Your stupid game?!"

"And tell me, what would your life had been like if none of that had happened? Would you have met Alice? Your friends? As much as you hate to admit it Ren, you're actually quite grateful to me."

Ren clenched his fists tightly. "It's true that SAO did a lot of things for me. Maybe I am grateful for being stuck in there for those two years. But know this. I will NEVER forgive you for the things you did."

Kayaba shrugged his shoulders. "Fair enough. We're getting off topic though. I believe right now you should be trying to figure out the secret behind these incidents."

"The victims of which are all related to people you've killed." Ren added.

"Yes, every single one of them related to someone that had died in SAO. Don't you find that odd?"

"Well sure." Ren nodded. "I mean it's weird that someone would be targeting people related to those that died in SAO. But what about it?"

"I was referring to something else about the victims." Kayaba explained. "What relates them other than that one fact?"

"What else relates them? They were all GSO players, but that's about…" Ren paused as a thought suddenly entered his mind. "Wait a minute."

"I see you're starting to figure it out." Kayaba said with a smirk.

Ren pondered the question that he was now asking himself. The question that he should have been asking all along. _'Why would people whose lives were ruined by SAO even be playing a VRMMO in the first place?'_ Slowly but surely the pieces began to fit together. _'But that means… Then the incidents… That's it!'_

Kayaba saw the look in Ren's eyes and smiled to himself. "Looks like you figured it out."

* * *

Kai flew his ship towards the asteroid belt that protected the entrance to the Nova Nebula. Alice sat in the passenger's seat with Yui still on her shoulder. Looking out the window, Alice could see just how large the asteroid belt was.

"We're almost there." Kai said. "You sure that Cosmos Sprite of yours can do this?"

Alice looked at Yui, who gave her a thumbs up in response. Alice smiled and nodded her head. "Don't you worry Kai. Yui's got this."

"Alright then." Kai said. "Work whatever magic plan you've got."

Yui closed her eyes, concentrating on the programing of the asteroid belt in front of them. "It's very tricky. The GMs seemed to have designed it so players have to fly in a particular path in order to reach the center where the Nova Nebula is. Making it through by normal means seems to be almost impossible." Yui flew down towards Alice's lap and touched the metal interior of the ship. "If I follow the path, I should be able to lead us through safely."

"Good luck Yui. We're counting on you."

All of a sudden, Kai felt the ship switch to auto pilot mode. Yui had taken full control of his ship, making him nothing more than a passenger at this point.

Yui slowly drove the ship into the asteroid belt. Alice looked out the window and saw what Kai had meant by explosive debris. Large chunks of rock were floating all around them, each imbedded with what seemed to be a large bomb. The only type of ship that would even have a chance of making it through this without setting those off would be a small two-person ship like the one they were in now.

"I have to admit, this kinda gives off a Star Wars vibe to me." Alice said.

"I think I'd rather be in a Star Wars fight than this situation." Kai told her, trying to relieve the tension that had taken hold of him.

The ship hovered through the asteroid belt, avoiding each of the bombs in their way as it slowly flew past them. As they got closer and closer towards the center, where a massive chunk of rock with azure blue light emitting from the cracks in it was waiting for them, the bombs became more and more densely packed together. One wrong move and they'd all be blown to bits for sure and then they'd never be able to save Ren.

"I see. No wonder players haven't been able to reach it." Yui said. "It's a trick."

"What do you mean?" Alice asked.

Yui turned the ship upwards and began flying it further away from their destination. "The path players need to take involves zigzagging around in several directions like a maze. Making a straight path for the Nova Nebula is impossible."

"The Nova Nebula was never designed to be reached." Kai realized. "There's no way a player would be able to figure out the exact path to take."

"But this path was still made in order for GMs and admins to be able to reach it if necessary." Yui added.

"Perhaps something involving the core programing exists in there." Alice suggested.

Yui shook her head. "No, I don't think so. If what you said is true and Ghost's attack teleported them here, I can only assume the Nova Nebula was designed to make it impossible for anyone to help the player trapped escape. This place most likely acts as an in-game prison for whenever players break the rules of the world, such as the sexual harassment code."

"That makes sense." Kai agreed. "No one would ever be able to reach this place to help their friends escape if they were teleported here for the time-out penalty."

"Well right now Ghost is using it to hold Ren and Ayumi prisoner." Alice said. "How long do you think it will take us to reach the center, Yui?"

"Approximately five minutes."

Alice looked out the window at the Nova Nebula. That giant rock. Inside of it where all that light was coming from. That was were Ren was. _'Wait for me Ren. We're coming.'_

The next few minutes, Alice and Kai watched as Yui maneuvered the ship around, slowly making its way closer and closer to their destination. When they finally made it past the last few bombs, Kai let out a huge sigh of relief.

"I can't believe we actually made it. That Cosmos Sprite you've got there really is something."

"We're past the hard part." Yui said. "The Nova Nebula is inside that rock. We just need to fly in through one of the cracks the light is emitting out from."

"Leave that to me." Kai said with a smirk. "Hold on tight everyone. This might get bumpy."

Yui removed her hand from the ship and gave control back to Kai. The Saturnian revved the engines of his ship and took off into the Nova Nebula. The ship shook violently as they entered into the light. Alice and Yui shielded their eyes, while Kai tried his best not to be blinded by the light. When he could finally see again, the ground was already mere meters from them.

"Crap!" Kai exclaimed as he tried to pull the ship's nose back up. "Everyone brace for impact!"

* * *

Kayaba could see it in Ren's eyes. He had finally figured out the answer. "It sure took you long enough to realize it."

Ren let out a sigh and chuckled to himself. "Geez, it's so obvious now that I think about it. I can't believe I didn't figure it out sooner."

"Looks like SAO's famous master tactician is starting to slip."

"Heh, maybe so." Ren admitted. He got to his feet and looked at Kayaba with a serious expression. "Kayaba… why did you help me?"

"Why?" Kayaba asked. "Don't go getting the wrong idea and start thinking I'm a good guy now. I just couldn't stand seeing a rank amateur try and masquerade themselves as me. Nothing more."

"Yeah, that sounds like you."

Kayaba nodded his head and turned around. "Well then, I suppose I might as well offer you one more small token of help."

"And what would that be?" Ren asked.

"Since you can't return your consciousness to your avatar, I'll do it for you."

Ren blinked his eyes in surprise. "Seriously? You can do that?"

"Again, I live on the internet. It basically makes me omnipotent in the virtual world."

"Right…" Ren said. "Before you send me back though, there's something I want to ask you."

Kayaba raised a brow at this. "Is that so? And what is it?"

"... The Unique Skill, Crimson Flash. Why did you give it to me?"

"That's your question?"

"It's just… it's always bugged me." Ren told him. "Crimson Flash was for the fastest player in Aincrad, wasn't it? Then why didn't Asuna receive it instead of me?"

"Hmmm… I suppose that's a fair question." Kayba said. "It's true, when you compare your AGI stats, Asuna was faster than you."

"Exactly. So why did you-"

"But that was only physical speed." Kayaba continued. "There was another type of speed that was factored into who received the Crimson Flash skill. The speed of a player's mind."

Ren looked at Kayaba curiously. "So that's it? Because I was smart at making up strategies?"

"Not exactly. You and Asuna were both skilled players, and had a quite the high AGI stats. But when it came to thinking on your feet and making quick decisions, you out-sped Asuna far more. In the end, it was a toss-up as to who got it. But I decided to go with you."

"And why was that?"

"I guess you could say I did it on a whim." he shrugged. "Some things in this world aren't meant to be fully understood. I'm sure you realize that." Kayaba held up his hand and touched Ren's avatar, enveloping Ren in light. "Now then, I think our discussion has come to an end. It's time for you to go back."

Ren nodded his head. "Don't expect a thank you for this. After all, I'm the one doing you a favor."

"I wouldn't dream of it." Kayaba said with a smirk.

* * *

Alice groaned as she shook the dizziness out of her head. She hadn't been in this bad of a crash landing since she had started learning how to fly in ALO. "Is everyone alright? Yui? Kai?"

"I think I'm alright." Kai said from his seat up front.

"Me too." Yui added.

Looking around her, Alice could see the ship had taken some considerable damage. Staying trapped in here wouldn't do any good so Alice curled her body back and swung her legs forward, kicking the window open. Alice crawled out of the ship while Yui flew into her pocket. Her HP had taken a hit but it wasn't in the red. Right now what she needed to do was find Ren.

The Nova Nebula was surprisingly beautiful. It was just a small circular stretch of land with a diameter of only a hundred meters or so. Surrounding it was a scenery of blue light with stars and comets dancing across the sky. It seemed more like a dream world than a prison.

"How did you get here?"

Alice turned her head towards the voice that spoke. She glared when she saw it was Ghost. At his side, Ren and Ayumi were lying down and unconscious.

"What did you do to them?" Alice growled.

"You don't need to worry. They're just sleeping right now." Ghost said as he held his buster sword up and pointed it towards Alice. "You however are going to have to die."

Alice got into her fighting stance. She wouldn't have to worry about being teleported by Ghost's energy attack since she was already in the Nova Nebula. But that didn't mean she could let her guard down. Ghost was using an admin account after all.

"Yui, fly over to Kai and see if you can sneak your way over to Ren and Ayumi to try and wake them up." Alice said. "I'll keep Ghost occupied."

"Understood." Yui nodded as she flew out of Alice's pocket and over to the ship where Kai still was.

Ghost noticed Yui flying over to the ship. He didn't know why there was a Cosmos Sprite here but it would be best to take care of it just to be safe. He raised his sword and prepared to launch an energy slash at Yui. As he swung the blade down, Alice rushed over to him. Ghost stared in shock as Alice stopped the sword from swinging down all the way by grabbing the blade with her hand.

The sharp metal cut into Alice's palm, but it didn't stop the cold glare Alice was giving Ghost. "You're fighting me. I won't let you hurt any more people."

"I'm putting an end to this world so no more people need to be hurt." Ghost told her as he shoved his knee into her stomach.

Alice felt the air rush out of her lungs. She ducked under a slash from Ghost and attacked with a series of punches. They didn't seem to do much against Ghost's sturdy armor, but it was still progress. The fight quickly became a tradeoff between Alice punching and dodging and Ghost slashing and guarding. Finally Ghost grabbed Alice by the throat and lifted her into the air. He threw her down on the ground beside him, knocking away a large chunk of Alice's HP.

"You've become an annoying pest. It seems I'll have to trap you hear as well. Don't worry, you'll be back in the real world once the servers shut down and GSO is completely deleted."

"Says the person holding two people hostage and threatening them with brain damage if we forcibly log them out."

"Oh that?" Ghost said. "That was just a bluff. I needed to have some leverage on getting this world to end after all."

'_So it WAS a bluff after all.'_ Alice realized. She smirked at the armored player holding her. "Good to know. Now I don't have to worry about keeping you alive to tell me how to free my friends."

Out of nowhere, Alice swung her legs up and delivered a painful kick to Ghost's helmet that forced him to drop her. Then it went back to the close range battle between them.

Over by the crashed ship, Kai finally emerged and looked over at the fight going on. He could tell Alice was an emotional person based on how she acted, but this was something else. There was so much feeling in Alice's attacks that Kai could feel it all the way from where he was standing.

"Kai!" Yui called out as she flew over to him.

"Huh? Oh you're Alice's Cosmos Sprite. Yui, right?"

Yui nodded her head. "We need to get over to Ren and Ayumi and try to wake them up while Alice is distracting Ghost."

Kai looked over where Ren and Ayumi were currently lying unconscious. With her fight, Alice had managed to get ghost away from the two of them, leaving Kai an opening to go over and help them.

"Alright Yui. Grab onto me and hold on tight." Kai said, bringing out his skates.

Yui did as she was told and grabbed Kai's shoulder. Suddenly she felt herself struggling to hang on as Kai zoomed towards Ren and Ayumi. His speed was incredible. Kai grabbed Yui from his shoulder and threw her at Ren and Ayumi before making a turn and skating towards Alice and Ghost.

Yui felt herself land on Ren's body. She called out to Kai. "What are you doing?!"

"The one thing I was too afraid to do before." Kai said, bringing out a pair of chakrams. "Standing my ground and fighting." He sped towards Ghost as fast as his skates would allow him. He may not have been very strong, but even he had to be able to do something.

Ghost was about to swing his sword at Alice, but Kai quickly threw his two chakrams. One hit Ghost in the elbow and the other hit his helmet. Both hits were enough to stop ghost's attack and knock him off balance slightly.

"Now Alice!" Kai yelled. "Do it!"

Alice didn't waste the opening Kai had given her. She reeled her fist back and punched Ghost with all her might. "Take this!"

Alice's punch felt like the force of a freight train against Ghost. He was sent rocketing back and skidding across the ground.

Kai looked at the damage Alice's attack had done in shock. "Wow. I knew you had some serious strength but geez." He gave a smile to Alice. "Ren's real lucky to have a girl as nice and strong as you."

"You should be focusing your attention on me, fool!" Ghost yelled as he rocketed himself forward with an energy slash from his sword. The force sent him flying towards Kai and he impaled the Saturnian with his sword.

"Kai!" Alice cried out.

"Damnit… Guess I really screwed that one up." Kai choked out as he watched his HP decrease at a fast rate. He gave Alice a thumbs up. "You can do it. Kick this asshole's butt into next week."

"KAI!" Alice exclaimed as he watched the Saturnian shatter into fragments.

"Seems that I ended up killing him. No matter." Ghost said, turning his attention back to Alice. "You're the one I need to keep as a hostage."

Suddenly a voice came from behind Ghost. "I don't really appreciate you talking to my girlfriend like that."

Ghost gasped as he turned around and saw Ren on his feet. The Lunarian smirked at Ghost as Ayumi began to wake up as well.

"Ren!" Alice exclaimed, tears forming in her eyes that he was back. "Way to go Yui!"

Yui shook her head at Alice. "I didn't do anything actually. They just woke up on their own."

"Impossible!" Ghost gasped. "How did your mind go back to your avatar?!"

"A little help from the REAL Kayaba." Ren explained. "By the way, your secrets out of the bag Ghost. Or would you rather I call you by your real name."

"What?!" Ghost exclaimed. "You're bluffing!"

"That's half true." Ren admitted. "I don't know exactly who you are. But I can narrow it down to a small list of people, namely the missing players."

Alice slowly tried to wrap her head around what Ren was saying. How was Ghost supposed to be one of the victims?

"It's actually quite simple when you just put it into perspective." Ren said. "Each of the victims were related to people that had died in SAO. Usually there wouldn't be anyone like that playing VRMMOs. Unless of course they were doing it for revenge."

'_Revenge?' _Alice wondered. Suddenly her eyes widened, realizing what Ren was saying. _'Does he mean…'_

"There was something that kept bugging me about each of the incidents. In every single one, there were no traces of a struggle found. That would normally be extremely tricky to pull off multiple times. That is unless they hadn't vanished into thin air or been kidnapped." Ren could see he was right as Ghost's body seemed to tense up more and more. "Every single one of the mysterious disappearances was a hoax, weren't they? You and the 'victims' were all in on this together."

"How did you know?" Ghost growled.

"I didn't figure it all out until just now. But I had done a little digging of my own. Each of the homes of the victims weren't too far away. At max, maybe a few hours by car. Using that logic, it wouldn't be too hard to believe that each of the victims knew each other from something, perhaps a support group to deal with the loss of someone in SAO. There's also the company that runs GSO. It wouldn't be unusual for such a large company to have at least one employee that had someone close to them die in SAO too. Several people, all with a grudge against VRMMOS."

"Then the incidents were faked?!" Alice gasped.

Ren nodded his head. "Yep. The first was just a rumor spread around to get players to hear about Ghost. Then they started actually performing Ghost's attacks to get people's attention. Ghost would PK them and then the person working for GSO's company would secretly delete the person's Seed account. All of it was to get GSO to shut down. Then they would continue on with the threat of Ghost in other VRMMOs, in an attempt to destroy the industry all together."

"… You clever little brat." Ghost glared. "You'll pay for this."

"I don't think so." Ren said. "Our other friend that managed to escape should be heading over to GSO's main company as we speak. Once they find out who's helping you, your admin privileges are as good as gone. You don't have any power left." Ren brought out his two laser swords from his gauntlets. "Now then, shall we settle this?"

**A/N: Well that's all for this chapter everyone. Next week will be the finale to this arc. Glad to see so many people have enjoyed this one so far. I hope the next chapter will be something you'll all like.**


	102. Family

**A/N: What's up everyone? Final chapter for the GSO arc is here at last! Hope you're all ready for it.**

Ren and Ghost stared each other down as they stood on the Nova Nebula. Ren ha a confident grin on his face from figuring out Ghost's secret, while Ghost glared at Ren with all of his rage. There was no point to the battle that was about to take place. Ghost had lost. Both he and Ren knew that. But if it was any consolation to him, Ghost would make him cry out in pain before this was all over.

Turning his head to the side, Ren noticed the crashed ship. "Looks like you had quite the adventure getting here Alice."

"Yeah…" Alice admitted. "Remind me to apologize to Kai later."

Ren nodded his head with a smile. "I can't wait to hear this story later."

While Ren was caught in his distraction, Ghost charged at him with his buster sword. He swung the sword down at Ren, who quickly dodged it with a backflip along with Ayumi. "Sheesh. Someone's desperate for attention."

"You're going to PAY!" Ghost roared as he charged at Ren once again. Ayumi moved out of the way, while Ren focused on evading Ghost's attacks. "This was my chance at revenge on the virtual world! And you ruined it!"

Ren kept dodging Ghost's slashes. He may have had the advantage in speed, but it still took almost all of his effort to avoid getting hit. Ghost did have an admin account after all. Suddenly, Ren backflipped away from Ghost. As the armored player wondered why, he saw several small shadows looming over him. He turned around and saw several grenade charges flying towards him, all thrown by Ayumi. Ghost quickly swung his sword horizontally, creating a powerful shockwave that blew the grenades back. They detonated and still damaged him, but not nearly as much as Ayumi had hoped.

When the smoke cleared, Ghost was still standing. He didn't even seem fazed by the attack. "If you know my secret, then I guess it's pointless to wear this." He grabbed his helmet and took it off, throwing it to the side. His face could now be seen, revealing a male that seemed to be in his early twenties. Short blonde hair fell from his face. With his face now revealed, the piercing glare of hatred in his eyes was clearer than ever.

"I'll never forgive you." Ghost told them.

"That's funny coming from the person who's playing the bad guy here." Ren said.

"SHUT UP!" Ghost yelled. "You don't know ANYTHING about me! Do you have any idea what the VRMMO industry did to me! It stole my only brother from me! I had to stand there and watch him die in some psychopath's game while I wasn't able to do a damn thing!"

"… We don't know anything, you say?" Alice asked from behind Ghost in a subtly angry tone. "Ren and I were trapped in SAO. We know better than anyone what it was like in that death game." She sped towards Ghost. "Don't you go saying crap like we don't understand what SAO was like!"

Ghost swung his blade at Alice, but she leaped over the slash and delivered a painful kick to his jaw. She twirled her body like an acrobat as she flew over him and landed by Ren, who switched in and went on the offensive.

"We saw players die right in front of us!" Ren said as he thrusted his blade forward, quickly exchanging blows with Ghost. "Sometimes they were complete strangers, other times they were close friends! We had to see them die right before our eyes!"

"If that's so then how can you stand to be in the virtual world for another second!" Ghost asked angrily as he and Ren clashed their blades together, becoming locked in a test of endurance. "How can you even touch an Amu Sphere or a Nerve Gear after what SAO did to you! You should want the virtual world destroyed more than anybody!"

"You don't seem to understand something." Ren glared as he switched with Alice. The couple attacked in an out, gradually managing to throw Ghost off his balance. "We got over the things that happened to us in SAO. We've accepted them and moved past them."

"There's a lot of things we'd rather forget from our two years there." Alice said. "But there were also plenty of good things too. Fun happy memories that we wouldn't trade for the world. Your brother probably had them too. Do you honestly think this is what he'd want you to be doing?"

"SHUT UP!" Ghost screamed at the top of his lungs. He thrusted his blade forward, impaling Alice with the massive sword. "What would you know?! Did you know him?! Did you watch him grow up?! Did you have to sit there and feel completely helpless as he lied in a hospital bed fighting for his life?! A fight that he LOST! My friends and I, we all want the same thing! To make this accursed virtual reality pay for what it stole from us! Our loved ones!"

Suddenly a laser bullet passed by Ghost's head. He ducked under a spray of bullets that came from Ayumi's two guns, quickly pulling his sword out of Alice and bringing it up to block the bullets coming for him.

"I used to hate virtual reality too!" Ayumi said. "I was subjected to horrible inhumane experiments because of it! But at least I'm trying to move past that!" The pain in Ayumi's head began to grow from having to remember the horrific things done to here.

Ayumi dashed forward and took four grenades from her belt, throwing them at Ghost. "I've seen what the virtual world has to offer people! I've started to move on from the bad memories that haunt me! That's something you and your friends haven't been able to do!"

Ghost prepared to blow the grenades away like last time with a swing of his sword. Before he even had the chance though, Ayumi took her two handguns and fired a bullet at each of the grenades as they hovered around Ghost, hitting each one dead center. The charges exploded together, entrapping Ghost in a giant blast of fire. When the smoke from the explosions settled down, Ghost was on one knee, barely able to stand. His HP had hit red.

"You'll PAY!" Ghost yelled, putting all his remaining strength into one last slash at Ayumi. Suddenly, he felt the aura around him vanish. The armor that had felt so light before weighed a ton and he fell over before his blade could even scratch Ayumi.

"Looks like Elza finally got around to finding the person helping you and your friends." Ren said. "Your admin powers are gone.

"Damnit…" Ghost growled as he laid on the cold hard ground of the Nova Nebula.

Ayumi stood over him, with one of her guns pointed directly at Ghost's head. "Don't ever cause trouble in this world, or any other world, ever again." As she prepared to pull the trigger, her head suddenly began to hurt. She recognized the sensation and her eyes widened in fear. _'No… Not now…'_

"Ayumi?" Ren asked as he looked at her curiously. "What's wrong?"

Alice recognized the look in Ayumi's eyes and called out to her. "No Ayumi! You can't lose yourself again! You have to fight it! Fight the pain!"

"It hurts… It hurts so much…" Ayumi cried, falling to her knees and holding her head as it throbbed in pain.

Alice threw her arms around Ayumi. She gave the young girl a warm hug and tried to calm her down. "I know it hurts. But you have to move past it. You're strong enough to beat this. I know you are."

Ayumi shivered as she fought against the pain for what seemed like forever. She breathed heavily, trying not to lose control again. Her mind brought her back to the pod she was kept in as the painful experiments were done on her. She looked at herself, recalling all the horrible things she went through. The things she did while under mind control.

'_Maybe I'll never be able to forget what happened to me.'_ Ayumi told herself. _'Maybe I'll never find my family. But still… I can still move past that. I can accept what happened to me.'_

Very slowly, the pain in Ayumi's head began to die down. She lifted her head and saw Alice looking down at her. "Ayumi? Are you alright?"

Ayumi gave Alice a smile and nodded her head. "Yeah… Thanks Alice. I'll be fine now."

Alice gave a sigh of relief and helped Ayumi get to her feet. Ayumi walked over to Ghost and held one of her guns to his head as he lied defeated on the ground. "Maybe someday you and your friends will be able to move past your pain too Ghost. If you try to cause trouble for this world again, I'll fight against you as many times as it takes for you to realize the true beauty the virtual world has to offer."

"Don't bet on that happening." Ghost told her.

Ayumi pulled the trigger and shot Ghost in the head, taking out the rest of his HP and making his avatar shatter. _'As much as I don't like to admit it, Ghost and I are a lot alike. But that makes me believe he'll see he's wrong one day.'_

"Phew. It's finally over." Ren said with an exhausted sigh. "Who's up for a drink?"

Alice walked over to Ren and flicked him on the forehead with her finger. "You're the reason we ended up coming all the way out here. Do you have any idea how worried I was?"

Ren gave a nervous chuckle as he looked to Ayumi for help. The Plutarian girl only giggled in response. "Sorry Ren. You're on your own."

"Yui?"

The tiny AI shook her head as well. "Mama shows that look to Papa a lot, and Papa always loses."

Ren looked towards the ship Alice and Kai had come in and saw it inoperable. He was literally trapped in the Nova Nebula.

"I'm really, really sorry Alice." Ren apologized, begging for Alice's forgiveness. "Please don't-"

Alice interrupted Ren's apology as she leaned in and gave him a kiss on the lips. When she pulled back, she showed Ren a smile. "I'm just joking Ren. All that matters to me is that you're safe. But you're treating me to dinner for worrying me so much."

Ren let out a sigh of defeat and nodded his head. He did end up worrying Alice, which was something he ended up doing more often than not, so treating her to dinner was the least he could do. He opened his menu, relieved that he could log out. "What do you say we go home?"

Alice nodded her head. "Yeah. Back to the real world."

"Make sure you guys come back to visit sometime." Ayumi said to the couple.

Suddenly, Alice's eyes flashed with realization. "I almost forgot." She ran over to Ayumi and kneeled down next to her. "Ayumi, I apologize if this sounds weird but do you think you could tell us your real name?"

"My real name?" Ayumi asked. "Why do you want to know?"

"That's a secret for now." Alice told her. "I understand if you don't want to, but-"

"No, it's alright." Ayumi told her. "I trust you and Ren. But in return, will you tell me your names?"

Alice nodded her head. "Of course. My name is Alicia Tsuki." She looked over towards Ren. "And my reckless idiot of a boyfriend over there is Dan Hiryo."

"Alicia and Dan." Ayumi repeated to herself. "Alright then. My name is Alana Heatherton. I live in Yokosuka."

Alice smiled at Ayumi. "Got it. And maybe you could come over to ALO sometime. I think you'd like it."

"Alfheim Online, huh…" Ayumi said. "I always tried to avoid that game because it reminded me of when I was under Gabriel's mind control. But now… maybe it would be nice to go back."

"We'll be sure to show you around if you decide to try it out." Alice said. "See you around, Ayumi."

Ayumi waved goodbye as Alice walked back over to Ren and Yui. Since Ren's consciousness was back in his avatar, they were free to log out. The couple opened their menus and hit the log out button, leaving behind GSO and going back to the real world.

After they got back, Dan and Alicia told everyone about what happened in GSO, including what they had discovered about Ghost and the incidents. Kikouka informed them that Elizabeth and a team of government workers had stormed GSO's company building and found the person that had been assisting Ghost and his other friends. After some further investigating, they found out that all of the people involved with the scheme had been part of the same support group for people dealing with the loss of someone from SAO, including the GSO worker. Kikouka told them that they had all been arrested and would serve jail time. After explaining everything, Kikouka thanked Dan and Alicia for their help and told them that he would send their payment within a week.

Before they left though, Alicia pulled Rinko Kojirou aside. She told her that she needed her help with something.

* * *

_Two weeks later…_

Dan gave a relieved sigh as he took a sip of his drink at the Dicey Café. "Everything's finally over. No more debts to Kikouka and we're completely free."

"You said it." Alicia agreed. "And next time you'll think before asking Kikouka for a favor."

"Fair enough." Dan admitted. "But in the end, I'm glad we went to GSO. It was fun there."

In the two weeks that had passed since the Ghost incident, Dan and Alicia had told their friends about what had happened. Kikouka and the government had been working on keeping as much of the incident under wraps as possible. The player using the Ghost avatar and all of the 'victims' had been tried and sent to prison, though their charges were light. Dan and Alicia had no complaints, as they hoped the relatives of the SAO victims would learn to find comfort and peace. Kayaba may not have been Ghost, but he was still responsible for everything that had happened.

Dan and Alicia had called out their guild, as well as Kazuto and Asuna, to Dicey Café under the pretense of celebrating the end to the Ghost incident. But the main reason they had called them here was for something else.

Emi looked at the couple. "You could have told us you were going into GSO before. We would have helped."

"And that's exactly why we didn't." Alicia told her sister.

"Yeah. Besides, nothing happened in the end." Dan said. He saw Alicia giving him a stern glare, making him let out a nervous chuckle. "Well… nothing that wasn't resolved at least."

"What about that Ayumi girl you told us about?" Asuna asked. "What ever happened with her?"

As if on cue, a knock was heard at the door to the café. The door opened, and Rinko Kojirou walked in to the café. Accompanying her was a young girl with red hair that fell down slightly past her shoulders. As the two walked in, the red haired girl was able to pick out Dan and Alicia right away due to the resemblance to their avatars.

"Ren, Alice, it's nice to finally meet you in the real world." she greeted with a smile. "I suppose I should introduce myself again. I'm Alana Heatherton."

"Nice to meet you too, Alana." Dan said with a wave.

"I guess I'll introduce you to everyone." Alicia suggested as she got out of her seat. She gestured to Kazuto and Asuna. "These two are Kazuto Kirigaya and Asuna Yuki. They're our friends and Yui's parents."

Alana blinked in confusion. "That Cosmos Sprite that was with you at the Nova Nebula? She has… parents?"

"We'll explain that to you another time." Dan told her, understanding her confusion.

Alicia continued with introductions as she went through her guild. "This is my sister Emi and Dan's sister Clair. Then we have Lilina, merchant and con-artist."

"Hey!"

"And then there's her mental patient of a boyfriend Hyde."

"Well screw you too!"

Alicia rolled her eyes at the couple. "Well that's it for introductions for now. You can meet the rest of our friends another time."

"It's very nice to meet you all." Alana said with a bow. "Dan and Alicia were really helpful to me in GSO."

Clair greeted the girl with a smile. "Nice to meet you too. It's nice to meet another VRMMO gamer as young as me and Emi."

"Yeah." Emi nodded in agreement. "Everyone we know tends to be at least a few years older than us."

"Aww, the squirt made a new friend." Hyde said in a mocking tone.

"Try to ignore him." Emi told Alana. "He's a nutcase in more ways than I can count."

"So more than three?" Hyde asked.

"You're asking for it asshole!" Emi yelled back.

Alana couldn't help but be a little surprised at the bitter hatred going on between Emi and Hyde. The two eventually had to be held back by Lilina and Alicia.

"Guys, can you please behave just for today?" Dan asked.

The two guildmates turned away from each other with a "Hmph". It was as close as they were going to get so Alicia and Dan decided to continue. "We all know each other from SAO. Almost everyone here was trapped in the game."

"I see…" Alana said.

"Alana…" Alicia continued. "There's another reason we asked you here today."

Alana gave the girl a confused look. "And what would that be?"

Suddenly, Dan felt his phone buzz. He pulled it out and looked and the text sent to him. "Perfect timing."

"What is?"

"Just wait a few minutes and you'll find out." Dan told her.

Alana did as she was told and waited with them for the next few minutes. She chatted with Emi and Clair, getting along with the two young girls. Finally the door to the café opened and a new arrival walked in.

The new person was a woman who seemed to be in her mid-thirties. Long red hair fell down her back and her hazel eyes sparkled. Everyone couldn't help but notice that she bared a small resemblance to Alana.

'_Who is this woman?'_ Alana wondered.

The woman scanned the room and gasped when she saw Alana, covering her mouth with her hands. "Is that you… Alana?"

"H-How do you know my name?" Alana asked. She looked to Dan and Alicia for an explanation.

"We remembered what you told us. About you having a family member somewhere in Japan." Alicia said. "We happened to know a few people working for the government. With a little help from Ms. Kojirou here, we managed to search for her ourselves. It took quite a bit of time though."

Alana looked at Rinko, who gave her a reassuring smile. "It was the least I could do after you helped clear Kayaba's name from the Ghost incident."

The red haired woman and Alana stared at each other. Tears began to form in Alana's eyes. Was this really happening? It wasn't a dream?

"I'm your mother's sister." she explained. "I moved to Japan not long before my sister became pregnant with you. She sent a photo of you when you were just born. But your parents were struggling financially, and knew they couldn't take care of you properly. It broke her heart putting you up for adoption."

"You're… my aunt?" Alana asked, barely able to choke her words out.

The woman pulled out a picture from her pocket. It showed Alana as a little baby in her mother's arms, along with a note, telling her Alana's name and that she was unfortunately being put up for adoption.

"I heard about the death of my sister and her husband a few years ago." she told her. "When I got a call, saying they might have found you and they told me about your situation… I just didn't know what to say. I was speechless. I'm so sorry you've had to go through all of this Alana."

Alana felt her aunt wrap her arms around her. The tears rolled down Alana's eyes as she hugged the woman back.

"I… I've always wanted to meet you!" Alana cried. "I never thought I'd ever be with my family again!"

"I know. I'm proud of how strong you've been." the woman said in a soothing voice.

Asuna wiped a tear that formed in her eye at the touching moment. Alicia looked over at Rinko. "Thanks Rinko. We really appreciate your help."

"I didn't do much. That friend of yours Elizabeth was the one that got them to speed up the search for Alana's relative. I only helped them narrow down the area where she was most likely at."

"You still helped out a lot." Alicia told her. "We never would have found her this quickly without you."

"Thank you Ms. Kojirou." Alana said as she walked over to the woman. "Because of you, I can be with my family."

"We also owe Elza a thank you as well I suppose." Alicia sighed. She noticed Rinko letting out a small giggle as she said this. "What?"

"Elizabeth already assumed you'd say something like that." she explained. "She told me to tell you not to worry about it. She didn't want you popping a blood vessel being nice to her."

"What is that supposed to mean?!" Alicia exclaimed.

"Probably has to do with the fact that you two are so alike." Hyde commented from the side.

Alicia glared at Hyde. "I am NOTHING like Elza!"

"Oh really? You both fight with scythes as your primary weapons. You were both Imps in ALO. You're both annoyingly hot-headed."

"But I'm not a complete jerk to people like she is!" Alicia argued.

"To be fair, she lost the person she loved." Asuna pointed out. "If Dan died, can you honestly say you wouldn't be the same?"

Alicia stayed silent, not having an argument for the point Asuna made. She remembered hearing about Elza, or rather Elizabeth's, past. If she lost Dan, Alicia couldn't completely say for certain that she'd ever be able to smile again, let alone be cheerful.

"Ms. Kojirou." Alice said, turning back towards the woman. "Tell Elizabeth that I'm very grateful for her help."

Rinko nodded her head. "I'll be sure to do that. And you should know she told me to thank you as well on her behalf." She walked over to Alana and her newfound aunt. "Once all the paperwork is filled out, Alana will be able to live with her aunt. I'll make sure that everything is in order."

"Thank you." Alana's aunt said, giving Rinko a polite bow. "Alana and I are both very grateful to you."

"You should be thanking those two over there." Rinko said, pointing over towards Dan and Alicia. "They're the ones that informed us of Alana's situation."

The woman looked at the couple and bowed her head. "Thank you very much."

"Don't worry about it. It was nothing." Dan said.

Alana walked up to Dan. "Thanks a lot. And about what you said about family… you were right."

Dan smiled as he pated Alana's head. "You should get going now. I'm sure you and your aunt have a lot of catching up to do."

Alana nodded her head. She walked out the door with her aunt, waving goodbye to everyone. Rinko soon left the bar as well, thanking the couple once again for their help. Once again, the group was all by themselves.

"What was it you told her about family?" Kazuto curiously asked.

"Nothing special." Dan said. "Just that she shouldn't give up searching for it as long as there was a chance that her parents left her for good reason. I know more than anyone... actually never mind."

Asuna raised her brow at this. "Hold on. You were about to say something. What was it?"

"I…" Dan thought of what to say and finally decided to give in. "I suppose I should tell you guys. We've known each other for so long, so I suppose you have a right to know."

"Dan…" Alicia said, putting a hand on his shoulder. "This has to do with your dad right? Are you sure you're ok talking about it?"

"Come to think of it, I've never heard anything about your dad." Lilina realized. She looked at Hyde, who had a concerned expression on his face. Clair had a similar look.

Dan sighed as he took a seat. "I told Hyde years ago since we were childhood friends. Alicia heard the story a few months after we got out of SAO. The only ones here that don't know are you guys." he said, pointing to Kazuto, Asuna, Lilina, Agil, and Emi.

"What happened?" Lilina asked. "He… He didn't die when you were young, did he?"

Dan shook his head. "No, but he might as well have dropped dead for all I care now. It happened when I was about five years old. Clair was nearly one year old at the time." He saw the curious look on his friend's faces. "My father abandoned us."

Everyone expect for Hyde, Alicia, and Clair all gasped. Dan lowered his head, reliving the tragic memory. "One day my dad just didn't come home. My mom discovered he had taken some valuable belongings and that he withdrew a decent amount of cash from the bank before he left. He just… up and vanished."

"Dan…" Lilina gasped. She was at a complete loss for words. She knew that Dan's father didn't live with the family. Dan had never wanted to talk about it, so she had just assumed he had died when Dan and Clair were little.

"He was gone. Out of our lives. No note, no warning, nothing." Dan said, clenching his fists in anger. "He ran out on my mom and left her to take care of her two children all on her own, one of which was barely a toddler!" Everyone was shocked at the sudden tone of anger in his voice. "I still remember how tired she always was. She had to work two jobs for more than five years just to keep us afloat."

Clair sat on her chair, understanding her brother's rage. She had no memories of her father since she was so young at the time. She also didn't understand why her mother had been so busy at the time. When she was finally old enough to understand, she realized why her family didn't talk about him.

Dan shook his head. "It happened a long time ago and I've moved past it. I don't know why he left and at this point I don't care." He reached out for Alicia's hand and held it. "The family I have now is more than enough. Now let's get rid of this depressing vibe. We're supposed to be celebrating, right?"

The group all nodded. While they were shocked to say the least to hear about Dan's father, he was right. Now was a time to be celebrating the fact that Alana was back with her family and the incidents with Ghost were over.

* * *

Ren and Alice sat on the grassy plains in Sylph territory. The refreshing breeze blew past them as the couple stared up at the sky.

A week had gone by since reuniting Alana with her family. They had gotten a call from Rinko a few days ago, informing them that all the paperwork had been filled out and Alana was now living with her aunt. Alana had also left them a message, thanking them once again and informing them that she was planning on giving ALO a try once she got the money to buy an Amu Sphere of her own. She wasn't living in Yokosuka anymore so she wasn't able to go to the internet café, though she did make sure to thank the owner for his kindness to her.

There was also one more thing included in the message from Alana. Something that shocked the couple entirely.

"You ready for today, Ren?" Alice asked.

"You better believe it." Ren said with a grin. "I just hope Dagger didn't go around selling tickets to this."

"Well if she didn't, she wouldn't be Dagger now would she?" Alice giggled. She moved in closer to Ren. "And now we're finally free again. No more favors to Kikouka."

"Don't worry, I'm sure something to make our lives eventful will come up again." Ren said. He saw the pout Alice was giving him and laughed. "Just kidding. Right now, all I want is to stay here with you."

"Me too." Alice agreed.

"Ren! Alice! Hurry up you two!" a sudden shout called out. The couple looked over and saw Liz, Silica, Klein, and Sinon all fly over and land near them. "It's almost time. Everyone's waiting."

"You couldn't give us five more minutes?" Ren asked.

Liz cracked a grin at the couple. "Oooo, what were you two doing? Something saucy?"

"Alright, alright, enough." Ren said. "We're coming."

"Hey guys!" another voice said. The group looked over and saw a Pooka fairy fly over to them.

"Long time no see Ayumi." Alice greeted with a smile. "I'm glad you were able to get your hands on an Amu Sphere quickly."

"Yeah." Ayumi nodded. "I still can't believe my aunt bought it for me. I guess she wants to try and help me get over what happened to me."

Ayumi's avatar was a Pooka with golden-yellow hair tied up in two ponytails like her GSO avatars. She had made a separate Seed account for ALO so she could play both ALO and GSO without having to transfer over each time. Her weapon of choice was a pair of small crossbows that she wielded.

"Well I guess we better get going." Ren said, getting to his feet. "Kai's waiting for us."

"I know you're gonna beat him again, Ren." Alice said, giving him a kiss on the cheek.

Ren and the others flew to the valley not far from where they were. As they approached it, Ren and Alice could see there were quite a few strangers standing around.

"Dagger really did sell tickets after all." Ren sighed. "Why am I not surprised."

The group landed where their friends were gathered. With them, Ren could see Kai waiting for him. The Saturnian from GSO was now a Sylph. He had transferred his account over for the day to have a rematch with Ren. According to Kai, he said he wanted to beat Ren on his home turf.

"Hope you're ready to lose, speed demon tactician." Kai said with a grin.

Ren shot an eager grin right back at him. "Not a chance. I'm known as the fastest player in ALO for a reason. There's no way I'm handing my title over to you."

"Music to my ears."

Dagger walked up to the spectators. She cast a spell that made her voice echo out, allowing everyone to hear her. "Ladies and gentlemen! The race between the fastest players of ALO and GSO will begin shortly! If you have any last minute bets, be sure to place them now!"

"… You sure have some interesting friends here." Kai said as he looked over at Dagger enjoying all the players coming over to place bets with her.

"You have no idea." Ren told him. "But since these people all paid to come out here, what do you say we give 'em a good show?"

"Shouldn't be a problem as long as you can keep up."

Ren and Kai both took their places at the starting line and spread their wings. Ren was impressed at how quickly Kai had mastered flying, but he still wouldn't let that stop him. This was his way of paying back Kai for his help and there was no way he would sully it with a half-hearted effort. He was going to beat Kai.

"The first one to reach Swilvane will be the winner. Ready players?" Dagger asked. "On your marks. Get set. GO!"

And with that Ren and Kai took off at a speed so fast, a dust cloud was left in their place. The two players flew through the air, enjoying the feeling of the wind rushing past them.

'_I'm back, ALO.'_ Ren thought to himself. _'And I'm not losing my title as the fastest anytime soon.'_

**A/N: Well that's it for GSO everyone. Sorry if you guys wanted to read another full race between Ren and Kai, but I'll leave the ending to your imaginations. The next arc I have planned won't be for awhile, so the next few chapters will mostly be random one or two chapter stories. I do have a feeling you guys will like one in particular that I have in mind. No spoilers though, you're going to have to wait and see what it is.**


	103. Fluff- Memories

**A/N: Hey readers. I recently got someone to do another commission for one of the OCs of this story, namely Ren! It came out great and I now have it as the cover for I Will Not Bow Again. Feel free to check it out, as well as the artist's page on deviantart. The artist is called KiritoALO and I think you'll love his work. It's really good!**

"Mmmm, Alicia."

Clair rolled her eyes as she watched her brother talk in his sleep. It was a little past noon and he had fallen asleep on the couch right after lunch. Clair knew that Alicia was coming over soon, and Dan had told her to wake him up before she got here. But right now, the little girl was too busy enjoying herself as she watched her brother mutter Alicia's name in his sleep.

Juna sighed as she looked at her daughter. "Clair dear, why don't you wake him up already? Alicia will probably be here soon and you did tell him you would wake him up."

"But this is too perfect." Clair replied. But the look her mother was giving her was enough to tell her that her fun time was over. "Fine, I'll wake him." She grabbed the pillow from the couch she was sitting on and threw it at her brother.

Dan woke him with a jolt. The sight of the pillow on him and his sister giggling to herself told him all he needed to know. "You couldn't just shake me awake?"

"That wouldn't be any fun." Clair grinned. "By the way, you say the most romantic things in your sleep."

"Wh-What are you talking about?"

"Alicia. Oh, Alicia you're so beautiful." Clair said in a mocking impersonation of her brother. "Marry me Alicia."

"Shut up!" Dan pouted as he threw a pillow at her face. But that didn't stop the giggling coming from Clair.

"I bet Alicia would love to hear this." Clair joked.

"You wouldn't dare."

"Not if you did my math homework for a week."

"That's blackmail!"

"So? What's your point?"

Dan sighed in defeat. Sometimes he didn't know who tried to embarrass him more, his sister or his mother.

Suddenly the doorbell rang. A big grin became stretched on Clair's face. "That must be Alicia. I guess it's story time."

"Hold it!" Dan yelled as he raced his sister to the front door.

Alicia stood in front of Dan's house, patiently waiting for someone to answer the door. When the door opened however, she was greeted with the unexpected sight of Dan holding his hand over Clair's mouth while Clair tried to pry her brother's hand off her.

"Hey Alicia." Dan greeted as he let his girlfriend in.

"Hello." Alicia couldn't help but look at the fight going on between Dan's hand and Clair's mouth. "So what's this all about?"

"Sorry. Just give me a sec." Dan told her. He dragged his sister upstairs and brought her to their mother. "Mom, take care of this for me, would you? I'd really appreciate it."

"Sure thing sweetie." Juna replied.

"Thanks." Dan quickly shoved his sister to his mother and closed the door to the room they were in before Clair could yell out anything. He gave a sigh of relief as he went back downstairs to Alicia.

"Why did you agree to help him, mom?!" Clair asked. "I thought you loved embarrassing him."

"Now Clair, I can't play favorites with my children." her mother replied. "But if you insist, I could always tell Dan some of your embarrassing moments that he still doesn't know about."

Clair gulped as she held her head down. "Fine. I'll leave them alone."

Back downstairs, Dan and Alicia snuggled up on the couch in the living room. Dan gave his girlfriend a quick kiss on the lips. "So, what do you want to do? Not that I have any objections to staying like this with you."

"How about a movie?" Alicia suggested.

"Alright. You pick."

Alicia got off the couch and took a look at some of the movies Dan had. "There's quite a few Disney ones here."

"Those are Clair's." Dan explained. "She loved watching them when she was younger."

"It was the same with me and Emi." Alicia said, giggling as she remembered her childhood moments. She browsed through the movies and stopped as she picked one out. "Oh! How about the Little Mermaid?"

"Really? And here I thought you'd be too old for something like that." Dan said with a small grin. "You really are a little kid sometimes."

"Hey I am not!" Alicia said with a semi-mocking pout.

"Mhm, sure you're not."

Alicia ignored him and put the movie on. She snuggled back up with her boyfriend on the couch as the two of them watched the movie.

The couple cuddled together as the movie played. Childhood memories flowed back to Alicia as she watched. She always imagined herself as a princess when she was little. And now she felt like she was one, and the boy beside her was her prince charming.

"I always thought this movie was so romantic." Alicia said. "How Ariel gives up her voice to be with the prince."

"It's really weird when you think about it though." Dan pointed out. "I mean she barely knew the guy. Why take that risk for someone she had only met once?"

Alicia gave a weak hit to her boyfriend. "That's what makes it so romantic! And thinking back, you did the same thing."

"What do you mean?"

"Back in SAO when we first met. You saved me and Mai without even knowing our names. Risking your life like that is pretty similar to what Ariel did."

Dan frowned at his girlfriend. "Are you saying I'm a Disney princess?"

"Hmm… sure, why not?"

"Alicia?!"

"I'm just joking, silly." Alicia giggled. "What about me? Do you see me as a princess?"

"Nope."

"What?! How could you-"

"You're far more beautiful than they are." Dan finished.

"Oh you!" Alicia pouted, but soon smiled as she leaned in for a kiss. "Do you think we'll get our happily ever after?"

"I like to think our lives have been a happily ever after since we escaped SAO."

Alicia smiled as she brought herself even closer to Dan. "Remember how we first met in the real world?"

"How could I ever forget?" Dan said.

* * *

_-One week after clearing SAO-_

"Come on… Just a little more…" Alicia grunted as she struggled to hang onto the railings provided for her for her rehabilitation exercise. Simply walking caused her to become exhausted. She wasn't even able to stand up on her own yet without using crutches.

After what seemed like the length of a floor boss raid, Alicia finally made it to the other end of the railings. The nurse helped her over to the nearby bench and gave her some water to drink. "You're coming along well Ms. Tsuki. Another week or two and you should be recovered enough to go home."

"Thank you." Alicia replied with a smile. Going home. It felt like a dream to her. She would still have to use her crutches to move around for awhile, but she could live with that.

Emi had also been putting in her best effort to rebuild her worn down muscles. Being younger than most of the SAO Survivors, her recovery was taking slightly longer but she would still be able to go home within a month at the rate things were progressing.

Once her exercises for the day were finished, Alicia headed back to her room. The hospital provided a wheelchair for her to use, but she insisted on using her crutches. The sooner her rehabilitation was over the sooner she could leave the hospital. And the sooner she could start looking for him.

When everyone had first woken up from SAO, the hospital had provided them with phones to call friends of theirs from the death game. The first person she had contacted was Ren, and hearing his voice felt like a dream come true.

Alicia's parents walked beside her and Emi as they headed back to their room. Their mother sighed as she noticed how tired Alicia was from using her crutches. "Come now Alicia, don't you think you should give your body a chance to relax?"

"I don't have time to relax, mom." Alicia told her. "I want to see him as soon as I can. Nothing else matters more to me right now."

"It's useless arguing with her." Emi told her mother. "All Alicia talks about is how badly she wants to be with her prince charming."

Alicia blushed at her sister's comment. "Emi!"

Emi giggled at her sister's flustered face. Mrs. Tsuki showed a small smile. Having her two daughters act like they used to showed that the nightmare of SAO was over. "By the way Alicia, you said that this boy's name was Ren, correct?"

Alicia nodded her head. "Yes. At least that's what it was in-game. He told me his name IRL when we first talked after SAO was cleared."

"And what was his name?"

"Dan. Dan Hiryo." Alicia told her. She had memorized the name, making sure it stayed engraved in her memory so she could find him once she was discharged.

Mrs. Tsuki looked at her daughter. "And how do you plan on finding him?"

"I… I don't know yet." Alicia said. "But I'm going to find him. I swear it."

Alicia smiled to herself. Ever since she had escaped SAO, she could only imagine seeing Ren's face. Being in his arms like she was in SAO. She'd even resort to paying Dagger to help if it came to that, no matter how overpriced the girl's charge would be. She could hear him calling her name in her mind.

"Alice."

That was it. The voice of the person that she would always be there for, and would always be there for her. It almost felt like the voice was real when she imagined it in her mind.

Suddenly, Alicia felt Emi tug at her sleeve. Her younger sister was looking behind her, as was her parents. "Alicia, you might want to turn around."

Alicia wondered what her sister could be talking about, but did as she was told. She slowly turned around, her eyes widening at who was staring at her across the hallway. He had crutches he was using, like her. Alicia stood there, speechless.

It was Ren.

"Alice… is that you?" Ren asked.

Alicia didn't know what to do. Eventually she slowly started making her way to Ren, gradually going faster and faster as she put in all her remaining strength to get to him. Once she was close enough, she pushed off of her crutches and threw herself at the boy she loved.

"REN!"

"W-Woah!" Dan exclaimed as he fell over along with Alicia. The two of them lied on the ground as Alicia broke out into tears of joy.

"It's really you!" Alicia cried. "I'm not dreaming am I? This is real?"

Dan smiled as he brought Alicia in for a long passionate kiss. "It's real Alice. I'm here."

"Ugh, get a room." Emi said as she wheeled herself over to the couple with her parents walking beside her. "Geez, even in the real world you two are all lovey dovey."

"Just shut up and let me have this." Alicia told her sister as she hugged the person she loved.

"Ahem. Is this a bad time, Dan?"

The sudden voice caused Dan to turn around and see his mother and sister looking at him. Neither one knew what to make of the crying girl hugging him as if her life depended on it.

"O-Oh, uh… Hi mom. Hi Clair." Dan said nervously as he tried to hide his blush. "You remember me telling you about Alice, right?"

Mrs. Hiryo quickly put the pieces together. "I see. So you're the girl my son can't stop talking about."

Alicia noticed the blush on Dan's face and giggled. She looked at the woman and smiled. "Hello. I'm Alicia Tsuki. It's very nice to meet you."

"The pleasure is all ours." Mrs. Hiryo told her.

As Alicia's parents came over to them, she introduced them to her boyfriend. She noticed from the look Emi was giving her that she was not going to forget the way she threw herself at Dan for a long time. Their parents helped the couple to their feet and gave them back their crutches to use. They decided to give the couple some alone time as they brought them over to a bench to sit down while they walked away to chat.

"So how did you find me?" Alicia asked.

"The hospitals have a list of all the SAO players with both their in-game and IRL names." Dan explained. "I got to take a look at where you were by answering some questions the task force had about SAO. I was really surprised to find out you were in the same hospital as me."

"Lucky us I guess." Alicia smiled. "I suppose I should have guessed we were in the same hospital when I saw you. No way they'd discharge you with the sad shape your in."

"Hey, in my defense you tackled me." Dan argued.

"Mhm. Well I guess it'll take some time before you're in the same shape you were as Ren." Alicia joked. She held his hand softly and smiled at him. "This is our first time meeting each other in the real world. I'm just so happy."

"Me too." Dan nodded. "I think introductions are an order, don't you?"

Alicia smiled as she nodded her head in agreement. "My name's Alicia Tsuki. It's nice to finally meet you."

"I'm Dan Hiryo. And I feel the same way." Dan said as the two leaned in for another kiss.

* * *

Dan and Alicia smiled at the old memories they shared. It had been more than two years since SAO had been cleared and so much had happened throughout that time, both good and bad. But in the end, neither one of them could have imagined going through it without each other.

"By the way, how has your mechatronics class been going?" Alicia asked.

"It's been tough, but I'm hanging in there." Dan said. "What about you? How's your writing coming along?"

"It's been going great. My teacher says I'm getting even better than I was before." Alicia told him. "Looks like I have a better GPA overall than you."

"Oh really? What's your grade in math?"

"Um…" Alicia fell silent at the question.

Dan let out a small chuckle. "Yeah, that's what I thought."

Alicia pouted as she looked at him with a glare. "Maybe I shouldn't help you with any of the essays you have to write then."

Dan gulped at the thought. He may have been nearly on par with Kazuto in terms of math and science, but his skills in his reading and writing classes were still lower than he would have liked to admit.

"S-Sorry." Dan apologized.

Alicia giggled as she leaned in for another kiss. The movie they were watching continued to play and finally reached the wedding at the end.

"Do you remember our wedding in ALO?" Alicia asked.

"How could I forget." Dan said. "First we got married at the church for the blessing ceremony quest then we had the wedding for our anniversary."

"I'll always cherish those memories." Alicia said. She looked at Dan with a soft smile on her face. "And one day we'll get married in the real world too."

"I wouldn't have it any other way."

Dan and Alicia both smiled as they laid together, trapped in each other's embrace and enjoying the blissful peace around them. They had each other and that was all they needed.

**A/N: Hope you guys enjoyed the fluff chapter, since it's been awhile since the last one. Sorry it was on the short side. Remember to be sure to check out the commission done for Ren.**

**On the subject of Ren and Alice, I've had some people PMing me saying they feel that Ren and Alice should have their own song (basically some sort of love song that represents them as a couple). Since I've already picked out songs for the themes of each of the members of Wyvern's Inferno, I figured a song for Relice would work too. I've been looking up a few songs myself, but I want to hear the input from you guys. If any of you think a certain love song would work for Ren and Alice, please feel free to put it in a review or PM me. Just tell me the name of the song and the artist and I'll make sure to check it out.**


	104. Suitors

**A/N: Hello everyone! Time for a new chapter. Hope you all enjoy it. Also there is a small reference to one of the Alicization light novels. Props for anyone who can spot it.**

It was starting to get late in the afternoon and the Dicey Café was more or less empty. At the counter, Asuna was drinking a glass of tea. Sitting with her were Alicia, Rika, and Suguha. The four girls chatted together as the day flew by.

It was currently the middle of March. There were only a few more months left before school would be over and most of them would be off to college. That meant they wouldn't be able to hang out with their friends as much anymore.

"Hey Alicia, did you finish that essay we had to write yet?" Rika asked her friend.

"You mean the one about our plans for the future?"

"Yeah. That's the one."

"Already done." Alicia told her. "What about you? There's only a week left before it's due."

"Almost." Rika sighed. "It's just so annoying. I know what I want to do, I just don't want to write so much about it. It takes the joy out of it."

"Well you better get it done soon." Alicia told her. "I bet Asuna finished before I did."

"Um…" Asuna said nervously. "Actually I haven't finished either."

"Seriously?!" Rika gasped. "But you always end up finishing your schoolwork early!"

Asuna groaned as she planted her face on the counter. "I WOULD have finished earlier. But my mother set me up with another suitor."

"How bad was this one?" Alicia asked.

"The worst." Asuna said. "You wouldn't believe the stuff this guy said. All he did was go on and on, talking about how great he was. Taking over his father's business, and that I'd be able to live in luxury if I married him. Hell, he was acting as if we were already engaged."

"Sheesh. That bad, huh?"

"That wasn't even the worst part. He had the nerve to say that I'd be successful if I was with him. That I… I wouldn't have to hang around with _murderers_ anymore."

The three girls gasped as they heard this. Is was no surprise to them that someone viewed them as murderers just because they were SAO Survivors. That was still fairly common. But to say it fat out to Asuna's face? That was definitely new. Only her mother had ever done that before.

"What did you say to him?" Suguha asked.

"I told him to leave." Asuna said. "It wasn't until I was practically screaming that he finally did. My mother was furious with me."

Alicia noticed a tear of rage fall from Asuna's eyes. "Asuna…"

"Why can't she just understand? I won't love anyone she throws at me. I just want to be with Kazuto." Asuna let out an annoyed sigh. "Forget it. It doesn't matter what she says or who she forces me to meet. I'm still going to stay with Kazuto."

"That's the spirit Asuna." Rika said with a grin. "You show your mom who's boss!"

Deciding to take things away from the depressing topic, Alicia decided to change things up. "So what about you Asuna? What do you want to be?"

Asuna showed a soft smile as she stared into her reflection in her tea. "Well ever since Yuuki passed away, I've wanted to do something to help and support people. So I was thinking towards the lines of a medical profession."

"So you're aiming to become a doctor?" Suguha asked. "That's awesome!"

Asuna shook her head. "No not a doctor. If I did that, I wouldn't be home that often and I'd be way too busy to spend time with Kazuto and Yui."

"So what do you want to be?" Alicia asked.

"After doing some research, I think I'm going to try and become a nurse." Asuna told them. "It's still a busy job, and I'm going to have to do a lot of work and studying, but at least this way I'll be able to help people while still having enough time for my family."

"I bet Kazuto's happy about that. He'd never get to eat your cooking if you were never home." Rika said with a teasing grin, causing the girls to laugh.

Suddenly Alicia remembered something. "Oh that's right! Speaking of Kazuto…" she said as she reached into her schoolbag. The girls stared curiously at Alicia as she pulled out a book. "Check this out."

"Ugh, a book? I've had enough reading for school." Rika moaned.

"It's a book I'm using for my final essay in the writing class I'm taking." Alicia explained. "You know how I said I wanted to become a writer to tell everyone the real story of what SAO was like? Because there's too many people changing things about people's stories and getting the facts wrong? Well this is a prime example of it."

"And why exactly should we be interested in this particular book?" Rika asked with a bored expression on her face.

"Because this one tells the story of Kirito."

At the mention of Kirito's name, all the girls peeked their heads up in interest. Alicia showed a smirk on her face as she continued to explain. "Apparently some secrets about Kazuto in SAO were leaked by some SAO survivors. And this is the story they told about him."

"And? What's it say?" Suguha asked.

Alicia turned to a page she had made sure to bookmark. "This is _apparently_ something he said when he was going up against a group of orange players. She cleared her throat as she began reading in a very overdramatic tone. "When I unsheathe my second sword, no one is allowed to stand before me. My power is unrivaled throughout Aincrad."

Rika, Suguha, and Asuna stared blankly at Alicia before bursting out into laughter. Alicia soon joined them as she put the book down.

"If only they knew the real Kirito. He'd never say something like that." Rika laughed.

"C-Come on girls. I-I-It's mean to talk about my brother like that, hahahaha!" Suguha said as she tried to hold back her own laughter.

"The people this author interviewed definitely didn't know Kirito at all." Alicia said as she put the book back. "I'm actually thinking of making him the subject of one of my first novels."

"Do you really think Kazuto would agree to let you interview him like that?" Asuna asked.

"Perhaps if I blackmailed him with some of the contents of this book." Alicia giggled.

Asuna giggled as well. Lots of people viewed the Black Swordsman Kirito as a serious swordsman that was the hero who beat SAO. But barely anyone other than their friends knew the other side of him. The soft and clumsy side that Asuna loved.

Alicia looked over at Agil, who was cleaning glasses on the other side of the counter. "What about you Agil? What made you want to own a bar?"

Agil smiled as he continued to clean the glasses. "Oh nothing special. I just remembered the nights I'd go out to the bar for a drink and talk with the bartender there. We ended up chatting the whole night away sometimes. I guess I wanted to be there and let people confide in me like I did in him."

"Must have been pretty expensive to buy this place though." Suguha pointed out.

"Not as much as you'd think. The location is kind of poor so the price was lower than most."

"Explains why there's almost never anyone here." Rika said with a teasing grin.

Agil ignored Rika's comment and continued. "Well I still managed to meet a lot of people doing this. One of them ended becoming my wife. Kathy and I ended up running this place together. It's thanks to her that this place stayed open while I was in SAO."

"Awww, that's so romantic." Alicia said with a bright smile. "Your wife's really nice too."

"Yeah, but here you kids are going on to become novelists and nurses and whatnot." Agil said with a hearty laugh. "Makes me look lazy for just being a bartender."

"We'll still make sure to visit." Asuna smiled. "After all, this place holds a lot of memories for us."

The other girls nodded in agreement, bringing a smile to Agil's face. "Thanks. Nice to know you won't forget about me."

"Who could forget our gentle giant friend?" Alicia said with a laugh.

The girls continued to chat together as time passed by. Suddenly, the door to the bar opened. The girls were a little surprised that someone else was here when it wasn't even night yet, but they paid it no mind.

"Asuna?"

The voice seemed familiar to Asuna's ears, but she couldn't place who it belonged to. As she turned around and saw the person standing at the doorway to Dicey Café, she instantly realized where she had heard it.

"H-Hayato?! What are you doing here?!"

Alicia, Rika, and Suguha all turned their heads to see the new arrival. It was a guy that seemed to be around twenty or so. He had neat blonde hair that was greased in a very stylish way and sparkling emerald eyes. His clothes seemed proper in comparison to the basic clothing that the girls were wearing.

"Do you know this guy, Asuna?" Alicia asked with a whisper in her friend's ear.

Asuna nodded her head. "He's the guy I was telling you about. The one my mother forced me to meet."

"Asuna, what are you doing here?" Hayato asked.

"The better question is what are YOU doing here?!" Asuna asked as she glared at Hayato.

"I'm here to bring you back home." Hayato told her. "You shouldn't be here with these kinds of people."

"I thought I told you I didn't want anything to do with you!" Asuna said, her voice shaking with rage.

"Asuna, I know we didn't start off on the right foot, but-"

"Get out!" Asuna yelled, not giving him the chance to finish. "I told you before and I'll say it again, I will NEVER marry you!"

Hayato moved a few steps closer to Asuna. "Asuna, please understand. Your mother and I are only considering your future."

"My mother?!" Asuna asked. "Is she the one who told you I'd be here?!"

"Well… yes but…"

Asuna clenched her fists in frustration. She had made it perfectly clear to her mother that she didn't want anything to do with Hayato, just as she had with the rest of the suitors she had been forced to meet. But now here she was plotting behind her back.

Hayato looked at Asuna in the eyes. "Asuna, please come with me. I'll take you home. You shouldn't be here associating with these kind of people."

"Hayato." Asuna said as she looked at him with a cold glare. "Leave. Now."

Hayato continued to walk towards Asuna. Rika got out of her seat and blocked his path. "She told you to leave pal. Now get lost."

Hayato looked over Rika's shoulder and towards Asuna. "Asuna, please."

"She said get out." Rika glared, leaning in and staring Hayato in the face.

"Hey, get back!" Hayato said, pushing Rika away from him. The shove caused Rika to lose her balance and fall against the side of one of the chairs.

"Rika!" Asuna exclaimed. She got out of her seat, as did Alicia and Suguha, and rushed over to her side. "Are you ok?!"

"Yeah, I just banged my head a little." Rika said, rubbing her head.

Asuna got to her feet and glared daggers at Hayato. "Get out of my sight Hayato. I don't ever want to see you anywhere near me or my friends ever again."

"Asuna, I-" Hayato stepped forward and reached out to grab Asuna's arm, but was stopped as Agil forcefully grabbed his arm.

"Get. Out. Now." Agil told him in a stern voice.

Hayato broke free of Agil's grip and stood there for a few moments before turning around and walking out of Dicey Café. With him gone, everyone brought their attention back to Rika.

"Are you alright, Rika?" Alicia asked.

Rika nodded her head. "Yeah, like I said I just banged my head a little. Nothing to worry about."

Asuna lowered her head, staring at the floor. "I'm sorry. It's my fault this happened."

"Don't be stupid, Asuna." Rika said with a shake of her head. "You had no idea that jerk would show up here."

"But still…"

"Rika's right. You shouldn't be blaming yourself for this." Alicia told her.

Asuna looked at her friends and saw them each giving her a supportive smile. She felt blessed to have them in her life and she knew what she had to do. There was only one way to make sure this never happened.

"I have to get going now." Asuna told her friends as she grabbed her purse. "There's something I need to take care of."

* * *

Kyouko sat in her office, typing away at her computer. It was already late in the afternoon. Asuna would most likely be arriving home any minute now. She should have been home much earlier, along with Hayato, but the phone call Kyouko received earlier from the suitor told her things didn't go as planned. She would have to talk some sense into Asuna herself it seemed.

Kyouko heard the sound of the door opening, signaling that Asuna was home. Kyouko prepared to finish the last sentence in the paper she was writing, then go talk to Asuna. It surprised her however, when she heard Asuna knock at the door.

Not even waiting for Kyouko to answer, Asuna opened the door and walked in. She gave a stern look at her mother. "We need to talk."

The tone of her daughter's voice surprised Kyouko slightly, but she kept a calm face. "Yes, it seems we do."

Asuna walked up to her mother. "I'm going to put this simply for you, mother. I'm done."

"What?"

"I said I'm done mother." Asuna repeated. "I refuse to see anymore suitors you have for me. I'm staying with Kazuto and that's final."

Kyouko got out of her seat and shot a cold glare at her daughter. "Watch the way you speak to me young lady. I heard the way you behaved today. How rudely you acted to Hayato."

"How rudely I acted?! What about HIM?!" Asuna yelled furiously. "He insulted my friends and even shoved one of them!"

"After she forcefully assaulted him might I add. I shouldn't expect much more from mur-"

"Don't you dare call my friends murderers!"

"Watch your tone!"

"I will not!" Asuna shouted. "You have no right to judge any of them! How DARE you treat them like their criminals after everything they've gone through!"

A hard slap came to Asuna's cheek immediately after she uttered those words, leaving a red mark on her face. Kyouko looked at Asuna with a furious glare. "Do not talk to me like that! I am your mother! I thought I raised you better than this!"

"Ha! Raised me? That's a laugh!" Asuna said. "All you've done is pamper me up like some trophy to be sold off! You don't care one bit about my feelings, do you?! You went and tried to marry me off to someone like Sugou while I was trapped in a coma for god's sake! Do you have any idea what he would have done to me if we were married?!"

"I told you never to bring up that man's name again!"

"Why?! Because you don't want to admit what a colossal mistake you made?! Just like every other suitor you've forced me to meet?! Every single one of them never cared about me, they only cared about themselves!"

"If you would just give them a chance Asuna I'm sure you would see that they could provide much better for you than that monkey-"

"He is not a goddamn monkey! His name is Kazuto Kirigaya and he happens to be the man I love!" Asuna screamed, finally at her boiling point. "He actually loves me, unlike Sugou, unlike all those suitors you set me up with, and unlike YOU!"

"But he cannot give you financial stability Asuna! He won't be able to support you!"

Asuna glared hell at her mother. "So what you're saying is that you don't care if those suitors love me, as long as they're rich? Are you saying that you married father just because he was rich?! That you never loved him at all?!"

Kyouko swung her arm at Asuna for another slap, but Asuna caught her arm before it could reach her. Kyouko grinded her teeth at Asuna. "You… You ungrateful brat! How DARE you talk to me like that?! After everything I've done for you! After all I've done to help your future!"

"It's not my future you care about mother, it's yours!" Asuna told her. "You just want to make me look successful so it can make you look good! You don't give a damn about me as your daughter or as a human being for that matter, just as your trophy!"

"GET OUT!" Kyouko roared. "GO TO YOUR ROOM! GET OUT OF MY SIGHT!"

Tears of rage rolled down Asuna's face as she ran out of her mother's office. She didn't go to her room though. Instead she stormed out the front door and slammed it shut.

"Goodbye _mother_." Asuna said in a low and venomous whisper as she ran off into the night.

In her office, Kyouko slowly calmed down and sat back down in her chair. She attempted to continue typing, but she didn't have the strength anymore and closed her laptop. She let out an exhausted sigh as she stared up at the ceiling.

**A/N: Well as I'm sure you can probably guess, next chapter will be more focussed on Kirito and Asuna than the OCs of this story. Look forward to it everyone.**


	105. Get Away From It All

**A/N: Hey everyone. Sorry this chapter is late, but I've been having some issues uploading stuff to this site for the past few days. Luckily I was able to upload this one through a loophole, but until the issue is fixed, I can't promise chapters will be updated on their regular schedule. Hopefully the problem should be fixed within a few days and we won't have anything to worry about. Anyways, on with the chapter.**

Night darkened the sky as Asuna ran through the streets. The only illumination was the moon and the streetlamps that were now turned on. She didn't know where she was going, only that she wanted to get as far away from her mother as possible.

The thoughts the argument with her mother still flowed through Asuna's head. How angry she was at her mother and how she seemed not to care one bit about her own daughter. Well if she didn't care about her as a daughter, then Asuna wouldn't care about her as a mother. She was dead to her now.

When her legs finally began to grow tired, Asuna found herself near the park. Deciding to take a moment to short out her thoughts, she entered and took a seat on one of the benches.

Looking up at the night sky, Asuna could see the twinkling stars shining brightly. She sighed as she weighed her options.

_'Kazuto's house? No, too obvious. That's the first place my mother would check. Rika's? No, still too predictable.'_ Asuna continued to think about who she could go to for help. Eventually Asuna shook her head._ 'No, I can't cause trouble for everyone. If mother finds out, she'll come over to take me home and cause a huge scene. I can't involve my friends in that.'_

Asuna looked down at the bench she was sitting on._ 'Maybe here wouldn't be so bad.'_ There was nowhere else for her to go so Asuna laid down on the bench, closed her eyes and slowly drifted to sleep as a tear rolled down her face.

* * *

Kazuto and Suguha sat together at the Kirigaya kitchen table. It was currently ten in the morning, and with it being the weekend they had nothing on their schedule. Suguha took a bite of her breakfast as she noticed her brother staring at her phone.

"Asuna still hasn't responded back yet?"

Kazuto shook his head. "No, still nothing."

After Suguha had arrived back home yesterday, she had told Kazuto about what had happened at Dicey Café. Of course, that also included the suitor showing up and Asuna leaving to confront her mother. Upon hearing this Kazuto had texted and called Asuna several times to make sure she was okay, but no response had come so far.

Worry was beginning to set in. Kazuto knew that Asuna's mother had issues with the two of them dating, but for Asuna to not respond to his calls or texts? Whatever happened, it must have been bad and Kazuto was seriously beginning to consider going over to the Yuuki house to make sure Asuna was alright.

"You're really worried about her, aren't you?" Suguha asked.

Kazuto nodded his head as he quickly finished the rest of his breakfast. "Yeah. I'm gonna swing by her place to make sure Asuna's ok."

Suddenly the ring of the doorbell was heard. Kazuto and Suguha looked at each other, wondering who it could be. Kazuto got out of his chair and walked over to the door. When he opened it, he was very surprised at who was standing on the other side of the door.

"Mr. and Mrs. Yuuki?" Kazuto said, trying to hide his surprise. "Can I help you?"

"Yes. We've come to collect our daughter." Kyouko said with a subtle glare. "Please tell her that she is to come home immediately."

Kazuto raised a brow at this. "What are you talking about? Asuna isn't here."

"Don't lie to me young man, I know she's here." Kyouko said, letting herself in. "Asuna! Come here this instant! We are taking you home!"

"As I just said, Asuna isn't here." Kazuto told Kyouko. "Did something happen?"

Kyouko was about to yell at Kazuto, but Shouzou decided to step in and prevent things from getting any worse. "It seems there was a fight last night between Asuna and her mother. Some… choice words were said and Asuna ran out of the house. She never came home last night."

Kazuto's eyes widened. "Asuna's missing?!"

"Don't play innocent boy. I know she's hiding here." Kyouko huffed.

Shouzou walked up to his wife and put a hand on her shoulder. "Dear, what reason does Kazuto have to lie to us about this? I'm sure if Asuna was here, he would tell us. What has he done to make him untrustworthy?"

"What has he done?!" Kyouko asked, practically screaming. "He stole our daughter from us and-" Kyouko stopped talking as she noticed Kazuto put on his coat. "Where do you think you're going?"

"If you want to yell at me about how 'unworthy' I am and how you'll never let me be with Asuna, then you're going to have to save it for later." Kazuto told Kyouko with a cold glare. "Right now, finding Asuna and making sure she's safe is a lot more important to me than standing here arguing with you."

"Kazuto? What's going on?" Suguha asked, coming up to the front door. The sight of Asuna's parents there surprised her, but she was more focused on her brother.

"Asuna's missing." Kazuto quickly explained. "Call the others and tell them what's going on."

"Wait right there you-"

Kazuto didn't wait for whatever Kyouko had to say as he rushed out of the house to find Asuna. He ran as fast as his legs would carry him with only one thing on his mind.

'Asuna… please be safe'

* * *

A sneeze escaped Asuna as she slowly blinked her eyes open. The morning sun blinded her for a moment as she sat up and yawned. It had been a cold night, but luckily Asuna had brought her coat with her when she ran out of the house before so it was at least somewhat bearable.

In her coat pocket, Asuna felt her phone buzz. Bringing it out, Asuna saw several missed calls and texts from Kazuto, the latest one reading as such.

_Asuna I know you ran away from home last night. Where r u? Please respond. -Kazuto_

A frown formed on Asuna's face as she looked at the message. Her mother must have gone over to Kazuto's house. That was the only way Kazuto could have known she ran away. As much as she wanted to text Kazuto her location and meet with him, there was also the fact that her mother would probably show up as well.

Asuna sat on the bench, contemplating as to whether she should respond or not. She was cold, tired, and hungry. She would have to go to one of her friends eventually. And there was no one she felt more comfortable with than Kazuto. Asuna responded to Kazuto's text, telling him she was at the park. Within seconds, a reply came from Kazuto telling her to stay there and that he was on his way.

It was going to be a long and difficult battle once her mother finally came, that much was certain in Asuna's mind. But if Kazuto was with her, then she was sure she'd be able to handle whatever her mother had to throw at her.

"Well look at what we have here."

Asuna's eyes widened as she turned around and saw Hayato leaning against a tree, staring maliciously at her.

"H-How did you know I was here?" Asuna gasped, taking a step back.

"Believe it or not, it was pure coincidence." Hayato said with a smirk. "Your mother had told me yesterday to come by this morning so we could work things out. But as I was nearing your house, I heard your folks talking about how you had run away from home. They left before I could say anything. Something about a raven haired monkey or whatever. So I decided to do a little searching of my own and as I walk into the park, here I find you, asleep on a park bench like a peasant."

As Asuna was about to run at him and attack, Hayato pulled out a knife from his pocket. "I don't think so Miss Yuuki. We're going to have a nice long chat."

Asuna took a step back. Right now, her best hope would be to run and get help. Hayato seemed to read her mind though as he grinned at her. "And don't even think about running. You wouldn't want me asking your precious Yui where her mother is."

Asuna froze as she gasped at Hayato. "How do you know about her?"

"Well when I heard the rumors that the Yuuki's daughter was rejecting every man she met, I thought it best to have some leverage if I needed it. So I had some people dig into your personal life. I thought about threatening you with one of your friends or something. But when I found out about you having some virtual pet as a daughter? Man, was that surprising." He took a few steps towards Asuna, toying with the knife in his hand. "Don't worry, I'm not gonna hurt you. This is just to make sure you don't try anything funny. All you have to do is come with me and tell your parents that you've agreed to marry me."

"Never!"

"So you don't care about your precious little daughter?" Hayato asked. "You wouldn't want something bad happening to her, now would you. Or to that worthless peasant you're dating. Kazuto Kirigaya, right?"

Asuna slowly backed up, until her back hit against the trunk of a tree. Hayato walked up and placed his hand against the trunk, staring Asuna face to face.

"Leave Kazuto and Yui alone." Asuna glared, trying to hide the fear in her voice.

"Agree to marry me and they'll have nothing to worry about." Hayato grinned. "So what's it gonna be Asuna? Are they that important to you?"

Asuna stared at Hayato in fear, not knowing what to do. Suddenly, she gasped as someone came from behind Hayato and pulled him back.

"Get away from her!"

Asuna watched as Hayato broke free from the new arrival's grip and swung his knife at him. She had thought her savior was Kazuto, but gasped at who it really was.

Kouichirou Yuuki. Asuna's brother.

"Kouichirou…" Asuna gasped. What was he doing here? He was supposed to be on a business trip the last she had heard.

"Asuna! Run!" Kouichirou yelled as he struggled with Hayato. He shoved Hayato back, but the suitor quickly went back on the offensive as he tried to plunge his knife into Kouichirou. The eldest of the Yuki siblings grabbed Hayato's arm holding the knife and the two became deadlocked in a test of strength.

"Who are you supposed to be? Her bodyguard?" Hayato asked with a cocky smirk.

"Wrong." Kouichirou glared. "I'm her brother. And I don't appreciate you threatening my little sister!"

Hearing Kouichirou's identity surprised Hayato, throwing him off for a brief second. Kouichirou took advantage of this opportunity and broke Hayato's stance, leaving him wide open. He went on the offensive and sent two swift punches at Hayato's face, the second one hitting him right in the nose. Hayato could feel the blood running down his face as he glared at Koichirou. He charged at him and knocked Kouichirou to the ground. He swung his knife down at him, aiming for his head. Kouichirou held back the arm holding the knife and struggled to keep it from coming any closer.

"What a shame. Looks like the big success of the Yuuki family is going to die right here." Hayato said with a murderous grin. "Some random murder. Very tragic indeed. But I luckily showed up in time to chase the assailant off before he could hurt Asuna. You don't need to worry, I'll make sure to take VERY good care of your precious sister."

Kouichirou glared hell at Hayato, but he could feel himself slowly losing this battle of strength. Hayato stared at him with a confident smirk, until he felt Asuna swing her leg, kicking him right in the head.

"Leave him alone!" Asuna yelled.

Asuna's kick sent Hayato tumbling off of Kouichirou, the knife falling out of his hand. When his head finally stopped throbbing from the pain of Asuna's kick. He looked towards his knife only to see Asuna planting her foot firmly on the weapon. He considered running away with the odds no longer in his favor, but before he could make a decision Kouichirou walked up and grabbed Hayato by the collar of his shirt.

"Don't EVER come anywhere near my sister, her friends, or anyone from the Yuuki family ever again you disgusting rat." Kouichirou glared. "Do I make myself clear?" Hayato quickly nodded his head, a look of fear clearly present in his eyes. Kouichirou sent one more punch to Hayato's face as he let him go. "Get out of my sight."

Hayato quickly got to his feet and fled the scene, holding his hand over his broken nose. With him out of the way, Kouichirou looked over to his sister and smiled. "Are you alright, Asuna?"

"Y-Yes, I'm fine." Asuna said with a nod of her head. "But what are you doing here, brother? I thought you were on a business trip."

"I finished everything I needed to do quicker than I expected, so I decided to come home early to surprise you, mother, and father." Kouichirou explained. "I arrived home this morning and well… I was surprised at what had happened while I was gone to say the least. I went searching for you after mother and father left."

So her brother knew about the fight between Asuna and her mother too. She had worried everyone about her. But Asuna still didn't regret what she had said to her mother. She needed to be put in her place, or nothing would ever change.

Kouichirou motioned over towards the bench. "Why don't we have a little sibling chat?"

Asuna nodded her head and the two Yuuki siblings sat down on the bench together. Asuna went on to explain everything that had happened yesterday, from Hayato appearing at Dicey Café to her argument with their mother. Kouichirou stayed silent as he listened to his sister, noticing the tears of rage rolling down her cheeks. When Asuna finally finished, Kouichirou put a comforting hand on his sister's shoulder.

"So that's what happened." Kouichirou said. "I can see now why you ran out of the house like you did."

He had known his mother had been trying to force Asuna to meet up with suitors, which he had been against. Asuna clearly seemed to love this Kazuto she talked about so often. He saw no reason for their mother to force Asuna to be with someone else, especially after her failure with choosing Sugou.

"I'm not going back home." Asuna told him. "Not after the things she said about my friends and about Kazuto."

"Asuna…" Kouichirou tried to think of something to convince his sister against her decision, but at the moment he had to agree with her. "I'll talk with mother. Try to convince her to stop the suitor nonsense."

"She won't listen!" Asuna shouted. "She doesn't even care about how I feel about everything! All I am to her is some trophy to show off! She's… she's just as bad as that disgusting rat Sugou!"

There was little Kouichirou could do to argue with his sister. He put a hand on her shoulder. "I'll at least let them know you're okay. For now, do you think you'd be able to stay with that Kazuto boy until things settle down?"

"Well actually he's-"

"Asuna!"

The two Yuuki siblings looked over to see Kazuto running over to them. Asuna got off of the bench as Kazuto got closer and the two of them hugged each other tightly.

"Are you alright, Asuna? You're not hurt, are you?"

Asuna shook her head. "Don't worry, I'm fine."

"Thank god." Kazuto said, shedding a few tears of relief. "I was so worried."

Kouichirou got up from the bench and looked at the couple with a smile on his face. "Aren't you gonna introduce me, sis?"

"Sis?" Kazuto questioned, looking at the stranger.

Asuna broke off the hug, remembering that her brother had been standing right there the whole time. "R-Right! Kouichirou, this is my boyfriend Kazuto Kirigaya." She looked at Kazuto next. "Kazuto, this is Kouichirou Yuuki, my brother."

Realizing the man was Asuna's brother, Kazuto quickly broke into a nervous sweat. He bowed his head down. "I-It's very nice to meet you, sir!"

Kouichirou laughed at Kazuto's nervousness. "There's no need to be so formal. I'm not the uptight type like my mother is." He reached out his hand towards Kazuto. "Nice to finally meet the boy my little sis can't stop talking about."

Kazuto lifted his head and shook Kouichirou's hand, still feeling somewhat nervous standing in front of Asuna's older brother. He looked at Asuna. "Your folks are worried about you, you know."

"I'm sorry." Asuna apologized. "They ended up causing a huge scene at your place, didn't they?"

"Well that was mostly your mother." Kazuto admitted with a sigh. "What exactly happened anyway? All I heard was that you got into an argument with her."

"I'd rather not talk about it right now." Asuna told him. "I hate to impose after my mother probably yelled at you, but would it be ok if I stayed with you for a few days?"

Kazuto nodded his head. "Of course. You're more than welcome to stay." He looked over at Kouichirou. "Is that ok with you?"

"Considering how Asuna and my mother are currently getting along, it's probably better than her coming home." Kouichirou sighed. "I'm going to try and talk her down a little. Maybe then we can-"

"There you are!"

Kazuto, Asuna, and Kouichirou all looked towards the entrance of the park to see Kyouko and Shouzou staring at them. Shouzou seemed to be relieved just to see that Asuna was safe. Kyouko on the other hand was looking at Asuna with a furious glare to which Asuna shot right back with her own glare.

Kyouko stormed up to her daughter. "Asuna, enough of this nonsense. It's time to come home."

"No."

It was hard to believe, but Kyouko's glare became even more intense. "I wasn't asking for your opinion on the matter young lady. We are leaving NOW!" She grabbed Asuna by the arm in a tight grip that made Asuna flinch in pain slightly. Kazuto had seen more than enough and grabbed Kyouko by the arm before she could drag Asuna away. "Get your hands off me you… you… filthy code-typing monkey!"

"You wanna know something, Mrs. Yuuki?" Kazuto said with a firm glare of his own. "I'm am so sick of you. I can deal with you saying I'm unworthy and all that crap. But what pisses me off more than anything is seeing the way you treat your own daughter!"

Kyouko snarled at Kazuto as she let go of Asuna only to slap Kazuto. A clear red handprint was visible on Kazuto's cheek.

"That is it! You are never coming anywhere near my daughter ever again! If you do, I will get a restraining order on your whole family and-"

"SHUT UP MOTHER!"

Everyone fell silent from Asuna's sudden outburst. All heads turned towards the chestnut haired girl as tears of rage rolled down her face.

"I am so damn tired of this!" Asuna told her. "Every time I try to talk to you, every time I tell you I want to be with Kazuto and that I won't fall for any of the suitors you throw at me, you never listen!" She held Kazuto's hand and firmly looked at her mother. "Well you better listen right now mother! I'm staying with Kazuto! And if you can't accept that, then you are going to have to disown me as your daughter!"

Kyouko was shocked by Asuna's statement, but still managed to keep the same expression she had on her face. "Don't be foolish Asuna. Do you really believe that this boy can give you what you need to be successful?! I am your mother and-"

"You have no right to call yourself a mother."

The words from Asuna's mouth were enough to finally break the glare that Kyouko had on her face and replace it with one of pure shock. "What did you just say to me?"

Asuna glared at her mother with hatred in her eyes. "Mothers are supposed to be caring. They're supposed to help and support their children. You've never done any of those things. It's always been study this, do that, don't have fun, don't hang out with those children because they're not at our class, stay away from that boy because he's unworthy!" At this point, Asuna was practically screaming. "Kazuto isn't the unworthy one mother, it's YOU! You've never once cared about what makes me happy! All you care about is making me look successful by your standards! Kazuto actually cares about me! He loves me and we'd do anything for each other! Why can't you understand that?!"

"Asuna if you would just listen and-"

"I agree with Asuna, mother." Kouichirou interrupted.

Kyouko gasped at her son. "You what?!"

Kouichirou took a step towards his mother. "Why should Asuna have to marry someone just because he's rich and successful? Why can't you just let her be with someone that makes her happy? What you want for Asuna isn't what's best for her, it's what's best for you." Kouichirou pointed towards Kazuto. "That is what makes Asuna happy! That is what is best for her! Not the rich snobby suitors you set her up with, but that boy right there."

"Kouichirou…" Asuna gasped. She had never seen him stand up to their mother like this.

"Ever since she's come back to us, I've seen Asuna happier than she's ever been in her whole life! Why can't you just let her be happy?!" Kouichirou glared at his mother. "Asuna's right. You're no better than Sugou Noboyuki."

Those words hit and stung Kyouko hard. Shouzou put a hand on his wife's shoulder. "Dear, try and listen to them. That boy makes Asuna happy. Can you honestly say you've ever seen her happier with anyone else?"

Kyouko was at a loss for words, unable to come up with an argument. "I… I…"

"Mom, I'll go to college. I'll work hard and get a career I can be proud of." Asuna told her. "So please, let me be with Kazuto. Let me live my life how I want, not how you want."

Kyouko saw the stares of everyone looking at her. For the first time in her life, Kyouko found herself unable to keep her composure and she fell to her knees crying.

Shouzou kneeled down next to his wife to comfort her. "What do you say dear? Can you be ok with their relationship?"

It was hard to make out any clear words from Kyouko's sobbing, but the nod of her head was enough confirmation for them. Shouzou looked at his daughter. "Asuna, I know things have been strenuous at home lately, but can you please come back? Your mother may not admit it, but she still needs you there."

Asuna looked at Kazuto, who gave her a nod and a smile. Asuna let go of his hand and walked up to her parents. "Alright. I'll come home."

Shouzou helped Kyouko to her feet and the Yuuki family began to walk away. Before she left, Asuna walked up to Kazuto and planted a kiss on his cheek. "I'll see you at school tomorrow."

Kazuto nodded his head and watched Asuna run after her family. He smiled as he walked home, making sure to inform everyone that Asuna was safe.

* * *

Asuna walked with her parents and brother back to the Yuuki household. As they walked, Kyouko finally managed to utter out something. "Asuna…"

"Yes?"

"… I won't tell you how to live your life. But I want to know you have a plan for your future. That you know what career you want and how you're going to achieve it."

"I don't think you need to worry about that, mother." Kouichirou stated. "Asuna seems to have a good idea on what she wants to do with her life." Asuna looked at him with mild surprise as she hadn't told anyone from her family about her plans to become a nurse. Kouichirou smiled at his sister. "I've seen some of the university guides you've been keeping in your room. So what made you decide to become a nurse?"

Shouzou and Kyouko looked at their daughter, surprised to hear about her going for a medical profession. Asuna showed a small smile as she began to explain. "A friend of mine passed away about six months ago. It was because of her that I was first able to open up to mother at all. I wanted to have a career that allowed me to help others, and after she died it became clear to me. I wanted to become a nurse so I could interact with people who were suffering. I want to do what I can to help them and ease their pain, like she did with me."

Shouzou smiled at his daughter and nodded his head. "I think that's a fine idea, Asuna."

Asuna smiled. As she walked with her family, she stared up at the clear sky above her. _'Watch over me Yukki. I'll make you proud.'_

**A/N: Hope you all enjoyed the chapter. Next one will be a chapter I'm quite sure all of you will love. As for what it is, you're just going to have to wait and see.**


	106. Settling the Score

**A/N: Hello again readers! It's time for the big chapter I promised you all. This is one I am positive you will all enjoy. It's time for the rematch of the century. To quote a great Youtube show, it's time for a DEATH BATTLE!**

Kazuto and Asuna sat at the counter of the Dicey Cafe watching the television set Agil had set up. They had arrived a bit early for the event, but the others would most likely be there soon. The television was tuned to MMO Stream, as was most of the ones in Japan most likely. Today was the day of the fifth Bullet of Bullets in GGO and everyone was excited to see who would win.

"Hey guys! We're here!"

The couple turned around to see Dan, Alicia, Emi, and Clair walk in through the door. Emi and Clair quickly ran up to the bar and took two seats. "Did we miss anything?"

Asuna shook her head. "Not really. They just finished the interview they did with Sinon, but that's it. There's still some time left before the finals start."

Dan and Alicia took a pair of seats at the bar. As they sat down, the television screen turned to the MMO Stream announcer dressed up in her usual cat-girl getup.

"Gamers of Japan, are you ready?!" she shouted out. "It's time once again for the annual Bullet of Bullets Tournament! And boy is this gonna be a good one!" The screen behind her showed a picture of Sinon as well as Helios's GGO avatar Skolas. "As we all know, last BoB was taken from the favorite to win Sinon by Skolas, a newcomer that appeared out of nowhere."

Kazuto and the others remembered watching the last BoB and seeing Skolas turn out to be Hyde, something none of them were expecting. It had also led to an even more bitter hatred between Sinon and Hyde. It had taken Sinon weeks to get over that defeat.

"And with these two in the finals, it's sure to be one hell of a fight! Will Skolas take the title once again, or will Sinon get her revenge? Or will we see a new face win the tournament? You'll just have to wait and see folks!"

Dan turned his head to Kazuto. "I'm surprised you aren't competing this time. You already sat out of the fourth, I thought you'd want a chance at winning again."

"Are you nuts?!" Kazuto exclaimed. "Shino and Hyde have looked ready to kill each other for the past two weeks. You want me to get caught in the middle of that? No thank you!"

"Fair point." Dan agreed. Sinon and Helios, or rather Skolas, had been butting heads ever since the date for the latest BoB was announced. Every time they had crossed paths lately, they just glared at each other menacingly. It had gotten to the point that their friends made sure to keep their distance from the two of them whenever they were together.

"I'm surprised Lilina isn't here yet." Asuna said. "I thought she'd be here before any of us."

"Oh she transferred her account to GGO for the day to cheer Hyde on." Dan explained. "She said she wanted to be there to congratulate him when he won."

"I'm not so sure he'll win this time around." Alicia said. "Sinon's been dead serious about winning this one. She even got Shirou to transfer over and help her."

It was true. Shirou had transferred his Seed account over to GGO to compete in BoB and help Sinon win. Shirou was happy to help, not only for his girlfriend but also for the chance to beat Hyde. Skolas was going to have his work cut out for him.

The cat-girl announcer continued her broadcast. "Now let's all have a look at one of the favorites to win this year's BoB Skolas." The camera zoomed out to show Skolas sitting on a chair next to the announcer. "So Skolas, would you like to say a few words to any of the players thinking they have what it takes to dethrone you?"

"Actually yes there is." Skolas said. He looked at the virtual camera. "GGO is known throughout the VRMMO community as one of the most hardcore games there is. To be honest though, I don't see why people seem to think that is."

"Here we go." Alicia moaned with a roll of her eyes.

"Other than a select few, most of the players I've seen haven't really been able to show me a whole lot of skill. This isn't even the main VRMMO I play and I won the last BoB easily." Skolas might have well asked every competitor in BoB to brutally murder him with that last comment. "I doubt this tournament will be much different."

"So you're saying that it'll be an easy win this year?" the announcer asked.

"They might as well hand me the title already."

Throughout GGO, a collection of booing, hissing, and cursing Skolas out echoed throughout all of the bars and in the lobby of the General Governor's Office where Sinon and Riku were sitting.

"I also want to include a special little shout out to a certain player in GGO." Skolas added.

"Would this certain player happen to be Sinon?" the cat-girl asked.

Skolas shook his head. "No, she and I have made our points very clear to each other, trust me."

"Then who would this be for?"

"Believe me, they'll know it's for them when they hear it." Skolas assured her. He cleared his throat and suddenly began to sing his message out.

"_Hey Jude, don't make it bad_

_Take a sad song and make it better_

_Remember to let her into your heart_

_Then you can start to make it better"_

In a random bar in GGO, Jude watched the interview with rage in his eyes. He pulled out his sidearm handgun and started firing a full mag of ammo at the tv set. "I WILL KILL YOU FOR THAT COMMENT YOU BASTARD! JUST YOU WAIT SKOLAS!"

Meanwhile at Dicey Cafe, Dan and the others stared in surprise at Skolas. They had no idea who he was referring to with that little number, but whoever it was they were most likely pissed right now.

"Hyde is really letting that last victory go to his head." Emi groaned.

"Well if anything, I'd say this increases Sinon's chances of winning." Kazuto said. "Every person in BoB is gonna be after his head now."

* * *

Inside the lobby of the General Governor's Office, players were getting ready for the finals of BoB. A thirty person battle royale always made for an interesting fight.

Sitting at one of the tables were Riku and Sinon. The two of them sipped on some drinks before the big tournament as the interview for Skolas finally ended.

"So…" Riku began. "That was a thing."

Sinon clenched her fist in frustration. That title should have been hers. And she was going to make damn sure she won this one so she could rub it in Skolas's face. "He is so dead."

"So I take it you're psyched up, Sinon?"

Sinon nodded her head. "Yeah. This time that pompous jackass is going down."

"Are there any other players to watch out for?"

"Screw them. All I care about is beating Skolas. Anyone else in my way is dead meat."

"If you say so." Riku shrugged. He knew that with how badly Sinon and Skolas wanted to win, it would probably be one of them that took the title. There was also the fact that both Sinon's Hecate and Skolas's Devil Scorcher had been upgraded thanks to the New Year's quest they had done. Even Riku's LGM had been upgraded from the quest, something that was the main reason for him getting into the finals for the BoB.

Suddenly Riku caught something in the corner of his eye. In the distance, he could see a player staring directly at him and Sinon. Based on their figure, Riku could assume the player was female. Her face was covered by a ninja-like mask along with a pair of black sunglasses and she didn't seem to have any heavy weaponry on her, though she could just be one of those players that equip everything once the match starts to avoid giving players the chance to counter them.

Sinon noticed Riku looking into the distance so she turned her head. She could tell who he was looking at based on how the female player stood out in the crowd.

"Any idea who that is, Sinon?" Riku asked.

"No clue." Sinon said with a shake of her head.

"Well look who it is!"

Riku and Sinon groaned as they heard Skolas's voice. The bulky player walked up to the two of them. "Man, I must be popular after that interview. Everyone can't seem to look away from me." He waved around at the crowd of players giving him death glares. "So Sinon, so desperate to beat me you have to rely on your boyfriend to beat me? How sad for the former champion… But then again Kirito was the only reason you got so far in the third BoB."

"I don't need Kirito's help to kick your ass Skolas! You only got lucky with a sneak attack last time and trust me when I say that it's not gonna happen again." Sinon said matter of factly with a threatening crack of her knuckles.

The ash haired player merely cackled like a hyena right in her face and gave her a mocking head pat to which she immediately swiped away. "Adorable isn't she Riku? She thinks she's people. I don't need surprise to kill you in this match, just my razor sharp wit and reflexes will be enough to kill you two."

"Don't count on it buddy." Riku said from her side. "We're gonna tear you apart and then some."

"Oh my, my! Big bad Riku is challenging the great Skolas! I'm not called the Wolf's Sin of Greed for no reason buddy. Even that pathetic LMG you upgraded won't be enough to take me down. Now if you plebeians will excuse me I'm going to bask in the warmth and admiration of my fans." He gave the duo a small bow before walking into the crowd of angry players. "Now who's the biggest fan of mine."

Sinon tried her best to ignore both the grating attitude of Skolas and the cacophony of angry yells coming from everywhere as a result of his actions. "My feelings for that bastard is a bottomless ocean of hate…"

Being the good boyfriend he was, Riku placed a hand on her shoulder in both a supporting manner and a calming one. "Don't worry Sinon, with you and me working together this should be a piece of cake."

The sniper smiled a bit and gave a small peck to his cheek. "Thanks Riku. Let's knock that bastard down a peg or two."

"I couldn't agree more."

"_Attention all participating members of the Bullet of Bullets. The final round shall be starting shortly in five minutes. Please do final checks for your equipment."_

Soon all the noise following Skolas stopped as every player went to check if everything was ready for the final round.

* * *

"So who do you guys think has the highest chance of winning this whole thing?" Emi asked her friends. "I mean as much as I hate to admit it, Hyde's got skills in this. Maybe enough to match Shino in a fair fight."

Rika let out a snort at the younger girl's words. "Like that jackass would play fair. Knowing him he has all sorts of filthy traps under his cloak to make this easier on him."

"Well this match is no holds barred." Kazuto interjected. "As long as you aren't using illegally altered weapons or anything that is considered cheating then anything goes."

"Playing dirty is a playstyle so there are no rules against it. All we have to do is pray that we don't get caught in a war between Hyde and Shino once this is all said and done with." Asuna hoped.

"Alright everyone! It's time for the fifth annual Bullet of Bullets!" The catgirl announcer cheered, gaining the group's attention. "This one is such to be a bloodbath and a half so don't you change that channel cause the show is starting now! This match is gonna be taking place in a very special area of our own design and one that will keep players constantly on their feet. The layout is a vast expanse of four different terrains that will be constantly changing during the battle. No spot is safe to hide in so snipers might have trouble in this fight but as long as they keep their wits about them they should be fine. Now the the final round of the Bullet of Bullets commence!"

* * *

Sinon ducked under the cover of a spaceship's wing as a hail of bullets flew over her. It seemed like forever as she waited for the player she was currently fighting to run out of ammo. When it finally came, Sinon quickly sprang into action, standing up and firing a bullet from her Hecate at him. The bullet pierced his skull and he fell over, with the 'Dead' cursor hanging over his avatar.

The finals had been going on for a good forty-five minutes or so. Over half of the thirty players competing were taken out before half an hour had passed. From what Sinon could guess based on the satellite scans she had received, a huge wave of players had gone after Skolas once his location was revealed during the first satellite scan. Based on the amount of dead players Sinon saw at the second satellite scan and the fact that Skolas was still alive, she could only guess it didn't end well for them.

The changing field had also brought its share of surprises. The map was divided into six parts, with the ruined city at the center. Not long after the tournament had begun, Sinon saw how the map change worked. It was as if the land itself slowly morphed into the next map, swapping around the six different areas between each other. It had turned into a problem the second time when Sinon was aiming her rifle to take out a player when the map changed to a wasteland with chunks of broken spaceships lying around and left her out in the open. Luckily she had adapted quickly and taken out her opponent.

Based on the last scan and her intuition, Sinon assumed there were about seven to ten players left. Her, Riku, and Skolas made up three of them and the rest were just nuisances in her mind. All that mattered was taking out Skolas.

"Sinon" a voice whispered to her. "Sinon!"

Sinon looked over and saw Riku running towards her. She breathed a sigh of relief that he was still alive. "Thank god it's you Riku. I thought it was another enemy."

"I ran into a few players on my way here, but I took them out." Riku told her. "Any sign of Skolas yet?"

"Last I checked, he was in the area next to us." Sinon explained. "He's probably going to be here soon."

"Sooner than you think, sniper!"

The sudden shout made Sinon and Riku turn their heads to see bullet lines appear in their vision. They both leaped left and right as they hid under the closest cover they could find. The held their weapons tightly as they heard Skolas walking closer to them. The way they were positioned now, Sinon or Riku would have to cross the small open path between them to get to one another, in which case they would get taken out right away by Skolas.

"Lookie what we have here." Skolas laughed in his usual mocking tone. "Two losers partied together for me to take down. I couldn't ask for better target practice."

Sinon and Riku looked at each other and nodded. This was what they had been training for. Now was the time to end this once and for all.

"So who wants to be first? Sinon? Or maybe you, Riku?" Skolas asked as he got even closer. "Oh I have an idea. How about you two hold each other in your arms trying to shield each other like the meat shields you are while I take you both out at once?"

"How about I just blast you in your foot that you currently have in your mouth!" Sinon yelled as she jumped to the side and on top of the main part of the destroyed spaceship. She dodged the blasts from Skolas's Shrapnel Blaster shotgun as she ran to the top of the spaceship and hid behind one of the parts sticking up.

Skolas smirked as he walked up the spaceship after Sinon like a hunter toying with its prey. The sound of his boot walking on the metal surface echoed. "Running away are we? For shame Sinon." He aimed his gun at the spot Sinon was hiding behind and fired it, blasting away a chunk of the barricade. Sinon ran further back, going over the top of the spaceship and climbing down the other side. Skolas kept walking after her as he switched to his upgraded version of his Devil Scorcher, the Megalomania. He knew what game Sinon was playing. He looked behind him to make sure Riku wasn't chasing after him and continued walking to the top of the spaceship. When he reached it, he peaked over it and dodged the bullet that came for his head. He laughed as he walked up into full view and pointed his Megalomania at Sinon, who had her Hecate aimed directly at him.

"Still haven't learned any new tricks I see." Skolas smirked. "You did the same thing to me in ALO after I beat you in the last BoB. Did you really think the same trick would work on me again?"

To Skolas's surprise, Sinon smirked back at him. "I don't know. I thought it would work on the gutless player that decided to take me and Riku on together."

Skolas narrowed his eyes at her. "And how does fighting two people at the same time all by myself make me gutless?"

"Simple." Sinon told him. "Suicide is the coward's way out."

Skolas widened his eyes in shock as he saw several bullet lines come from his right, where Riku had been hiding in wait for this moment. Skolas quickly leaped back down the opposite side of the spaceship from Sinon to avoid the barrage of bullets that came his way. He rolled away from another spray of bullets from the duo and slid down the side of the ship.

"Damn I almost had him…" Riku groaned, jumping from his hiding spot and walking next to his girlfriend.

"Don't sweat it we have him cornered. There's no way he can get away from us now." The sniper said with a confident thumbs up.

"Hey sniper! Try not to choke on your freakin' foot!" They heard Skolas yell from below them.

The two instantly jumped back as the metal of the ship below them turned red from heat as a shot from their enemy's Megalomania pierced the hull of metal with ease. Skolas jumped through the breach in the ship and began firing blast after blast at the two teens. Sinon grunted as the heat from one of the shots razed her arm with an annoying burn. "Riku we gotta regroup!"

"Umm kinda hard to do that now." he said nervously as he felt the cold steel of a gun's barrel pressing into his back. "In quite the sticky situation right now."

"About time you showed up. Dealing with worms is very annoying when they think they have the upper hand." Skolas laughed, pointing his barrel at the cornered Riku.

Sinon looked to her side to see a new player had joined the fray and,from the looks of it, was supporting Skolas. The player had a female body type with a black cowl and cape covering her head along with a black facemask. Her armor consisted of a dark red and gold yellow leather combo with a ballistic vest for additional protection. The gun she had in her hand was a Remington assault rifle that had a large cartridge for holding bullets. Sinon recognized it as the mysterious player that had been eyeing them earlier and pointed her sniper rifle at her most hated foe with a hard glare being worn on her face. "Alright whoever you are, drop the gun or your asshole buddy here gets his head pumped full with lead!"

"Why Sinon, I'm hurt!" the girl cried out in an overdramatic way. "I can't believe you wouldn't recognize me immediately. I think my Skolas is right, you aren't very quick on the uptake."

"My Skolas!? ...No… No, no, no freaking way that it's you Dagger!"

"Dagger!?" Riku exclaimed in surprise as he tilted his head slightly to get a better look at his assailant. The girl giggled softly while removing the hood of her cowl causing red hair to spill out. Red hair that was tied up in a ponytail that could only belong to the one and only Rip-off Merchant.

"Surprise you two! I made it into the BoB too." she said cheerfully. "I gotta say, Skolas is right about GGO, it's not as hard as it looks. Maybe it's because you use such a cumbersome weapon that it's harder for you Sinon."

The sniper stood silent at this sudden revelation but tried to keep her focus aimed at her opponent. "... Okay I have so many questions right now!"

"And allow me to answer all of them in kind my dear, stupid Sinon." Skolas said mockingly as he brought up a hand. "First off she transferred her Seed account to GGO as to give me an extra edge over the other morons in this competition. While she whacked off the weaker idiots I could focus on getting to you two. Secondly you were trying to make things unfair for me by bringing in extra help so you could win. I mean not only does that prove you're scared of fighting me alone, it also goes to show you can't win a BoB by yourself. You'll always need some guy to hold your hand and guide you to the winners lane every time." He enjoyed seeing her face turn a volcanic red color in her rage as he counted off her questions one by one on his fingers.

"What about you smartass?! The only reason you won last time was by sneaking up on me, and you brought help as well this time!" Sinon countered.

"Now that is easily explainable. For you see I knew I would have numerous targets on my back after my grand speech in the pre show so I decided to have Dagger trail me to pick off anybody thinking they are clever enough to get me from behind. I hadn't really planned on you two sticking together like slime on a snail but either way it works out for me." he explained in his usual condescending manner.

"Okay I have one question though." Riku spoke up. "How the hell did we not see Dagger's name in the list of people participating in the BoB? I looked over that thing and didn't see her name anywhere."

"Pfft, that's an easy one Riku." Dagger said. "It's because I changed my name when I converted. Unlike you I'm not dumb enough to use my ALO name on these public servers. God knows what kind of weirdos lurk around trying to track info about every girl in this game. My name here is Au, short and simple."

"... Why Au?"

Au rolled her eyes at the question. "Isn't it obvious? Au is the periodic name for gold. I thought you guys were clever enough to realize that much."

"Are you surprised? This is Sinon and Riku. These guys are idiots."

"Hey!"

"Tell me I'm wrong!"

Au pushed her rifle against Riku's back in a threatening manner to silence his outburst. "If the peanut gallery is done talking then I do believe it's time to wrap this up. Skolas shall we?"

Skolas smiled while leveling his Megalomania to Sinon's head. "Let's."

A sudden rumbling from the ground below them made the four players tilt and tumble around as the ground made way for a sudden deluge of coral red sand that came from the cracks of the ground. The ship the were on started to sink below as the sand began to engulf the crashed vehicle. Riku took this distraction as an opportunity to escape his dilemma as he quickly rolled under the gun pressed against his back and jumped onto a solid piece of rock that sprouted upwards. Sinon quickly followed her boyfriend, dodging a scorching blast from Skolas and leapt alongside her partner to escape. Au quickly threw a knife from her belt at the escapees in an attempt to halt their progress while Skolas charged another blast. The blade grazed Riku's cheek causing him to hiss in annoyance while he quickly picked up his girl and jumped into another plot of land to avoid being blasted.

"Grr… Damn scenery change. We had it right in the bag but they just had to change it now!" The teen ranted as he looked at a camera viewing the situation. "Hope you're satisfied you bastards!"

* * *

Meanwhile in the Dicey Cafe Ren and the others looked blankly at what Skolas/Hyde was currently doing to the camera and the hundred of thousands of viewers watching at home.

"Please tell me he isn't flipping off the camera in front of the whole world?" Dan begged his friends.

Rika only brought out her phone and took pictures of the moment for future blackmail material. Given her hatred of the teen, she took what she could get against him. "I could tell you that, but then I'd be a liar."

"To be fair if you were that close to victory only to have it robbed from you, you'd be mad too." Kazuto argued.

"That's still no excuse Kazuto. There's children watching around the world right now." Asuna said.

Klein snickered a bit at the screen. "Well at least they're censoring it now. I actually hope the scenery changes again. Having Hyde's rage being focused on something else that isn't me is actually hilarious to see."

"Now you know what we see whenever he kicks your ass." Emi quipped.

"Yeah… Hey!"

* * *

Sinon caught her breath as she and Riku made their way into a small ridge for cover. If it wasn't for that last minute scenery change she wasn't too sure how she and Riku would've gotten out of that situation. "Ha… Ha… That was too close…"

"Yeah we would've been goners back there if not for that stroke of luck." Riku agreed as he helped Sinon up to her feet. "But we should try to find some place to ambush him. We're sitting ducks out here if Skolas corners us again."

The sniper nodded her head and took a gander at her surroundings. The field change really shook things up for the worst as there was nothing but sand as far as her eyes could see with a few rocky outcrops to hide behind. "Ah I don't see anything, how about you Riku?"

He pointed to his right side to show off a building that was half sunken in the deluge of sand. By the looks of it the entrance of the place was stably sound but other than the front doorway, there looked to be no other way to exit other than the way they came. "It's a risky bet but we could ambush Skolas and Au there, take them out then finish off the other players one at a time afterwards."

"I guess we have no other choice." Sinon sighed. "After all-"

The sounds of cannon fire exploded in the air violently near them with a thunderous boom alongside the scream of another person."YOU'RE DEAD SNIPER WHEN I FIND YOUR UGLY ASS!"

"... He's on his way right now."

"Then let's get moving before he finds us!"

Meanwhile on Skolas's side, he was taking a deep breath to relax after having his not tantrum about his win being delayed. Having blasted another player who thought it was a great idea to attack him angered was a good start to get a hold of his marbles. After a few deep breaths and letting loose a few shots to the heavens Skolas cracked his knuckles loudly and began to survey the surrounding area. By the looks of things there was nothing but sand, sand and more sand with a few rocks to hide behind. "Well Au, I don't know about you but I think it's hunting season. You in?"

"You know it, Skolas." Au said with a grin as she reloaded her gun. "Let's do this."

Without any warning the ash haired teen began to blast the rock formations left and right in an attempt to flush out Sinon and Riku from their hiding spots. Considering the sandy terrain, it was safe to say that they couldn't have gotten too far from their position. Au helped in this endeavour by tossing grenades onto areas where Skolas hadn't shot at yet. With no heavy arms there was no way for her to blow up rocks with her current equipment but she saw no harm in tossing a few frags here and there. More likely than not, she wasn't going to be returning to this game any time soon so might as well have the most fun she could have with this moment.

Sinon grit her teeth as another explosion rocked near them as sand and pieces of rocks were hurled at them in an annoying fashion. "Riku got any ideas on how to distract him? If this keeps up we're done for."

"Well I do have an idea on how to escape but it's risky." Riku reached into his pack to pull out a flashbang grenade. "If I throw this it could distract Skolas enough for us to move but then there's Au with those sunglasses of hers. I'm pretty sure they might have some resistance to to light flashes so I'll need you to distract her so we can get away."

Sinon nodded her head while pulling her Hecate out. "Let's do it."

"Alright… Three… two… one… Go!"

Riku quickly jumped from his hiding place and threw the blinding grenade into the air which immediately caught the attention of Skolas who had spotted where his enemies were hiding. Before he could blast them to dust, the flashbang exploded in a bright flash of light causing him to drop his Megalomania and cover his eyes from the burning light. Au was annoyed at the flash of light but true to Riku's prediction her glasses prevented her from being totally blinded like Skolas. So when Sinon lined up her Hecate to shoot at her she managed to quickly lunge to her right and knock her boyfriend down to avoid the both of them getting shot at. After a few seconds the white blindness, Skolas regained his sight and picked back up his gun to blow Sinon's head off only to find her already a good distance away from them with Riku in tow running towards the building in the distance.

"Well that was annoying but at least we can corner them in there. Let's go Au, time to go slaughter those rats."

"Let's."

* * *

Both Sinon and RIku sighed a breath of relief as they entered the elevator and began to head downwards into the lower floors. Their plan managed to work with no damage on their end and only served to frustrate Skolas further which was always a good thing in the sniper's book.

"Okay Riku this is where we make our final stand." Sinon began while reloading her sniper. "I've only got eight shots left so we gotta make them count. How many magazines do you have left?"

"Excluding the one in my gun now that's half empty? Only two so we gotta plan our ambush correctly. One mistake and we're done for."

A small ding sounded in the elevator as the double doors opened to the lowest floor in the area in the building. Cavernous would be the correct word to describe this place as there was holes everywhere on the surrounding walls dug my someone or something. The area had light green glowing crystals along with dim mining lamps surrounding the area giving it light. Though the complete downside to this whole area was that it only seemed to be half a mile long in diameter so it didn't give Sinon enough space to work with.

"... Is it too late to go back up?" she asked rhetorically.

A rough blast that hit the elevator in a fiery burst was enough to answer her question.

"CAN'T LET YOU DO THAT SINON!"

"... Wow he really said that didn't he?" Riku groaned. "Come on we gotta hide now!"

The sniper couldn't even respond as her boyfriend yanked her by the arm to hide behind a nearby pair of crystals.

Another blast erupted from behind them as the metal doors to the elevator were shot off its frame, slamming nearby the duo. Skolas landed on the ground as smooth as at cat followed by Au, brandishing their guns while scoping out the area.

"Wow these crystals look like they might be worth some good money! Too bad items here aren't transferable to ALO or I'd make a killing selling these." Au mused with slight disappointment in her voice.

Skolas gave her a quick pat to the head and flashed, what he considered to be, a charming grin. "Don't worry babe, when we kill dumbass and bimbo here I'll treat you for something nice. But for now…" He lifted Megalomania high and shot the roof of the area causing huge chunks of earth to shatter down on the floor. "Alright you pussies! Come on out and fight me head on or I cave in this area and crush you to death! You got until the count of three before I flatten you like roadkill! Three!"

He punctuated the number with another blast to the ceiling, having the same effect as before.

"Two!"

Another one.

"One!"

Another one.

"Ze-"

Before Skolas could finish the last number a bullet grazed his arm, making him saunter back slightly and look ahead on him. There stood both Sinon and Riku, the former of whom was looking as though she was gonna have a heart attack while the latter looked half relieved and half frustrated. "Are you freaking nuts!? You would've killed all of us!"

"Correction bimbo, I would've killed YOU! Me and Au would've escaped through the elevator shaft unharmed." Skolas explained while cocking his cannon right at Sinon's head. "Besides I only was going to do that as a last resort, cause there's no fun in it if I kill you like that. I like to play with my food a bit. Now let's dance dumbasses!" He yelled as he fired a shot at them.

Thinking quick, RIku managed to lift up the elevator door that was near them to block the incoming shot while Sinon rolled behind a stalagmite. Hindsight appeared to be 50/50 as although the shot was blocked like he intended, the impact from the shot made the door knock into himself which sent him back a few feet. Once the door fell back to the ground, Riku aimed his gun at Skolas and Au and began firing. The two players quickly dodged the spray of bullets by jumping to the side. Au fired a bullet from her rifle, which Riku managed to avoid, with the bullet only grazing his left arm. Before Skolas could fire at Riku and overwhelm him, he saw the bullet line coming from Sinon's Hecate. He ducked under a blast from the sniper rifle and ran towards Sinon.

"Take care of him, Au! I'm finishing that stupid camper off myself!"

"You got it, Skolas!" Au smirked as she aimed her gun at Riku, with him doing the same. "Sorry Riku, it's nothing personal."

"Remember those words after you're lying dead on the ground." Riku said with a grin right back.

He quickly started running to the side as he sprayed a huge payload of his ammo out at the red haired girl. Au quickly rolled away from the fire lines and fired back in kind where Riku was headed. He grit his teeth as five bullets hit his leg and hid behind a boulder to avoid more fire. Only by the hair on his chin did he manage to avoid a sudden knife swing from his opponent and backstep from a follow up slash near his throat. "Geez Au, you take no prisoners do you?"

The girl merely twirled around her knife playfully while pointing her gun right at him. "What can I say? I fight like I practice business."

"That's a scary thought."

"But enough of that, let's get on with the show!"

Riku yelped in surprise as he ducked under another knife throw before pointing his gun at her and pulling the trigger, only for a soft clicking sound to come out of the gun instead of bullets. "Seriously!?" He cried out in pain when Au threw another knife into his shin while he was distracted making him drop his gun. He slowly crawled back, until his back hit up against a series of metal cabinets.

"And this is why you suck in this game Riku." Au taunted, slowly closing the distance between them as she shot him in the leg eliciting another painful yell from him. "You gotta keep track of how many bullets are left in your clip, otherwise you get shown up by a girl throwing knifes." She then pressed her gun right at Riku's head and gave a soft shrug of her shoulders. "Like I said, nothing personal buddy. Just doing business."

To her surprise, Riku showed her a winning smirk. "And like I said, remember those words when you're lying dead on the ground."

Suddenly a blast came from behind the metal cabinets behind Riku. With one swift motion, Riku swept his leg under Au, causing her to trip and fall over. He jumped away just as the row of cabinets came crashing down on top of Au.

"AAiiyyyyeeeeeeee!"

The immense weight of the cabinets easily crushed Au and depleted what was left of her HP. As the debris cleared from the falling cabinets, standing on the other side were Sinon and a very surprised Skolas.

* * *

_A minute earlier…_

Sinon fired another bullet from her Hecate at Skolas's head but it missed due to her not having enough time to aim properly. It would have to do for now though. Right now she needed to keep him off balance. Sinon took cover as another blast from Megalomania flew over her. As Skolas moved in closer, she ran further into the area she was in until she was cut off at a dead end. A metal barricade stood in front of her.

"Well, well, well" the mocking tone in Skolas's voice was all too clear as he stood from the entrance to the dead end Sinon had run into. "I must say, I was actually expecting a little more from you Sinon. Oh well, I guess this was all little old you was capable of in the end after all."

Sinon looked all but defeated as she lowered her gun. "Fine. Just get it over with."

"With pleasure." Skolas smirked. "I'd say you did well… but I'd be lying."

Sinon waited as Skolas charged up his Megalomania. Behind her, she heard a thump against the metal wall. Riku was in position.

"It's over!" Skolas grinned as he fired his Megalomania. As the blast left his gun, Sinon leaped to the side as fast as she could. She felt the shockwave of the explosion Skolas's blast made as it hit the wall and sent the metal cabinets tumbling down. She heard Au's scream and grinned to herself. The plan had worked.

* * *

"Wh-What the hell?!" Skolas gasped. "What just happened?!"

"What happened was we outsmarted you, dumbass." Sinon said with a smirk as she got to her feet. "We timed it out perfectly. Riku got Dagger in the perfect position, while I just got you to fire the blast. The result? You just killed your partner."

"... You wily piece of shit. Looks like I didn't give you enough credit." Skolas growled as he cracked his knuckles. "Now she's probably gonna be pissed at me for a while because of that. So naturally I have to make the both of you suffer ten times as hard."

"You really think you have a chance idiot!? It's a 2v1 situation, face it you're screwed!"

"Um… Sinon?" Riku piped up from behind them. "I really hate to be a pain but I'm kinda trapped here." Both players turned to see that yes, Riku's legs were currently being crushed under the weight of the cabinets causing Sinon's face to drop into a deadpanned stare while Skolas began to guffaw in laughter.. "Seems this was the only part that didn't go according to plan."

Sinon gave a frustrated groan and began to sprint to where her partner was trapped. "I'll get you out in a sec!" However before she could get close enough to help him, a blast of fire shot right past her left cheek and slammed right into Riku who couldn't even scream as he exploded into pieces. The blue haired sniper turned around in shock to see Skolas with a shit eating grin while holding the smoking barrel of his Megalomania.

"Mmm what'cha say~!" He sang at her expenses while enjoying the hateful glare being sent his way. "Well now we're back to square one aren't we tramp? A good old fashioned western Mexican standoff. I think it's about time we end this so I can celebrate my victory at the Dicey Cafe while you wallow in the ugly stink of your defeat. Just like last year, doesn't that sound like fun?"

"Not this time." Sinon growled back. "You're going down here and now."

"Just try it."

Both Sinon and Skolas dropped their main weapons and drew their sidearms simultaneously. They both had their fingers on the trigger and were about to pull.

But then something completely unexpected happened.

Out of nowhere, Sinon saw a bullet pierce Skolas's head. The sight would have been pleasing, if it wasn't for the fact that the same thing happened to her. All before either of them had even pulled the trigger.

'_What the hell?!'_

Both of their minds were filled with that thought as they fell over onto the ground, dead. As they wondered where the bullets that had shot them could have possibly come, the answer walked right up in between them. A young red-haired female avatar, twirling a pair of handguns and putting them back into their holsters. She showed a prideful grin at the two competitors.

"Betcha weren't expecting to see me here, were ya?"

'_AYUMI?!'_ Both Skolas and Sinon gasped as they recognized the player.

Ayumi wiped the sweat from her head as the 'Congratulations' sign hovered above her. "Man I can't believe you two never spotted me. I thought for sure one of you would see me hiding. Good thing I leveled up my stealth skill. Lucky me I guess."

Silence overtook everyone watching the broadcast as the saw Ayumi holding up a victory sign as she and everyone else was teleported back to the waiting room. The fighting between Sinon and Skolas had been so intense, that nobody had even expected someone else to just waltz in a steal the win from under their feet.

"And there you have it folks!" the cat-girl announcer said, trying to contain her surprise as well. "The winner of the fourth Bullet of Bullets is our small but deadly gunslinger Ayumi!"

* * *

_A week later…_

"Alright everyone, let's give it up for the new champion of BoB, Ayumi!" Asuna said, raising her glass. "Cheers everyone!"

"Cheers!"

The Dicey Cafe was filled with people as they all enjoyed the party that had been thrown to celebrate Ayumi, or rather Alana's, victory. Originally the party had been planned for either Shino or Hyde, but with Alana winning instead, plans had changed.

"I still can't believe you actually won, Alana." Alicia smiled as she sat down next to her. "I never even knew you were playing GGO."

"Well I heard Shino and Hyde talking about it a couple weeks back." Alana explained. "Since I fought with guns in Galaxy Star Online, I thought it'd be fun to give it a try. And boy was it exciting!"

"I'll say! You kicked some serious ass!" Emi said taking a seat as well. She looked over at Hyde in the distance and smirked. "Plus it's fun to watch Hyde like this."

Over in the corner, Hyde was busy apologizing to Lilina for what seemed like the millionth time. "Come on Lilina, it was an accident. How many times do I have to say I'm sorry?"

"You made me get crushed!"

"It was an accident! I swear!" Hyde said. "I'll treat you to something really fancy! Just name it!"

"... Anywhere I choose?"

"Y-Yes! Anywhere you choose!"

"Good." Lilina said with a devilish smirk on her face. "Cause there's this really fancy restaurant I've always wanted to go to. Oh and my wardrobe could really use an upgrade."

Hyde gulped as he realized just how bad this was going to turn out for him.

In the distance, Emi giggled as she watched Hyde suffer. "Alana I can't thank you enough for putting that jackass in his place."

"Come on, isn't that a bit mean." Alana said. "I mean you act like Hyde is the devil or something. He can't be that bad."

"Oh poor sweet innocent Alana." Rika said, patting the young girl on the back. "You're still new to this group. Trust me, Hyde is ten times worse than you could ever imagine."

Alana didn't understand what Rika meant, but decided to shrug it off. She was too busy enjoying the party to care about the other's opinions of Hyde.

Up by the bar, Shino was sitting on a stool, taking a sip of her drink. Kazuto came over and patted her on the back. "You ok, Shino?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine." Shino said with a depressed sigh. "I suppose this is what I get for paying attention only to Skolas. At least he didn't win again."

"If it counts for anything, your battle with Skolas was epic." Asuna said from Shino's side. "It's gonna go down as one of the biggest PvP matches in history I bet."

"Thanks." Shino said with a small smile. "I just wish Ayumi had given us a chance to settle things before she headshot both of us. I wanted to find out which of us was stronger."

"Don't worry Shino, you totally would have won." Rika said from her table.

"No way. As much as I hate to admit it, Hyde had it." Klein called out from another table.

"Actually, I may be able to offer an answer to that."

Everyone quieted down as Yui's astral image floated down and stood on top of the bar counter. "After going through some calculations, I know who would have won if Ayumi hadn't interfered.

"Seriously?!" Shino and Hyde gasped. They both ran up to the bar and stared at Yui with pleading eyes. Everyone else seemed to be interested in the answer as well, and all attention fell on Yui.

"Very well then." Yui said. "After calculating the distance, estimated time for both Sinon and Skolas to pull the trigger, air resistance, and the mass and damage output of each bullet, I calculate that Sinon's bullet would have reached Skolas first by 0.001 seconds. Therefore, Sinon would have won the duel and the tournament had Ayumi not shot them."

All heads turned to Shino and Hyde to see their reactions. Shino's expression started out as one of disbelief and quickly turned into an ecstatic cheer as she and the rest of Hyde's mortal enemies jumped and cheered in unison. Hyde on the other hand seemed to be begging for this to be a nightmare. He looked at Yui pleadingly. "Can't you run the calculations again?! Maybe you got a number wrong or something!"

"I ran the calculation ten times. Each time it showed the same result." Yui explained.

"Wohoo! I'm stronger than Skolas!" Shino said with a cheer.

"This… This can't be happening…" Hyde muttered as he fell to his knees. Suddenly, he felt a tap on his shoulder. Sinon leaned in close and whispered into his ear.

"Don't worry. There's always next year."

Hyde stayed kneeling on the ground for the next few minutes, before he got up and looked Agil in the eyes. "Can you give me something strong that will cause me to forget about this? I kinda need it right now."

Agil shook his head with a disapproving frown. "Sorry kid but I ain't selling liquor to no minors. I'm not getting arrested and losing my bartending license cause of you."

"Deal with it Hyde because I'm not letting you live this down anytime soon." Rika laughed as she threw a friendly arm around Shino's shoulder.

Hyde groaned as he gave a longing stare at the booze in front of him. "These women are what drive men to alcoholism I swear…"

Alana gave a quick look to Dan who only shrugged his shoulders in response. "Don't worry he'll be back to normal soon. His pride just suffered a heavy hit today."

"I think it's gonna take a while for me to get used to all the antics this group goes through." Alana said thoughtfully as she watched Rika's over-exuberant glee at Hyde's misery while Lilina began to drag him off for their "date".

**A/N: Wow, this chapter took forever to write out. But it was well worth it. Hope you guys enjoyed the fight. See you next week!**

**Also a story recently included two of the OCs for this story (Ren and Helios) in its latest chapter. Before any of you ask, yes I did give the author my permission. It's an interesting story called The Arctic Swordsman that has a unique take on the ALO and GGO arc. I suggest checking it out. If you can't find it, the story is on my Favorites list.**


	107. Mother and Son

**A/N: Hello readers! Glad to see you enjoyed the last chapter. Seeing your reviews made all that hard work worth it. This chapter won't have as much action, but I can assure you there will be plenty of drama.**

"You enjoying yourself Lilina? Cause I'm sure not."

Hyde was not exactly happy at what the day was bringing him so far. It had been a full week since the wild ride that was the Bullet of Bullets and his accidental team killing of Lilina during the event. Needless to say she was pissed with him for the last few days following the event but eventually she decided to forgive him at the expense of his wallet. The past three days have been nothing but dates and outings that Hyde by himself had to pay for solely and left him financially tapped out. Luckily for him, the last act of forgiveness was one that needed no money but was a grueling and humiliating task in of itself.

Carrying bags for her as she shopped for clothes at the mall.

"Oh hush you. After I'm done shopping at this store I'll have forgiven you for that whole GGO incident." Lilina quipped lightly, poking her boyfriend on the nose like one would do to a trained dog. "Now stay here while I finish up for the day."

Hyde rolled his eyes as he sat down on the designated bench. Last thing he would want is to is head back to square one where he was a few days prior. Once he saw that Lilina disappeared into the store he let out a tired sigh and placed the bags down at his side. "Damnit I am not some packmule, I have pride! …Ugh man this has not been my week…" With no other alternative to his predicament Hyde merely closed his eyes and savored the fleeting moment of relaxation he had before his girlfriend came back with more luggage.

"Mommy this game is unfair!"

Hyde opened his left eye to look at the source of that outburst. To his side was a young boy not looking any older than eight frowning at a crane machine prize game with deep distain. Behind the boy was a woman whom he obviously assumed was the boy's mother who was smiling softly, giving a soft pat to her son's head in a soothing manner.

"Oh it's okay Hideo we can come back tomorrow and give the machine a try then." His mother consoled but the boy shook his head feverently at the notion.

"No mommy! I wanna win it now!"

The woman hummed softly to herself and began to rummage through her purse and pulled out a 100 yen bill. "I suppose you can have one more try. Go ahead and give it your best shot, momma believes in you."

The boy Hideo smiled brightly at his mom and put the bill into the machine's money slot causing the lights on the crane game to flash up indicating that the game had started. He carefully moved the joystick around the prize he was so set on getting and pressed the red button making the claw descend towards his goal. After a few seconds of stillness, the claw began to rise gripping the leg of a small animal plushie making Hideo smile. As the claw made its way into the dropbox his prize began to sway to and fro causing the boy to give the machine a desperate look praying that the plushie would hang on for a little more. After what seemed like a horrible eternity to Hideo, the claw released the prize into the designated area and fell into the prize slot by his legs making him yell in joy.

"Look mommy! I won, I won!" Hideo cheered, throwing his prize into the air and catching it.

His mother clapped along with him and planted a small kiss to his forehead. "Good for you Hideo, I'm so proud of you."

"Thanks mommy, I love you!"

The woman picked her son up into her arms and hugged the boy who returned the gesture in kind. "Oh I love you too my little Hideo. Your dad's gonna be so proud when he sees the prize you won all by yourself."

"..." Hyde managed to finally tear his eyes away from the scene as the mother and son began to leave the mall holding hands, the kid Hideo swinging his new toy around excitedly. Unbidden, a memory of long ago sprouted forward from the depths of his mind at seeing the familiarity of the scene in front of him.

* * *

"_Hyde I'm so proud of you." Nohime said from behind her son who was holding a large amount of prize tickets from winning at the arcade games. "Only a few yen bills and you have a wad of tickets bigger than your head."_

_Hyde smiled at his mother and continued to bunch up the ticket wad in a haphazard and messy ball of pink paper. "Thanks mommy! It's cause you cheered me on that I won." _

"_Oh you, come here!" Hyde giggled in delight as his mother picked him up and dotted him with tiny pecks all over his face and head. When she stopped, she and Hyde went to the prize counter to redeem his tickets for a prize. The attendant took a bit to properly count all the tickets from the knotted mess that the boy had it in but in the end Hyde ended up with over a thousand points for prizes. "What are you going to get Hyde?"_

_The young boy's eyes looked all over the prize counter in search of something worthy of all the effort he put into getting those tickets. Finally he saw the item he wanted and pointed to it to the attendant._

_A stuffed plush lion for a thousand points on the dot._

"_That one please!" He yelled excitedly. The girl behind the counter picked up the lion from its spot on the shelf and handed it to the small boy as well with a small receipt with the amount of points he had remaining. He lifted the prize in front of his mother and put it into her hands. "Here mommy, you can have it."_

"_Oh Hyde, I appreciate the offer but this is your prize. I can't accept it after you spent so long trying to get it." Nohime said, pushing the toy back to her son but he pushed it back into her hands in an insistent manner._

"_But I won it for you mommy, cause I love you!"_

_Nohime smiled warmly at her youngest son and picked both him and his new toy up to give him a loving hug. "Oh thank you my little baby, I love you too. You're mommy's little angel."_

* * *

"...de? H..e? Hy.e? HYDE!" A loud yell brought the ash haired teen back into reality with a small jolt to his senses. Looking to his right he saw Lilina carrying a medium sized bag of clothes with a concerned expression on her face. "Are you okay? You were just staring at that claw machine for the past two minutes. It was kinda scaring me."

Hyde looked to see that a trio of grade schoolers had now taken position at the crane game, the mother and her son long gone from the area. _'Geez what the hell was that? Why did that memory come up out of nowhere?' _He shook his head as stood up and picked up the bags near him. "It's nothing Lilina, just lost in thought is all. Is that all you bought?"

The red haired girl inwardly frowned at her boyfriend's attempt to change the conversation. He must've saw something that bothered him greatly to have his head in the clouds like he did. Having dated him for years, she knew that if she pushed the subject more likely than not he'd only clam up more and become snippy at her. While those moments were few and far in between, Lilina prefered not to be on the end of Hyde's sassy attitude. No she'd let Rika and Shino have all that attention to themselves. "Yeah just a few cute scarves and skirts that were a steal."

"Please tell me you don't mean that literally."

"Relax, I'm not stupid enough to steal in a place where security cameras are everywhere." she giggled, interlocking her left arm into Hyde's right while doing so. "Now let's go back to my place. My mom should be done cleaning so we can relax a bit and enjoy each others company."

"Right."

* * *

Nohime Gekido sighed contently at the soothing scent of an assortment of teas and coffee that surrounded the shop she entered. This was by far her favored shop to go to in the mall when her coffee supply began to run low. Everything flavor she could conceive was sitting on the shelves just waiting to be bought by the woman.

"Ah hello Mrs. Gekido." A cheery shop clerk greeted the woman with a friendly wave. "Back for your usual coffee run I see."

"Yes Hina, I need you to set me up with another great choice on your end. You haven't given me a bad flavour yet."

The shop clerk Hina nodded her head and gave a wink to the older woman. "Give me just a sec, I think my mom has something in the back just for you."

Nohime sat down on one of the chairs inside the small shop and hummed to herself while the girl went to get her flavor of the week. While waiting she saw a curious sight outside the window of the store, a mother with an exuberant right year old at her sight smiling brighter than the sun itself holding a small stuffed animal at his side.

"Isn't it cute mommy? It's the prize I wanted for sooo long!"

The mother giggled at her son's enthusiasm as he bounced around at her side. "Yes Hideo it certainly is cute. I can see why you wanted it for so long."

Hideo nodded his head and presented the gift to his mother. "I wanted to get it for you mommy! I know how much you like puppies so it was perfect."

"But Hideo you wasted so much of your allowance for the past week to get this and it's for me? I can't just accept that from you." His mother tried to dissuade her son from his decision but the boy only smiled and kept pushing the plushie into her hands clearly not taking no for an answer. Eventually she relented and took the soft toy into her hands making her son beam with joy. "Okay, I'll accept your gift only if you let me buy you some ice cream for being so sweet. I'm not gonna take no for an answer."

"Yay! I love you mommy, you're the best in the whole world!"

"And you're the sweetest little angel in the world my little Hideo, never forget that."

'_Sweetest little angel…' _Those words struck a cord in Nohime, one that she never thought she'd feel again given the person she used to say those words to. Before she even realized it, memory upon memory of her earlier years of motherhood began to surface into her mind. Memories of her time raising her youngest son Hyde and the happiness they shared when he used to love her. Although she never admitted it to either her sons or her husband, Nohime at times found herself the closest to Hyde when he was growing up. Her husband would often playfully make remarks that he was worried that the young boy loved her more than her own husband did. The boy was practically attached to her from the moment he was born, often crying if someone other than his mother held him during his infancy. She remembered all the sweet gestures Hyde would do for her growing up and all that she would do for him if he ever frowned.

Unbeknownst to her, small tears of nostalgia trailed down her face as the mother and son walked out of the mall to get the boy his treat. She felt a small twinge in her heart at the realization that those two reminded her too much of how her and Hyde used to be. At how much she loved the boy before he started to become rebellious and angry.

"Here you go Mrs. Gekido!" Hina's voice called from behind her. "One container of Nicaraguan cocoa bean blend just fo- Oh my, is something wrong Mrs. Gekido?"

The voice of the shop attendant brought the woman out of her stupor, causing her to look at the younger girl. "What?"

Hina pointed to Nohime's cheeks with a concerned look. "You were looking out the window and were crying for some reason. Did something happen while I was gone."

The woman wiped at her face to see that true to the girl's claims, tears were indeed present on her face. She quickly wiped them away with the sleeve of her shirt and gave a gentle shake of her head. "It's nothing Hina, I was just overwhelmed by nostalgia is all. Thank you for getting me the coffee."

Hina looked mildly unconvinced but didn't bother to push the issue further. "Alright then ma'am, that'll be 3,990 yen please."

"... Before I purchase that, do you happen to have any vanilla roast blends in? I want to buy a container for my son."

"I didn't realize that Shu liked coffee, he always struck me as the tea sort of guy."

Nohime shook her head at Hina's statement. "No not for Shu, it's for my youngest son Hyde. His… birthday is coming up and the boy is easy to please so I thought I'd get him his favorite flavor."

In truth this was a lie as Hyde's birthday wasn't for a couple of more months. Normally her doing something for her youngest son without any sort of gain off it was something Nohime never did nowadays. But with the scene she had just witnessed and the deep nostalgic longing it left her was putting her back at her old maternal patterns.

Hina nodded her head and quickly retreated into the back once more to get the coffee she requested. Once she came back Nohime paid for her items, thanked her and left the mall. Hopefully she was making the right choice in this matter.

* * *

"Hey I'm home!" Hyde called out as he shut the front door behind him and kicked off his shoes.

Shu gave a small wave from the couch in the living room, too engrossed in the movie he was watching to give any vocal response. From behind Hyde his father gave him a pat to his back as he usually did whenever he would come home.

"Welcome home Hyde. Have a fun day with your girlfriend at the mall?" He asked while following his youngest son into the kitchen.

Hyde grimaced a bit at the mention of the mall. "I did but my wallet didn't…" he admitted.

"Why did you have to pay for the whole day Hyde? Did something happen between you two?"

"I don't want to talk about it. Let's just say it involved a VRMMO, an annoying blue haired moron, and a misfire on my part."

As Hyde began to rummage around in the fridge for something to drink, the front door opened again as Mrs. Gekido returned home from her outing. "Hello everyone, I'm back."

"Hello honey."

"Hmm." Shu quickly grunted, eyes not leaving the screen for a moment.

Hyde didn't bother to respond as he walked right past her while gulping down a soda. Seeing her son's cold indifference to her made Nohime's heart ache slightly, watching him retreat upstairs into his room without so much as a hello. Mr. Gekido watched his wife's eyes continue to follow their son upstairs until he disappeared from their sight. Once she heard the door close upstairs, she left out a soft sigh and placed her bags on the table. "Honey, can I talk to you in private for a bit?"

Mr. Gekido raised his eyebrow at his wife's request. Normally when she had asked this in the past it was because something or Hyde pissed her off and needed someone to vent to but now? She seemed dejected, downright sad even and that made his husband instincts kick in. "Sure darling, let's go to the kitchen."

Moving into the kitchen and making sure they were both out of Hyde's and Shu's hearing range, the two of them sat down at the kitchen table right across from each other. Nohime once again let out a sigh while dragging a hand through her hair. "Honey… Do you remember when Hyde was younger?"

"How could I forget? The boy coveted your attention like a bee searching for honey. I couldn't recall a time when he wasn't trying to get you to spoil him like you used to." He reminisced. "Why do you ask?"

She let out a bigger groan and held her head in her hands solemnly. "Yuuji… Do you think I'm a horrible mother?"

"Whoa, whoa! Where is this coming from Nohime?"

"I saw something today while I was at the mall getting our coffee and tea. A mother and a son acting how Hyde and I used to be like and… it just made my heart ache. To see that my son hates me so and knowing that I'm partially responsible for it just… just makes me wonder if I even deserve to be a mother…"

Yuuji grabbed his wife's hands and lifted her chin to look at him. "Honey, I know you are a wonderful mother to our children. Because of you Shu is a fine responsible young man who is about to take his first confident steps into adulthood son. And Hyde, while your relationship with him is rocky at best, he has turned out just as fine as Shu. … A little more violent than I would've liked but he does just fine. Do you miss your old relationship with Hyde?"

"I… I don't know… All I know is that seeing how much disdain is for me in his eyes breaks my heart." Nohime admitted. "I… I want to make things right between us."

Mr. Gekido smiled and got up from his seat, delivered a small kiss to her temple. "It might be a long road but I know you can do it. Hyde may be a bit unreasonable at times but if you meet him halfway, I'm sure you two will be just as you used to be."

She looked up to her husband and gave a soft embrace around his waist. "I hope so… I really do."

* * *

The morning light shined brightly on Hyde's face through his window, causing him to groan in uncomfortableness. Soon realizing that the sun wouldn't be leaving him alone anytime soon, he got up from his bed and slowly rubbed the sleep away from his eyes while kicking away the sheets off of him. Yawning, he made his way downstairs to grab himself some breakfast to give him some energy. Upon entering he saw that there already was a plate of sunny side up eggs with grilled salmon and a drink already waiting for him at his usual spot at the table. He gave the plate a suspicious look and looked around the kitchen and dining room. "Dad? Shu? Did you leave this for me?"

No one responded. Not even footsteps stirred upstairs at the loud call.

"...Ugh… Well it's not like anyone is out to poison me or anything." Deciding to disregard the weirdness of the situation, Hyde sat down at his spot and partook of the meal. It must had been made mere moments before he woke up as the food and coffee, vanilla roasted to be specific, was still hot and enjoyable. After polishing off his meal, washing his plates and making sure there was no one left in the house, Hyde got dressed and went out for the day.

While walking down the street his phone began to ring in his pocket. Quickly fishing the item out of his pocket, he picked the call. "Yo Hyde speaking."

"Hey Hyde, you coming to the park today?" Dan asked from the other line. "The others are already here."

Hyde rolled his eyes from his side as he remembered the group hangout that was planned today. "Please tell me those two hogs aren't there already."

"... Dude you're on speaker."

"... I'm not apologizing if they heard that." Faintly he could hear the yelling voices of both Rika and Shino with Alicia and Asuna attempting to calm them down causing him to laugh in response "Alright I'm on my way tell those idiots not to get so excited until I get there."

"Noted." Dan drawled dryly. "Just be on your best behavior."

"No promises." He said while hanging up on his end. Hyde whistled a soft tune as he made his way to the park.

Crossing several streets and cutting through a few buildings, he quickly found his way to the public park to see all the others already there waiting for him. Rika and Shino in particular were glaring straight hell at him to which his only response was to flip them the bird which only made them seeth more in anger. "Sup guys, how's it going?"

"I think everyone would be doing better if you didn't try to antagonize Rika and Shino so early in the morning." Emi said making the ash haired teen roll his eyes.

After taking a bit to dispel the foul mood created by Hyde and amplified by the girls he anger. The troupe of friends began to make their way to the mall for their first hangout area. Once the were rounding about to the exit of the park, they saw someone standing in front of them. Someone whose appearance made Hyde cringe internally.

Nohime Gekido. His mother.

"Hyde..." She simply said, eyeing only her son and seeming to ignore all the others around him.

He gave an exasperated sigh at her sudden arrival and gave her a pointed look. "What do you want? Can't you see that I'm with people who actually care about me right now?"

"Don't lump us into that group!" Rika yelled at him to which Hyde soundly ignored.

His mother kept up her stare at her son for a short while before her shoulders began to jerk slightly, making Hyde step back a bit in surprise. Soon Hyde looked on in a mix of both surprise and horror as tears began to stream down her face as she began walking towards him. Not knowing what to do, the teen stood frozen in place as his mother approached him fully expecting to get hit.

However contrary to what he thought was going to happen, it still heavily shocked Hyde when his mother suddenly hugged him tight while crying her eyes out.

"Oh Hyde! My sweet little angel Hyde!" Nohime sobbed loudly, her grip on her son's chest getting tighter and tighter with each second.

"Wh-Wh-What the hell are you doing!?" Hyde cried out in terror as he tried to pry his mother off of him who only held on tighter. "Get off of me! People are staring!"

True to his word numerous park attendants were staring at the loud scene in front of them. Although he couldn't see them due to being locked into place by his mother's strong grip, he could've sworn he heard the girls laughing at his expense. Nohime's sobs grew a bit softer after crying for a whole two minutes into his shoulder but the woman still refused to let her son go from her grip.

'_Goddamnit! Why is all this shit happening to me!?' _Hyde screamed internally in despair. _'What did I do to deserve this crap!?' _He managed to free himself from Nohime's grip and looked her dead in the eyes. "L-Look just calm your ass down alright!? You're making a huge scene in front of everyone!"

His mother sniffled a bit and began to wipe the tears from her face. After taking a few moments to compose herself, Nohime sighed lightly and gave a sad smile to her youngest. "Oh Hyde, I'm sorry you had to see your mother in such a pathetic state. It's just… I was overwhelmed by a sudden rush of emotion that I… I just couldn't control myself." She lifted herself from her position and placed her hands on Hyde's shoulders. "Son, can you please home back home for a bit? I need to explain myself and my sudden outburst." For the first time since her arrival, his mother looked at his group of friends who were part shocked, part confused, and in Rika and Shino's case part amused at what just happened. "If you wish you all can come as well. You all deserve my apologies as well."

Despite Hyde's vehement outbursts at why the others shouldn't be around for a private family matter, the whole group soon found themselves sitting at the large living room in the Gekido household with Nohime standing in front of the teens who were all seated around the area.

"I suppose I should explain why I burst into tears like I did shouldn't I Hyde?" Nohime started with a red face, clearly embarrassed by her actions.

"Yeah that, uh, that'd be a pretty damned good place to start." he said.

She let out a sigh to release the stress of the matter out of her and looked at son. "Hyde… I remember when you were so young all those years ago. You used to be such a sweet and innocent child who loved to do whatever he could to make me smile." Hyde hid his face in embarrassment when the girls started to giggle at him. "I loved you so much and I was sure that our relationship would never change… But as you got older you became so… hateful for reasons I never understood. You began to get in trouble at school, picking fights with kids in the neighborhood and disappeared almost all day at times. I tried to be strict with you but I never expected my sweet son to lash out at me for trying to keep you out of trouble."

"You never bothered to ask why I was in trouble! All you did was assume the worst about me and didn't bother to find out what really happened." he pointed out with a glare.

"I know and even though it's far too late for it I am sorry about that. But when you lashed out at me… When you said you hated me… I just… couldn't believe you would say that. And, as much as I hate to admit it, I began to stop caring about you since you stopped caring about me." Nohime's face fell downwards while Hyde looked away from her. "Hyde… I hate myself for making that decision. For making your happiness not a priority and for throwing you to the side."

He scoffed at his mother's claim and gave a cruel smile towards her. "Oh you're sorry huh? Sorry that you threw me to the side while giving Shu everything? Sorry that you ignored me and never gave me acknowledgement for my successes? Sorry that you never even cared that I could've died in SAO? Well sorry if I find this apology of yours a bit hard to believe."

"..."

"See? Nothing to say about it, she doesn't even deny it. So why are you suddenly sorry now after giving me hell for the past eight years of my life!?"

"It's because I don't want to lose you Hyde!" Nohime yelled right back at Hyde. "...I missed so much of your life when you changed. You growing up, your middle school graduation… those two years stolen from us when you were trapped in the game. Looking back to those days deep down I knew that if I lost you in that game I would never recover from it. And when you told me that when you made a family of your own and that I would never be a part of it… I…"

Hyde was taken aback once again once his mother broke into tears again. He looked at the others for some sort of clue on what action to take since this was a first for him. While the many others were just as confused as him, Asuna motioned for him to comfort his mom to stop her crying. Though reluctant to do so given how uncomfortable he was at the moment, Lilina pushing him to her made the course of action clear. He slowly walked to where Nohime was sobbing and awkwardly pulled her head to his chest in a comforting motion. The effect was slow but soon enough his mother stopped her crying and held her son.

"I'm a mess aren't I Hyde?" She laughed sadly to herself. "I can't even reconnect to my own son without looking like a fool in front of him. If you can't forgive me I understand. After all I did to wrong you I'm surprised you even decided to hear your foolish mother out."

"Shut up already."

"Huh?"

"I said to shut up with that crap!" He yelled at her. "Look at you, a self loathing sobbing mess of a woman crying that her son is giving her a hard time. That's not my mother because my mom wouldn't give a damn whether or not anyone hated her, she did what she wanted and damn all those who would disagree with her. So stop being such a pathetic crying mess and get it together! I have no respect or forgiveness in my heart for anyone that's so mentally weak."

Kazuto leaned over to Suguha. "Is… he trying to comfort her?"

"Maybe tough love is just the Gekido way?" she whispered back.

"I would appreciate if the peanut gallery would keep quiet!" Hyde snapped at the siblings making them separate immediately. "Anyway like I was saying if you want my forgiveness then you need to get your crap together and act like the mother I used to know. Then maybe and I mean MAYBE I might start forgiving you."

Nohime stared at her son, wiping the tears from her eyes as a laugh started to build up inside her before it erupted from her. Soon enough the tough act Hyde was putting up started to fade as well as a small smile came to his own face. "You really are my son alright. Shu would never have the guts to tell me off like you just did. Alright Hyde if you are willing to meet me halfway then who knows, maybe we could be back to what we used to be."

"Just don't expect me to hugging your leg asking for kisses."

"I wouldn't expect it coming from my grown little boy."

"Wow, I never thought I'd see the day that Hyde actually helped someone with his insulting ways and idiotic nature."

Hyde turned around to face Rika with a scowl on his face. "And I'd never thought I'd see the day when you would keep that annoying trap of yours shut and butt out of personal matters. Oh wait I'm never gonna see that day cause it's impossible to ask of a moron like you Dorkozaki!"

"It's Shinozaki, asshole!" Rika yelled back.

As the two glared at each other as they normally did, Nohime quirked an eyebrow at the mention of the name Hyde shouted. "Wait a minute, did you just say Shinozaki?"

"... Uh yeah, why?"

"And your mother's name wouldn't happen to be Ninian Shinozaki would it?"

"It is..." Rika confirmed, a bit uncomfortable that Hyde's mother knew the name of her own mother. "How do you know that?"

Mrs. Gekido's face lit up with delight. "Oh so it IS you Rika! I know your mother. We used to set up little playdates between you and Hyde when you were little."

"WHAT!?"

"Please tell me you're joking mom. PLEASE!" Hyde pleaded.

When she shook her head, it felt like a small weight hit him right in the chest. "Oh no you two used to be best friends growing up but then her family had to move. I still have some recordings of your playdates when you were younger. Want to see them?"

Before either Hyde or Rika could voice any disagreements, both Lilina and Asuna grabbed them from behind and covered their screaming mouths so silence their opinions on the matter. Lilina because she wanted to see a young Hyde while Asuna because she was genuinely curious just as the others were.

"We would be happy to see what you have to show us Mrs. Gekido." Dan said.

Hyde managed to pry his girlfriend's hands off his mouth and gave an incredulous look at his supposed best friend. "Dude what the hell?" He made mental note to give Dan hell at seeing him just shrug.

Soon enough, after the group had restrained the protesting Rika and Hyde, Nohie returned with a few SD cards of video footage from her old video camera. Once she plugged it into the tv she began to show everyone everything she recorded of her son's playdates with his most hated enemy. One after another the group was shown embarrassing moments that the two shared, from sharing meals together to ones of them playing with each other. Flim after film Hyde suffered more and more emasculation while the others laughed it up. Though the one they were watching now was by far the most humiliating for Rika who was burying her face in her pillow in an attempt to escape this torture by smothering herself.

"I wanna marry Hyde!" The five year old Rika cheered while hugging the small Gekido on the screen. "I wanna be with him forever and ever!"

Everyone was either shocked at what young Rika was saying or was laughing hysterically at this situation.

Hyde however was surprising calm about this, slowly looking towards his frienemy's direction with a smug smile on his face. "So do you still wanna?"

"SHUT UP!" Rika hissed as she threw the pillow at him.

"You better not be serious…" Lilina glowered with a dangerous edge to her voice.

"Like I'd trade you for someone as barren and boring as Rika. I'd sooner live the hermit's life than be her boyfriend."

As they continued to watch the tapes of Hyde's childhood, the front door to the house opened as Mr. Gekido along with Shu walked in to see the living room invaded by Hyde's friends. "Um are we interrupting something?"

"D-Dad!? Why are you here?"

"... I kinda live here Hyde, as do you, your mother and brother. Kinda would be weird if we didn't come home often."

Hyde rolled his eyes. "Alright enough of that, don't need your ballbusting after what I've been through today." Shifting his attention from his father he turned to his friends and pointed to the door. "Alright dicks, I think that's enough laughing at me today. If your name isn't Lilina beat it right now or suffer the ass beating of a lifetime."

"Bu-"

'"MOVE!" Not wanting to aggravate their volatile friend any further Dan and the others scrambled past the Gekido family and left to the front yard. "Hey wait!" They stopped for a moment at hearing Hyde call to them. "What you've just witnessed here is something I never wanted anyone to hear about. If I find out that ONE of you blabbed to somebody about this and this gets spread to the school and beyond. … Well let's just say no one will find your bodies. Alright?" He smiled at seeing all of them nod their heads frantically. "Good. NOW GET LOST!" Hyde quickly slammed the door behind him and sighed deeply whilst pinching his temples in frustration. "The shit I put up with…"

"So am I going to get an explanation or…?"

Nohime quickly gathered up all her stuff and began to usher her family plus Lilina into the couches. "Alright so it started like this."

Both Hyde and his mother gave an abridged version of the event that took place today and why his friends were here watching his childhood video tapes. Yuuji Gekido could hardly believe what he was hearing. His wife hysterically crying? Hyde hugging his mother in a way that wasn't a choke hold on her neck? This was just way too surreal for him to understand. Shu shared his sentiments on this matter, holding his head in disbelief at the matter. Meanwhile Lilina sat down next to Hyde feeling kinda alienated and uncomfortable between the family in this situation. She had no idea why her boyfriend asked her to stay behind and deal with the aftermath of this whole debacle but if Hyde did something there tended to be a reason behind it so the redhead keep herself seated.

"...And that's pretty much the long and short of it. Hyde and I are on the road to recovery on our relationship. It might take a long while but I'm willing to walk that road with him." Mrs. Gekido smiled while placing her hand and Hyde's resting one.

"Don't push it so soon."

She retracted her hand back to her side. "Right."

"So… that's it?" Shu asked. "Mom cried, embarrassed you in front of your friends and now… you two are suddenly trying to patch up your relationship?"

"Yeah pretty much." Hyde confirmed. Shu sighed deeply, there was just no way he could ever understand any member of his family. His brother and mother were way too sporadic in their decisions to ever get a good gauge on how they worked or thought. But he just decided to do what he always did and just rolled with the punches as they come. If he decided to overanalyze things now there'd be way too much to question in such a short amount of time. Better not to give himself that stress with the advent of college upon him.

"Look I know we have a lot to get past alright? Me making life hard for him, him punching me a few months ago but we'll get past it. Have a little faith in your mother Shu, I know what I am getting into."

Shu once again sighed and nodded his head softly. Despite this situation being unorthodox as all hell, if it meant getting more peace and quiet around the house then he sure as hell wasn't going to complain. "Just try not to relapse into your old ways alright?"

Hyde scoffed at his brother's claim. "Ignoring Shu's semi backhanded remark, there is something else I need to tell you all. It's the reason why I asked Lilina to stay behind for this." The young Gekido walked up to his girlfriend on the couch and helped her up, holding her hand while doing so. "Mom. Dad. Shu." He lifted up Lilina's left hand to show them the item that bonded the two teens together. The item that represented the promise they made together to spent their lives with each other.

The engagement ring that Hyde gave to her on that trip to Kyoto.

Nohime's eyes grew wide as her hands shot up to her mouth in disbelief while his father was gaping at Hyde with a blank empty stare. And Shu? Well he looked about as deadpanned as he had been for the past twenty minutes. All the while Lilina looked away with a red face while Hyde stood his ground albeit with flushed cheeks.

"Lilina is my fiancee, and within a few years we are going to get married."

No one uttered a word at this bold confession that the youngest member of the family made. All three of them stood still in their respective positions leaving the young couple to fidget and squirm under their blank gaze from the Gekidos. After what seemed to be an eternity for them, Yuuji was the first to respond but what came from his mouth was something no one thought he was going to say.

"... Nohime dear, can you do be a favor and slap me across the face? I think I might be hallucinating and seeing an engagement ring around her finger."

"No dad you aren't hallucinating, because I'm seeing it too." Shu said still a bit gobsmacked at this new revelation. "Bro, I mean no disrespect when I say this but did you hit your head or something?"

"What?"

"You're not even out of highschool and you've already proposed to a girl? I know that you and her have known each other for years but don't you think you're rushing things here?"

"Don't you think that I know what I'm doing?" Hyde countered with a raised eyebrow. "It's not like we're going to elope or do something crazy, as hard as it is to believe. I bought the ring for her as a promise, a promise that in the future we'll be together, marry and start a family. I love Lilina more than anyone in this world, in a romantic sense of course." He looked into his girlfriend's eyes and gave her an honest smile. "I know that nobody else could have the same special place in my heart that you do and I don't care what anyone thinks. My love for her is my first priority in life so I don't care what you all think."

Yuuji got up from his seat and placed a hand on his son's shoulder. "Hyde I know you love her, the fact that you are willing to punch the woman who gave birth to you just to defend her is testament to that. But even if it is just for the future, I can't really say I approve of this situation."

Nohime, who had been still with silence all this time, finally got out of her stasis and gave a disapproving look to her husband. "Really Yuuji? You don't approve when you more or less did something similar in our youth?"

"Nohime please don't bring this up now."

"No I think this has some merit. I remember your father never approved of me at first. I mean, a nerd dating his old bully from his younger years? I swear your father seemed to be moments away at calling the police at some times. I don't think that giving Hyde and his girlfriend that same treatment would be good for them."

Yuuji only rubbed his temples in semi disbelief. "Nohime, I love you I really do but do you really think that this sort of engagement is right? Hyde is only 18, hardly in the right state of mind to be making a life changing decision like this."

Nohime shook her head at her husband. "Whether or not he's in the right state of mind doesn't matter. It's Hyde's choice to be as devoted as he is to Lilina not ours. So I will ask you Hyde, are you prepared to take responsibility for a decision this major?"

"Do you really need to ask that considering I punched you across the face to defend her?"

"Good answer. Also, you're grounded for the next two weeks for that."

"WHAT?"

Nohime ignored his outcry and turned to her son's fiancee. "Now Lilina I know we didn't start off on the best foot but I'd like to apologize for my actions from before and I hope that my son's happiness is why you are with him."

"Of course I am, money comes second to my relationship with Hyde. He's my number one in everything through and through. Honestly as long as me and Hyde are together then money doesn't even matter to me." Lilina affirmed making Hyde give her a deadpanned look.

'_I know you love me a lot Lilina but you shouldn't lie to her face.'_

"Then that settles it. They're in love and nothing we say or do will change that Yuuji. Better to just accept it and let them be."

"So long as I'm not a grandfather before Hyde is 25 then I guess I'll accept it." Mr. Gekido relented. "Well I think you two have had enough excitement for today, why don't you both rejoin your friends and enjoy yourselves?"

"You don't have to tell us twice." The young Gekido exclaimed whilst grabbing his lover by the hand. "See you later."

The rest of the Gekido clan watched their youngest member take off and shut the door behind him. "I don't know about you two, but I am going to lie down in my bed for a while and forget the strangeness of today." Shu announced, turning to the stairs. "This has been the strangest day of my life."

"Just don't get too invested in your rest Shu, dinner is gonna be served within the hour." Nohime called after him before turning to her husband. "I think today was very progressive don't you?"

"Progressive is an… interesting way to put it dear. I'm just surprised at how smoothly this whole thing went. No bruises this time too." Yuuji quipped.

"Keep up that smarmy attitude and you'll see yourself sleeping on the couch tonight." Nohime bit back, making him zip his lip. "That's what I thought. Now come on my little nerd, help me make dinner and maybe I'll forgive that little jab of yours."

"Yes dear." If Yuuji Gekido has learned anything in life it's that if he tried to fight his wife on matters such as these, then Hyde and Shu wouldn't be around with how often he'd be on the couch.

**A/N: Hope you all liked this chapter. I also have some news for you all. Next week will be the start of a brand new arc. It won't be as long as the GSO arc, but I'm sure you'll all enjoy it regardless.**


	108. The Event

**A/N: Hello readers! Surprise! I'm posting a chapter early! Now don't get too excited yet, cause there's still a few more surprises I need to tell you all. First, this chapter will be the start of a brand new arc, and this is one containing something that a lot of you have been asking me either in reviews or PMs to do. **

**Next up, I'm sure a lot of you have heard about the upcoming Kirisuna week for this year (for those of you that haven't, it'll be late September into early October). Well that got me thinking of doing something for a Relice week. So to honor the first couple of this story, I will be posting one chapter each day starting today through Friday, so you will have a total of five chapters this week, which also happens to be the length of this arc. As a result, next week will understandibly not have a chapter.**

**Hope you enjoy this arc everyone. Now on with the chapter!**

Dan walked through the school cafeteria, carrying his lunch over to the table. Classes today had been pretty boring and he had nearly fallen asleep a few times listening to lectures. He took a seat at the table where Alicia and the others were sitting.

As Dan sat down, Alicia greeted him with a bright smile. "Hey Dan."

"Hey." Dan greeted back with a smile of his own. "So, got any plans today?"

Alicia shook her head. "No, not really. I'm free all afternoon."

"Same with us." Asuna said from her seat. "Kazuto and I have nothing going on. If you want, we could go hunting in ALO."

"Sounds like a plan." Dan nodded. "Alright, so where should we-"

"YOU GUYS AREN'T GONNA BELIEVE THIS!" a sudden voiced exclaimed. All heads turned towards Rika and Keiko as they ran over to their friends. "There's a new event for ALO that just launched today!"

"Calm down, you two." Asuna told them. "You're making a scene."

Rika and Keiko looked around the cafeteria, noticing that several people were looking at them due to their outburst a second ago.

"S-Sorry everyone." Rika apologized before sitting down at the table with her friends. "Ok, so you guys are not gonna believe this new event they're launching."

"What is it? A new dungeon?" Kazuto asked.

The two girls shook their heads.

"A special boss?" Emi guessed.

Once again, Rika and Keiko shook their heads.

"Just spill it already." Hyde said.

Rika brought out a tablet and showed it to everyone. On the screen was the main site for ALO, describing a surprise event starting today.

"Apparently it's an event that will only happen to two players in the game that are currently married." Rika explained. All heads looked towards Dan and Alicia, as well as Kazuto and Asuna, with the two couples being the only ones married in ALO. Ironically, despite the fact that Hyde and Lilina were engaged IRL, they still had yet to marry in ALO. Rika continued her explanation. "So apparently the event will trigger for only one randomly selected married couple in all of ALO."

"And what exactly will happen?" Lilina asked.

"Nobody knows." Keiko said with a shake of her head. "They haven't released much details other than that. Just that the event will eventually lead to a new dungeon being unlocked for a short period of time and a raid boss unlike anything ALO has ever seen."

The information peeked the curiosity of the group as they wondered what this event would be like. The mention of a raid boss unlike anything ALO had ever seen especially got their attention.

"Should be an interesting event." Dan said.

"Let's all go on ALO after school and see what we can dig up." Rika suggested. "We can ask around and find out who the lucky couple is."

The group nodded in agreement as they made a plan to meet up in the afternoon.

* * *

"Link Start!"

Dan closed his eyes as he entered the virtual world and his vision went white. When he could finally see again, he found himself lying on the bed in the player home he and Alice shared in Lunet. Opening up his menu, Ren could see that Alice hadn't logged in yet. He waited patiently for a few minutes before her avatar manifested on the bed next to him.

"Hey Ren." Alice smiled as she sat up on the bed. "So then, shall we get going?"

Ren nodded his head. "Yeah. We're meeting everyone at Liz's shop."

The couple got up from the bed and proceeded to equip their weapons. "I wish the GMs would at least say what's going to happen to the selected couple." Alice sighed.

"Nothing we can do about it. I'm sure whoever it is will know it's them whenever it happens." Ren said with a shrug.

"Imagine if it was us." Alice giggled. "Although Kirito and Asuna would be an interesting choice too."

Ren nodded in agreement. As much as he was interested in the event, there were still several hundred, if not thousand, married players in Alfheim. Chances were it wouldn't be them.

The couple walked out of the bedroom and into the living room of their house. As they entered, Alice's ears picked up something. "Do you hear that?"

Ren stayed quiet and listened as well. He could faintly hear the sound of soft breathing coming over from the couch. The couple looked at each other before carefully walking over to the couch. Ren quietly signaled that he would check it out first. He crept over to the back of the couch and peered his head over it. His eyes widened at what he saw.

"Alice, you might want to check this out." Ren said as he motioned for Alice to come over.

Curious as to what it was, Alice walked over and looked at what was on the couch. Or rather who was on the couch.

Sleeping on the couch of their home was a little girl, maybe about the age of ten. She had violet hair, meaning she was most likely an Imp like Ren and Alice, that fell down a couple inches past her shoulders. Her clothing consisted of a simple violet and white dress that went to her feet. Simple pink shoes were slipped on her feet.

"How did she get in here?" Ren asked.

"No clue." Alice said. Suddenly a window popped up in front of both Ren and Alice.

_Activate event? (Note: If declined, AI will be teleported to new married couple)_

Ren and Alice blinked at the message in surprise as they looked at each other. They had been the selected players for the special event.

"So this isn't a player. It's an NPC then?" Ren guessed.

"I suppose so. But what does she have to do with the event?" Alice wondered. Ren simply replied with a shrug. "Well then.. Should we accept?"

"It be a waste not too." Ren said. "It's such a unique opportunity."

Alice nodded her head in agreement. She reached out and pressed the 'Yes' tab on the window in front of her. The window vanished, but was quickly replaced by a new one.

_Congratulations. After marrying, you and your partner have been blessed with a child named Luna. For the past nine years, you have lived as a happy family. You and the player you are married to will be tasked with looking after this child for the duration of the event._

Ren and Alice looked at each other in confusion as they tried to make sense of the message in front of them.

After reading the message again, Ren was sure he hadn't read it wrong. "So this girl is-"

"-Our child?" Alice finished, clearly confused with the situation.

"Mmmm?" the little girl blinked her eyes open as she let out a soft and quiet yawn. She looked up at Ren and Alice and a bright smile appeared on her face. "Mama! Papa! How was your nap?"

Alice blinked in surprise as the little girl leaped up and hugged her. _'M-Mama?'_ She looked over at Ren. This was not what either of them were expecting when they first heard about the event.

"Well at least we know what happens for the selected couple." Ren said.

* * *

After interacting with Luna for a bit, Ren and Alice slowly began to understand their 'daughter'. She seemed to see the couple as her birth parents. From the information they were provided through some more messages sent to them by the GMs, the race of Luna's avatar had been randomly selected, based off of Ren and Alice. Since they were both Imps, Luna's race had been set to Imp. Her name had also been decided based on her race. Imps did have more power in the dark and gained strength from moonlight so the name Luna fit pretty well.

Once they had gotten comfortable with Luna being around, the couple had messaged their friends and explained the situation to them. They were all currently gathered at Ren and Alice's home. Yui was busy playing with Luna, while at the same time trying to figure out what she could about her by examining her data. The rest of the group was in another room, trying to understand what was going on.

Helios on the other hand was too busy using Ren and Alice's situation to his full advantage. "Seriously guys, I know you're married in-game but having a child at your age?"

Alice glared at Helios as he snickered at them. A smirk soon became stretched across her face. "Oh you want to talk about teen parenting? Helios, do I need to remind you of that _incident_ you and Dagger had?"

"Incident?" Sinon asked curiously.

Helios and Dagger felt a cold sweat go down their backs as they realized what Alice was referring to. Helios glared at Alice. "You swore never to bring that up."

"That was before you made that comment." Alice retorted. "Now do you want to go on with your jokes. Cause if you do, I could tell everyone here your little story."

Helios decided to clam up after that. Asuna looked over at Ren and Alice. "So what are you two gonna do now?"

"Well she thinks of us as her parents." Ren said. "We can't exactly abandon her."

Alice nodded in agreement. "Besides… it feels kind of nice to have a daughter."

"I know the feeling." Asuna smiled.

Footsteps were heard coming into the room and the group all looked to see Yui enter the room. Kirito looked at his daughter. "So what can you tell us Yui?"

"Judging from her data, Luna is a low-level AI." Yui explained. "She's connected to the language engine module. In a sense, she's similar to me, with the exception of the fact that she has an HP gauge and isn't as advanced."

"But since she's an AI, that means she's able to think for herself and has emotion, right?" Alice asked.

"To an extent yes." Yui nodded. "Her emotion processing is much less advanced than mine, because I was programmed to assist with the mental health of players. As far as I can tell, she was designed with the bare minimum of intelligence to think for herself. She has no idea that ALO is a virtual world, and instead views it as the real world."

"But the question at hand is, what does this have to do with the event?" Mai pointed out. "How does Ren and Alice suddenly having a kid lead to a new dungeon and a raid boss?"

"We'll just have to wait and see." Kirito said. "For now at least, we might as well go about things normally."

"Nothing's gonna be normal about this." Liz pointed out.

The door to the room opened and everyone turned their heads to see Luna walk in. The young girl ran up to Alice. "Hi Mama. What's everyone talking about?"

"Oh, nothing special." Alice smiled as she picked her daughter up. "Do you want to play outside for a bit?"

"Really?! Can we Mama?!"

"Of course." Alice nodded. She looked at the rest of her friends. "It's ok guys. I think Ren and I can take it from here."

The group watched as Ren and Alice walked out of the house with Luna. It was the first time many of them had seen the couple so happy.

"It's hard to believe that the event triggered for them and now they have a daughter." Leafa said.

"Yeah, but we're all forgetting one important detail." Kirito sighed. All heads turned to him, wondering what he was referring to. "Luna is linked to this event. That means once it's over…"

"... She's probably going to disappear." Asuna realized. She frowned as she lowered her head. "When that happens, Ren and Alice are going to be heartbroken."

"How are we gonna tell them?" Mai asked.

"We can't." Kirito said with a shake of his head. "Not when they're this happy. We just need to make sure we're there for them when the time comes. Besides, we don't know for sure she's going to vanish after the event."

The group all nodded in agreement to keep the fact hidden from Ren and Alice. Once that was done, Dagger rubbed her hands mischievously. "Alright then. Since those two are busy right now, let's see what juicy secrets they're hiding in here."

"Not happening Dagger." Asuna said as she grabbed the Spriggan by the back of her collar. "We're not just going to let you roam around here and dig up blackmail material."

"No! You can't do this to me! It's such a perfect opportunity!" Dagger cried out as Asuna dragged her out of the house, followed by the rest of their friends.

* * *

Luna's playful giggling brought a smile to Ren and Alice as they walked with her. Neither one of them were expecting this to happen, but they decided to go with it. Luna saw them as her parents and the two of them were honestly starting to see Luna as their daughter.

"Mama! Papa! Let's have a race!" Luna suggested.

"You sure about that?" Ren asked with a smirk. "I'm not sure you can keep up with my speed."

"I can definitely beat Papa!" Luna grinned.

"In your dreams kiddo." Ren said as he playfully rubbed Luna's hair. "But if you really want to, I guess I can show you my speed. Where should we race to?"

"Um…" Luna thought to herself as she scoped the area. Finally she decided as she pointed to a tree in the distance. "Over there! First one to touch that tree wins."

"And what does the winner get?"

"Come on Ren, don't do that to Luna." Alice sighed, although she couldn't help but grin at how excited Luna was.

A big grin became stretched on Luna's face. "Winner gets Mama all to themselves for the rest of the day!"

"Those are pretty big stakes." Ren said. "Guess I better win then."

Alice watched as both Ren and Luna got into their starting positions. Luna looked over to her mother. "Alright Mama, start the countdown."

Alice raised her hand into the air. "Alright then. On your marks. Get set. GO!"

Luna took off as fast as her legs would allow her. But even she couldn't outrun the lightning fast speed of Ren as he zoomed past her and touched the tree trunk before Luna had made it even halfway.

"Looks like I win." Ren smirked.

Luna gasped and stared at her father in awe. "Wow! Papa is super fast!"

"Yep!" Ren said with a prideful grin. He walked over to Alice. "Now for my prize."

Alice blushed and laughed as Ren swept her off her feet and held her bridal style. He saw Luna giggle and decided to give his daughter a little leeway. "Come on Luna. You can join in too."

"Really?! Yay!" Luna exclaimed as she ran over to her parents. She leaped up on Ren's back, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"W-Woah!" Ren said as he struggled to stand up straight while holding Alice and having Luna on his back. "Easy there Luna. I may be fast, but my physical strength isn't as high as most players."

Luna giggled as she hugged Ren even tighter. "Papa can do it! He's the best there is!"

Ren gave a heartfelt smile as he heard those words come from Luna's mouth. "Alright then. Homeward bound it is!"

"Go Papa!" Luna cheered as she hung onto him from behind.

As Ren and Alice walked back to their house with their new daughter, two figures watched them from the sky, making sure to keep enough distance so that they wouldn't be spotted.

"Is that her?" one of them asked.

His partner nodded his head. "Yes, that's the one."

"So what should we do? Attack them now?"

"... For now, we'll report back." the other one decided. "We'll wait for further orders on how to proceed from Odin."

With a nod of his head the figure flew off, followed by his partner.

* * *

Almost immediately after arriving back home, Luna fell asleep on the couch. A peaceful smile was on her face as she slept. Ren and Alice watched Luna, unable to help but smile at the adorable sight.

"It's hard to believe, isn't it?" Ren asked.

"Yeah." Alice said with a nod of her head. "We have a daughter now. I think I know now how Kirito and Asuna felt when they first found Yui."

"At this point, I don't even care about the event anymore." Ren said. "Just having her here… this is enough for me."

Alice nodded her head in agreement. "Yeah. Me too."

"Well then, should we log off for today?" Ren suggested.

"Yeah." Alice agreed. "But… what about Luna?"

"I doubt the system would allow her to just walk out of the house while we're gone." Ren said. "Plus no one can enter while we're logged out. I think she'll be fine."

"Okay then." Alice nodded. She grabbed a blanket and put it over Luna as she slept. Alice leaned in and kissed Luna on the forehead. "Sweet dreams Luna. We'll see you tomorrow."

"Mmmm… Mama. Papa." Luna quietly muttered in her sleep. Ren and Alice smiled as they went to the bedroom to log out.

As Ren and Alice sat on the edge of their bed, Alice leaned her head on her in-game husband's shoulder. Ren put his arm around her. "So we're both in agreement that my mother never hears about this, right?"

Alice giggled at Ren's comment. "Don't want to give her any more things to use to embarrass you?"

"You've seen what she's like." Ren told her.

"Fair enough." Alice admitted with a chuckle. The couple laid down on the bed together and closed their eyes. "See you tomorrow Ren."

"Until then." Ren said with a smile as they both drifted off to sleep and logged out.

Alicia blinked her eyes open as she found herself back in the real world. She removed her Amu Sphere from her head. The smile Luna had was still engraved into her memory. She closed her eyes and smiled to herself, treasuring this gift given to her and Ren.

'_So this is what it feels like to be a mother.'_

**A/N: In case any of you haven't figured it out yet, the thing I keep getting asked to do is give Ren and Alice a kid. Some of you have been more specific, like asking for something similar to Yui, so I decided to go with this. This arc will be dedicated to Luna, so I hope you all like her. Next chapter will be out tomorrow, and the rest of this arc will be finished by Friday.**

**Onto another topic, I'm sure a lot of you have heard more and more about the upcoming SAO Movie: Ordinal Scale. Well at Anime Expo, they recently released several new details about the movie (for any of you that got to actually go to the convention, I am so jealous of you!), including the fact that it will be in theaters Spring of 2017. They also released a trailer and the only word I can use to describe it is HYPE!**

**For any of you interested, the trailer should be up on the movie's main site. Just search SAO Movie and it should come up.**


	109. Days With Luna

**A/N: Hey guys. Here's chapter to of the Luna arc like I promised. Hope you all enjoy it.**

**P.S, If you guys didn't see the update yesterday, there is a chapter before this. I will be posting a chapter each day from yesterday until Friday.**

As soon as the last bell for school rang, Alicia walked out of class and headed towards the courtyard to meet up with Dan. It wasn't until she was halfway there that she noticed she had a little skip to her steps. Perhaps it was because she was excited to see her beloved daughter again.

A week had gone by since Ren and Alice had first found Luna in their home. Nearly every day since, the couple had made sure to visit their daughter in ALO at least for a little bit each day. Luna seemed to have no knowledge of the fact that ALO was a virtual world, and since there was no telling what might happen to her mental state if they explained it to her, the couple had agreed to leave things as they were.

On one day, they had brought Luna to Yggdrasil City to go for a fun shopping trip, at least fun for Alice and Luna. However, the revelation of the special event and Luna being related had made her quite popular amongst players and forced the family of three to cut the trip short. From then on, Ren and Alice had agreed that it would be best to keep Luna away from any crowded areas. Lunet was a fairly big town after all and Luna seemed to enjoy it.

Once Alicia had arrived at the school's courtyard, she noticed Dan waiting for her. She waved over to her boyfriend. "Hey Dan! You ready to get going?"

"Yeah." Dan nodded.

The couple walked off together out of the school and towards their homes. A floor above hem at the cafeteria, Emi, Rika, and Lilina watched the couple walk away.

"Geez, those two have spent every day with Luna for the past week." Emi sighed. "They're acting even more lovey dovey than usual."

"I know. It's so annoying." Rika groaned. "Why can't we be like that with someone?"

"Speak for yourselves. I've already got a boyfriend." Lilina grinned.

Emi scowled as she looked at the red-haired merchant. "Did you just come here to rub the fact that we're not in a relationship in our faces?"

"Eh, that was part of it." Lilina shrugged. "Anyway, I've got to get going."

Rika raised a brow as she saw Lilina get up. "Where are you going? Got a date with Hyde?"

Lilina grinned to herself. "Oh just a little business venture."

Emi and Rika watched as Lilina skipped out of the cafeteria. "I don't like that look in her eye. She's planning something."

"I've learned that if it doesn't involve me, it's best to ignore it when it comes to Dagger." Emi told her friend.

* * *

"Link Start!"

Ren opened his eyes as he awoke in his bed in Alfheim. Alice soon appeared next to him. The couple got off of the bed and went into the living room.

Asleep on the couch was Luna. She always seemed to be asleep whenever Ren and Alice weren't online, which was convenient. The last thing the couple wanted was for Luna to wander around bored out of her mind when they weren't here.

Alice walked over to Luna and gently stroked her hair. "Luna, wake up."

Luna slowly blinked her eyes open. As she saw her mother's smiling face, she leaped into her arms. "Mama!"

"Hey Luna. Have you been a good girl?" Alice asked. In response, Luna nodded her head. "Alright then. What do you say we go play outside?"

"Yay!" Luna said with a ecstatic cheer. The little girl's enthusiasm never failed to make Ren and Alice smile.

Luna got on Ren's back and he lifted her up for a piggyback ride. "Alright then Luna. Let's get-"

"Oh Luna! Guess who it is?!"

Alice walked over to the window and looked outside to see Helios walking up to the house. Her motherly instincts kicked in and she sped out of the house before Helios could get any closer, blocking off his path.

"Hey Alice." Helios said with a wave of his hand. "Do you think Luna would like to spend some time with her Uncle Helios?"

"Not happening Helios!" Alice told him.

"But why?!"

"Because I don't want you corrupting Luna!"

"Oh come on, what's the worst that could happen if I spend some time with the kid." Helios paused for a moment as he considered his words. "Don't answer that question."

Alice kept up her glare at the Salamander. "No. I'm not letting you near Luna, and that's final."

"Alright fine! If you're not going to let me spend time with your programmed daughter, then I'm not gonna let you know what Dagger is pl-" Helios immediately bit his tongue to prevent anymore from being said. Too bad for him because the damage was already done.

"What exactly is Dagger planning?" Alice asked with a raised brow.

"N-Nothing. Forget I said anything. She probably isn't even online right now so how could she be planning anything… if she even was! Which she isn't!" With Alice's glare intensifying, Helios decided it was time to retreat. "W-Well I gotta get going, so bye!"

Alice watched as Helios flew off before she could grab him. The mention of Dagger planning something worried Alice a little, but she decided she would cross that bridge when she came to it.

After Helios had left, Ren walked outside with Luna. The young AI looked at her mother curiously. "Mama, who was that?"

"No one sweetie. Don't worry." Alice assured her. In the back of her mind she was already planning on getting back at Helios for calling Luna their 'programmed' daughter. He was going to pay for that comment, no doubt about it. "So, what do you want to do?"

"Umm…" Luna thought to herself, before coming up with an idea. "I know! I want to go super fast like Papa!"

Alice blinked in surprise. "That might be a little difficult Luna."

"Maybe not." Ren said as he thought to himself.

Alice looked at her in-game husband with mild curiosity. "What do you have in mind Ren?"

Ren kneeled down to get eye level with Luna. "Get on my back, Luna. I think I have an idea."

Luna obeyed her father and got on Ren's back, wrapping her arms around his neck from behind. "Ok Papa, I'm ready."

"Hold on really tight, ok Luna?" Ren told her. Luna nodded her head and Ren spread his wings. With a powerful flap of them, Ren took off into the air at full speed.

"WOAH!" Luna exclaimed as she struggled to hang on. She felt her hair get blown back, the wind rushing past her as she soared through the air with Ren.

"Want me to slow down Luna?" Ren asked.

"No! Go faster Papa!" Luna said with an ecstatic cheer. She laughed in delight as she felt the same speed Ren always did.

Alice watched as Ren and Luna soared through the sky. She was a little worried about Luna being able to hang on at such high speeds, but she was sure Ren would be careful with her. Plus, even if Luna lost her grip, she would have more than enough time to fly up and catch her.

Luna giggled as she hung onto Ren. "This is amazing Papa! You're awesome!"

Ren continued to give Luna a ride for the next few minutes before descending back onto the ground. As she got off, it was clear to see how dizzy Luna was from the flight. She stumbled around, trying to regain her balance.

"You're one tough girl Luna, that's for sure." Ren told her. "I can't believe you were able to hang on with how fast I was going."

Luna grinned from the praise she received from her father. Ren kneeled down and rubbed Luna's hair playfully.

"So Luna, what do you want to-" Ren paused as he turned his head towards the nearby woods. He kept his eyes glued to the trees, not moving them away.

"Papa? What's wrong?" Luna asked.

"What is it Ren?" Alice asked, seeing the seriousness in Ren's eyes.

"Whoever's there, come out now." Ren said.

The forest stayed silent for a few seconds before a figure rushed through the trees. Ren couldn't recognize what race this person was from based on their wings, but the tight grip on their sword showed they weren't here to chat.

Ren quickly equipped Ragnarok from his menu and charged at the mystery attacker. As their swords clashed, Ren noticed a second figure fly past him and go towards Luna. _'Shit!'_

Luna widened her eyes in fear as the assailant closed in on her, but Alice quickly acted and appeared in front of the attacker, smashing him into the ground with her fist.

"DON'T YOU DARE LAY A HAND ON HER!" Alice yelled.

The attacker that Alice dealt with laid defeated in a crater. They didn't even have the strength to hold onto their sword as Alice lifted them out. Ren's opponent didn't prove much of a challenge for him as he easily disarmed him and backed him into a corner.

The two assailants had been restrained and were in no position to fight back anymore, unless they wanted to go another round with Alice and her high STR stat. They both wore metalic armor covering their entire bodies and both of their weapons were slim one-handed swords.

"Start talking." Ren said. "Who are you and why did you attack us?"

The two of them looked at each other before turning back towards the couple. "We're warriors from Asgard. We were sent to capture that child there." he said, pointing towards Luna.

The mention of Asgard told Ren and Alice that these two were NPCs and not players. Alice glared at the two of them. "What do you want with Luna?"

"That child there will bring about the end of the world." the other one told the couple.

"The end of the world?" Ren asked with a raised brow.

"A dark force is residing within her." he explained. "She's evil and she'll-" he was cut off as Alice grabbed him by the throat. She glared murderously at him.

"Don't you ever call Luna evil in front of me." Alice told him. After nearly choking the life out of him, Alice tossed him back over to his partner. "Leave now. And if you ever try something like this again, you won't be walking away with all your limbs attached, got it?"

The two Asgard warriors could tell Alice wasn't joking. Even if they had orders from their gods, they had already failed their mission. The retreated and flew off. Before they left though, one of them turned around and said something to Alice. "Just remember our words. That child WILL bring about the world's destruction if something isn't done."

Ren and Alice watched as the two NPCs flew off into the distance. Alice walked over to Luna, who still seemed a little frightened. "It's ok Luna. You're safe."

"Mama… who were those scary people?" Luna asked. "And what did they mean by evil?"

"Don't worry about it. The scary people are gone now." Alice told her with a reassuring smile as she lifted her daughter into her arms. "What do you say we go home and relax for now?"

"Aww. But I wanted to play some more." Luna said.

"We can play at home too Luna." Ren told her. He could tell what Alice was thinking. Right now, they couldn't afford for Luna to be out in the open after what had just happened. "Your mama and I can tell you a story when we get home if you want."

"Promise?"

Ren nodded his head. "Yes, we promise."

"Ok then." Luna smiled. Ren let Luna ride on his back as the family of three walked back to the house.

Little did they know that a plot involving Luna was already in the works. It wasn't a plot from the warriors of Asgard. No, this one involved a single individual. A Spriggan merchant with her hair tied up in a ponytail.

* * *

"So there he was, standing six meters high" Alice said as she raised her arms high into the air. Luna sat on the couch and listened to the story with her eyes gleaming with excitement. "He was massive, really scary, and had horns coming out of his head. His name struck fear in the hearts of warriors."

"What was it?" Luna asked, on the edge of her seat.

Alice leaned in towards Luna for dramatic effect. "Sheeptar the Sheep King."

Luna gasped in awe. She had been excited to hear the story her parents had promised her and so far they hadn't disappointed her.

Ren continued the story. "You should have seen it Luna. He was climbing the walls and spitting acid. A team of warriors, including your mother and I, were sent to take it down and bring peace back to Aincrad."

"And then?!" Luna asked. "What happened?!"

As Alice was about to keep talking and continue the story, she heard a loud commotion going on outside. The noise caught the interest of Luna and Ren as well. Luna got off of the couch and ran over to the window, peering her head out.

"Mama, why are there so many people outside?" Luna asked.

Curious as to what was going on, Alice walked over to the window and picked Luna up. Staring out the window, she gasped at what she saw. There was a crowd of players standing not too far outside their home. And Dagger standing at the front, facing the crowd was the only Alice needed to realize what was going on.

"That's right everyone! For only 500 col, you can spend five minutes with Alfheim's newest little angel! The AI that's exclusive only to the latest event!" Dagger said in a cheerful voice as she addressed the crowd. "Single file please. No pushing."

"What's going on?" Ren asked as he walked up to Alice and Luna. He looked out the window and saw the scene going on outside their house. "Oh you have got to be kidding me."

Alice groaned as she handed Luna over to Ren. "Hold her for a bit. I'll deal with this."

Outside of Ren and Alice's home, Dagger was busy dealing with the large crowd in front of her. There had to be at least a hundred players here. With 500 col each, and no cost for her to set this up, she'd have a very nice profit by the end of this. "Now, now everyone. You'll all get your chance to be with Alfheim's sweetest little angel, so-"

"WHAT THE HELL DAGGER?!"

Dagger turned around and felt a nervous sweat go down her back as she saw Alice storm over to her. She was pissed, no doubt about it.

"Hey Alice." Dagger said with an innocent smile. "Do you think Luna could come out and play? There's a ton of players that want to meet her."

"Hell no!" Alice yelled. "Luna isn't some idol for you to show off to everyone! What were you thinking doing something like this without asking me or Ren first?!"

"What, would you have rather I kidnapped her and shown her off to every player in Yggdrasil City?"

Alice stared at Dagger in disbelief, trying to find the right words to say. Eventually she pinched the bridge of her nose in frustration. "Get rid of this crowd. Luna is not being shown off so you can make some easy cash."

"But Alice-"

"NOW!"

"Fine." Dagger moaned. She turned to face the crowd of customers. "Sorry everyone. Change of plans. Looks like little Luna won't be available today." The sounds of booing echoed throughout the crowd. Dagger responded by pointing over to Alice. "Hey, if you want to try to get past her and risk getting your limbs chopped off by her scythe, be my guest."

The stern glare Alice was giving off caused many players to agree with Dagger on the matter. The crowd quickly dispersed, leaving Dagger and Alice alone.

"The next time you try something like this, I'm not giving you or your customer the option to run. Remember that Dagger." Alice said sternly as she walked back to the house.

Back inside, Luna watched at how easily Alice got rid of the crowd. "Mama can be really scary sometimes."

"You're not wrong about that Luna." Ren said in agreement. "But she does it out of love."

Alice walked back into the house and let out an exhausted sigh. "Well at least that's finally over."

"Can we continue the story, Mama?" Luna asked.

Alice nodded at her daughter and smiled. "Of course sweetheart." The family of three sat back down on the couch as Ren and Alice continued the story of Sheeptar the Sheep King. Looking back, the couple had to admit it was a very stupid boss design on Kayaba's part. But they could laugh about it now.

When the story had finally finished, Luna seemed as if she was about to fall off her seat from how excited she was. "Wow! That was so cool!"

Ren and Alice smiled at each other. Having Luna around really made their lives in this house a lot happier. Ren looked at his in-game wife. "So what should we do next? Got any ideas Alice?"

"Hmm…" Alice brought her hand to her chin as she thought to herself. Suddenly a lightbulb flashed in her head. "I've got an idea!" She quickly opened her menu and looked at her Friend's List. "Good. It looks like they're online."

"What is it, Mama?" Luna asked.

Alice smiled at her daughter. "Luna, I think I just found you a playmate."

* * *

"Come on Luna! This way!"

"Wait for me, Yui!"

The two girls laughed and played together outside of Kirito and Asuna's home on Floor 22. Over by the porch of the house, Kirito and Asuna, along with Ren and Alice, watched the girls run around carefree.

"Thanks a lot you guys." Ren said. "Luna looks like she's having fun."

"You don't need to thank us." Asuna told them. "There's not a lot of kids Yui's age that play ALO. It's nice for her to have someone to play with besides us."

Kirito smiled as he watched the two girls play. "They sure seem to be having fun."

Yui and Luna giggled as they ran around by the woods. They chased after a rabbit running around until it sprinted away. A pair of squirrels came up and climbed up Luna, going into her clothes.

"Hahaha! Stop it, that tickles!" Luna giggled, unable to control her laughter.

Yui laughed at Luna's predicament. She was soon laughing for a different reason as the squirrels jumped out of Luna's shirt and into Yui's dress. "Hey! Don't do tha- Hahahaha!"

The two couples chuckled as they watched the two girls enjoy themselves. Yui and Luna continued to play for what seemed like forever. When it started to get late, Ren and Alice brought Luna back home. The yawning coming from her as Alice carried her on her back was a clear indicator that playing with Yui had tired her out. She was happy that Luna had enjoyed herself so much.

When they finally arrived back at their home in Lunet, Luna was already fast asleep. Ren gently removed Luna from Alice's back without waking her and laid her on the couch. Alice put the blanket over her daughter and kissed her on the forehead like she always did.

"Good night, Luna. Sweet dreams."

Ren and Alice went to their room to log out for the night. After they left, Luna continued to lay on the couch fast asleep. Her smile soon turned into a frown however as she squirmed in her sleep as if she was trapped in a nightmare. A voice echoed in her head.

'_You are a cursed child. You will bring ruin to this world.'_

**A/N: Hope you all liked the chapter. As I'm sure you can tell, the arc will start to take a more serious tone from here on. Next chapter will be out tomorrow, so you'll just have to wait until then.**


	110. Programmed Daughter

**A/N: Here it is everyone. Third chapter of the week. Not much to say this time, but I guess that's what happens when you update daily for the week. Enjoy.**

The cafeteria for the SAO Survivor School was relatively empty. The last bell had rung about an hour ago and most of the students had already gone home for the day. The group of Asuna, Lilina, Alicia, Emi, Rika, and Keiko sat around a table and were chatting.

Usually when the girls met like this, they would talk about idle gossip and other small things. But what they were talking about was very big and very important to all of them. Prom.

Last year, there had been next to no seniors in the SAO Survivor School. As a result, the idea of a prom had flown over everyone's heads. This year, there would be a fair number of students graduating from the school. But the number was still small. So a solution was reached. A prom open to all of the students in the school. And being the handy girls they were, Asuna and the others had all volunteered to plan it.

Asuna was an obvious choice for head of the committee. She was probably the biggest romantic in the entire school. Lilina, to nobody's surprise, was the financial manager of the group and had done a good job getting all of the supplies and decorations they would need at good prices. The other girls had all been assigned to various tasks in helping out with prom. All in all, things were looking good.

"So where do we stand on food?" Alicia asked, looking over to Rika.

"I've found a few good places willing to cater the event." Rika explained as she handed over a list to Asuna. "We just need to be careful to stay within our budget."

"Leave that to me." Lilina said with a prideful grin. "Worse comes to worse, I could always persuade the teachers to give us a little more cash for our budget."

Asuna nodded her head in agreement. She didn't typically like Lilina's money-loving personality, but it came in VERY handy when it worked in her favor. "Alright, I think that's enough for now. Let's take a quick break."

Rika let out a relieved sigh as her head slumped onto the table. "Geez, this is so much work. I know there aren't that many girls at this school, but you'd think we'd have a little more people helping us."

"It can't be helped." Alicia said. "A lot of our volunteers are available for setting up everything at the dance. That leaves us with planning."

"At least Argo's made that easier by giving us good places to use for buying everything we need." Emi added.

"Enough about setting up prom for now. Let's just chat." Asuna suggested.

Keiko raised a brow at Asuna's behavior. "I'd thought you'd be the most into prom out of everyone. Now you suddenly want to change the subject."

"Hey, I can be laid back and relaxed when I want to be." Asuna argued. She rested her chin on her arms as she grinned at the girls. "So, who're you taking to the dance Rika?"

Rika frowned at her friend. "Well that explains it. You just wanted to ask if Yuya's asked me yet, didn't you?"

"Now what makes you think that?" Asuna asked innocently.

Rika rolled her eyes. "Since you won't shut up until I tell you, no he hasn't asked me. And why do we have to go together in the first place?"

"Because you two would be perfect for each other!" Asuna exclaimed with a girlish squeal. "Ugh, I know Yuya's shy but why can't he just ask you out already?!"

Rika sighed as she shook her head at her friend. "Look, as much as I'd like a date to the dance to avoid Hyde mocking me for not having one, I don't absolutely have to go with Yuya."

Suddenly the mocking laughter of a familiar jackass came from the entrance to the cafeteria. "As if anyone would ask someone as manish looking as you, blacksmith!"

Rika groaned as her hand curled up into a fist. "Give me a break."

Hyde walked up to the girls and gave Rika a mocking pat on the head. "Don't worry. Maybe you could try paying someone to go with you. Everyone has their price, even for girls like you." He then glanced towards Emi. "I'm sure the squirt can tell you what a good asking price is."

Some of the girls looked towards Emi, wondering what Hyde was talking about. She glared at Hyde. "You swore never to bring that up."

"Come on Hyde, lay off them." Alicia said. "Rika's chances of Yuya asking her out aren't THAT low." She then proceeded to deliver a smack to the back of Hyde's head.

"Ow! What was that for?!" Hyde asked.

"That was for calling Luna my _programmed_ daughter the other day." Alicia told him with a large amount of emphasis on the word 'programmed'.

Hyde rolled his eyes. "Well she is, isn't she?"

"No she isn't!" Alice said with her voice raised as she stood up and glared at Hyde. "I don't appreciate you acting like Luna is just a bunch of ones and zeros. And with that argument, you could say the same thing about Yui!"

"Yui is different! She's a highly advanced AI that was designed to be able to process emotion! She can feel and she is real! And whether you like it or not, Luna isn't!" Hyde yelled back at her. "A daughter would mean she's able to think and feel for herself, but she's a PROGRAM! Feelings can't be programmed Alicia!"

The sound of a slap echoed throughout the cafeteria. A slight red imprint was left on Hyde's cheek as Alicia glared at him with tears of rage forming in her eyes.

"You know what Hyde, you really are a complete asshole sometimes." Alicia told him. "What the hell would you know about Luna?! You haven't been spending the past week with her! You haven't seen her smile as she looks at me and Ren!" Not even waiting for a response, she stormed out of the cafeteria. "You're right Hyde. Feelings can't be programmed. And maybe you've been too stupid to notice, but Luna DOES have feelings!"

Hyde watched as Alicia left the cafeteria and walk out of sight. He turned to the other girls and saw them all giving him stern looks. "What?"

"What the hell were you thinking, Hyde?!" Asuna questioned. "We know you're a jerk sometimes, but what you just said there was downright heartless!"

Hyde looked away as he saw the girls giving him similar looks. He clenched his fists. "You think I don't know that? Look, we may not like it, but Kazuto did raise a good point the other day. When this event is over, Luna is probably going to disappear. And the more attached to Luna those two are, the more it's going to hurt them when she leaves."

"So you're trying to lessen the pain by making them think Luna is just a program?" Keiko asked.

"Well what else do you expect me to do?!" Hyde asked the group. "Am I supposed to just sit on my ass and wait for Dan and Alicia to get their hearts broken?!"

"Hyde, we get that your heart's in the right place here." Asuna said. "But you can't expect them to just stop loving Luna. You're right that she may not be as advanced as Yui, but the fact remains that she CAN feel emotion and think for herself. How do you think Luna would feel if Ren and Alice suddenly stopped treating her like their daughter?"

Hyde stood still, trying to come up with an answer. When nothing came to mind, he stormed out of the cafeteria much like Alicia had just done. "Do what you want. But when this ends and those two are crying, don't come asking me for help."

* * *

Luna slowly blinked her eyes open. She let out a yawn as she sat up from the couch and stretched her arms. Looking around the room, she couldn't see either of her parents. She got off of the couch and walked over to the bedroom where they usually slept. But when she walked inside, there was no one there.

"Mama? Papa? Where are you?" Luna called out. The young girl wandered around the house, searching for Ren and Alice. But every room she looked in was empty.

Suddenly a voice echoed in her head. _"You are all alone. There is no one who loves you. No one who cares about you."_

"N-No…" Luna muttered, trying to shake the voice out of her head. "Mama and Papa love me."

"_They wouldn't if they knew what was sleeping within you."_

Luna couldn't make sense of what the voice was saying. Sleeping within her? What did that mean? Her head began to ache as she fell to her knees and held her head in pain.

"_You are a cursed child. You will bring ruin to this world."_

"Mama… Papa… I'm scared." Luna muttered. "Help me."

Suddenly Luna heard the door swing open. She looked over, expecting to see Ren and Alice, but instead it was a group of people wearing armor. She didn't recognize any of them.

"There she is! Capture her!" one of them shouted.

The last thing Luna could remember was passing out as the figures rushed over to her.

* * *

Hyde walked down the halls of the school, contemplating on what he had said to Alicia. He knew it was harsh, but he also knew the pain of having family leave you, a pain that was just starting to heal with his mother.

As Hyde turned the corner, he saw Dan going through his locker. Perhaps Dan would be able to see his argument. He was one of the smartest in the group after all.

"Yo, Dan! What's up?" Hyde said with a wave as he walked up to his friend.

Dan stayed silent for a few moments before responding. "What do you want, Hyde?"

Hyde could sense the disdain in his friend's voice. He knew what it probably meant. "I take it, you just saw Alicia?"

"Yeah. As a matter of fact, I did." Dan told him, as he shut the door to his locker. He looked at his friend with a glare. "What the hell were you thinking, saying something like that to Alicia?!"

"Dan, listen to me." Hyde said with a serious tone. "You realize what's gonna happen once this event is all over. You must know that Luna will probably disappear, right?"

"Of course I know that, you idiot!" Dan yelled. "Do you honestly think it hasn't crossed my mind yet?!"

"Then you get my point, don't you?!" Hyde said. "The more attached you and Alicia are to Luna, the worse it'll be when she's gone."

"I know that, Hyde." Dan told him.

"Then why haven't you said anything to Alicia."

Dan glared at his friend. "Maybe it's too hard for you to grasp Hyde, but I don't really like thinking about the little girl that's been calling me Papa for the past week suddenly disappearing as if she never existed!"

Hyde stood still, staring at his friend. He could see the torment going on inside Dan's head. He knew what the most likely outcome of all this would be. But the pain made it hard to bear. Hyde understood that.

"I'm sure Alicia's probably thought about it a bit herself to." Dan said. "But… we just can't bear the thought of Luna being gone." He turned around and began to walk away. "I get you're thinking about us Hyde, but it won't change how I feel about Luna. If there's any way I can avoid losing her, I'll do it. Both for me and for Alicia."

* * *

_-The next day-_

After a long grueling week of school, the weekend had finally come at last. It was a little past noon, and Dan was waiting for Alicia to come over. The two of them had agreed to spend most of the day with Luna, since they hadn't been able to log on yesterday due to the prom meeting Alicia had been in.

As Dan relaxed on the couch and waited for Alicia to arrive, Clair shot a teasing grin at her brother. "Let me guess. Spending the day with Luna again?"

"Is that a problem? Are you feeling lonely without your big brother around?" Dan asked with his own teasing grin.

"Oh not really. I'm just wondering what mom would do if she had found out about your precious little daughter."

The grin on Dan's face instantly vanished as he looked at his sister. "You wouldn't dare."

"Try me."

"You're Luna's aunt technically." Dan reminded her. "Do you want Luna thinking her aunt can't keep her mouth shut?"

Clair rolled her eyes. "You know with that logic, I could argue that mom is Luna's grandmother. Do you want Luna not knowing her grandmother?"

"... You're getting too clever for your own good, you know that?" Dan told her.

Clair giggled as she went back to relaxing on the couch. Suddenly the doorbell rang, and Dan walked over and opened the door. Standing on the other side was Alicia with her Amu Sphere.

"Hey Dan." Alicia greeted. "You ready?"

Dan nodded his head. "Yep. All set." He then called out to the living room. "As long as a certain SOMEONE can keep their mouth shut."

Clair whistled innocently, causing Dan to roll his eyes in annoyance. He and Alicia went upstairs to his room. The couple laid on the couch and fit their Amu Sphere rigs over their heads. They both entered the virtual world at the same time.

"Link Start!"

Dan felt his vision go completely white. When he safely logged on, he opened his eyes and woke up in the bedroom of his and Alice's player home. Alice was laying right beside him.

As he stretched his arms and sat up, Ren let out a yawn. He didn't know why, but whenever he logged in at this house, he felt like he had just woken up from a nap.

Alice sat up from the bed, excited to see her daughter. She got off of the bed and walked into the living room. "Luna, are you-"

Ren looked curiously at Alice when her voice stopped. The female Imp seemed to be gasping at something. He quickly walked over to see what she was looking at that had her so shocked. When he looked into the living room, he ended up just as shocked as his virtual wife.

The house was a mess. Chairs and tables were knocked over. Obvious signs of a struggle or some kind of skirmish were present. But that wasn't even the worst thing that the couple had noticed. What worried them most of all was one simple fact. Luna was missing.

**A/N: Only two chapters left readers. How will the arc end? Stay tuned to find out.**


	111. Raiding Asgard

**A/N: Phew, writing out this chapter in one day was NOT easy. I had to have Luminous Sword playing in the background just to keep myself going, but I finally managed to do it. Here's the next chapter everyone. Hope you enjoy it.**

"Luna?! Luna, where are you?!" Alice called out.

Ren and Alice looked all around their house for the young AI. Unfortunately, there seemed to be no sign of her. Their house was a mess, meaning someone had most likely broken in. The couple slowly began to grow more and more worried.

What really puzzled Ren was how someone could have gotten inside. The system shouldn't allow other players to enter the house while they were logged out. Could Luna have answered the door for someone? No, that was also unlikely. As far as Ren could tell, the system had Luna in some kind of sleep mode whenever Ren and Alice were logged out.

"Where could she be Ren?" Alice asked. "I'm worried about her."

"Let's try going to Yggdrasil City and asking around." Ren suggested.

Alice nodded in agreement and the couple left their house. They brought out their wings and quickly took off towards the teleport gate in Lunet. When they reached it, the two of them instantly teleported to Yggdrasil City to search for Luna. It was the most populated city in Alfheim. Surely someone must know something.

When Ren and Alice's avatars manifested in Yggdrasil City, both of them could tell that something was up. The city seemed darker for some reason. Many players were all standing still and staring at something. When Ren and Alice looked in the direction everyone was staring at, the both widened their eyes.

"What is that?" Alice asked.

Floating next to the World Tree and piercing the clouds themselves was a giant structure. It was massive and it was easy to see that it was what was casting the long shadow over Yggdrasil City and Arun right now. It had a golden glowing aura around it. Fancy regal decorations were seen around the outside of it. The best idea Ren and Alice had was that it was a temple of some kind.

Suddenly Ren remembered something. The event had mentioned a new dungeon that would be unlocked for a short period of time during the event. The thing standing before them, and everyone else in Arun and Yggdrasil City could definitely qualify as a dungeon based on its size.

"Do you think…" Alice began.

"Yeah." Ren said with a nod of his head. It was too big to be a simple coincidence. "That's probably the special dungeon that was mentioned for the event. And I'm betting that's where Luna is."

* * *

As soon as they could, Ren and Alice had contacted all of their friends and gotten together to figure out what was going on. They were all currently gathered in Liz's shop. The entirety of Wyvern's Inferno was present, including Riku, as well as Kirito, Asuna, Silica, Leafa, Sinon, Klein, Ayumi, and of course Liz.

Suddenly the door to the shop swung open as the last arrival ran in. "Sorry I'm late." Saki said. "I logged on as soon as I saw Rika- I mean Liz's text."

"Better late than never." Kirito said. "Alright, now that everyone's here, let's figure out what we know so far."

The group quickly began trading information about what they had learned by asking around. Apparently the floating temple was indeed a dungeon, which was identified as Asgard. Based on the assumption that Luna was somewhere in there, Ren and Alice were able to guess that the ones that had taken Luna were Asgard's soldiers, like the ones that had attacked them the other day in Lunet. It also explained why someone had been able to enter their home while they were logged out. It was all part of the event.

From what the group had heard, several players had already attempted to approach Asgard. Every single time though, they had been forced back by vicious lightning attacks. After a series of attempts, no one had come close to infiltrating Asgard. Eventually a notification was sent out to everyone. It read that only the players linked to the event- in other words Ren and Alice- and a maximum of two other parties chosen by them would be allowed entry into the dungeon. Looking at their current group, they had a total of sixteen players. Split into three parties, they wouldn't have close to the total amount of manpower they would have liked.

"We could really use some more players with us for this." Asuna said. "But if we just grab random people off the street, our balance will be all out of whack."

"Is that so? Then maybe I could be of some assistance."

Everyone jerked their heads to see a familiar Spriggan standing in the corner of the shop. Nobody seemed to know when or how he had arrived, but the hawk mask covering the top half of his face told them who he was.

"Long time no see, Yaksha." Ren said, trying to contain his surprise. "And yeah, we could definitely use your help. Thanks for offering."

"A new dungeon linked to a special event means a large number of rare items. I'll take whatever I get from my drops as payment, former tactician of the front lines." Yaksha said simply.

'_Still with the whole formal way of speaking. This guy never changes.'_ Ren thought to himself.

"You know you're gonna need my help too Renny-kins!"

Alice groaned slightly as she heard Asami walk through the door to the shop. "What are you doing here, Asami?"

"I'm just here to help Ren." Asami sternly told her. "No way can I leave you in charge of watching his back."

Alice growled as she glared daggers at Asami. "Say that again. I dare you."

"Alice." Ren said, stopping tensions between the two girls from escalating any further. "I know you and Asami aren't exactly the best of friends. But if we're going to save Luna, then we're going to need all the help we can get."

The female Imp mumbled something under her breath before agreeing. As much as she didn't like Asami, rescuing Luna was at the top of her priorities.

"Alright so we've got eighteen people now." Ren said. "We still have three more open slots for a full three parties, but who knows how much time we have. We'll just have to make do with three parties of six. Is everyone ok with that?" Everyone nodded in agreement. "Alright then. Let's divide into teams and then storm Asgard!"

"Right!" the group shouted in unison.

After carefully going through the roster of players they had available, Ren and the others made up their parties. The first one consisted of Ren, Alice, Helios, Dagger, Mai, and Himiko, the current Wyvern's Inferno with the exception of Riku. Party two had Kirito at the lead, along with Asuna, Klein, Sinon, Riku, and Leafa. Lastly was party three, which was made up of Asami, Yaksha, Ayumi, Liz, Silica, and Saki.

The second that everyone was stocked up on potions and healing items and their weapons had all been repaired, the group took off towards Asgard. The flying temple in the sky seemed to be daring them to come as they flew closer towards it. Everyone steeled themselves for the fights that would be awaiting them once they were inside.

'_Hang on Luna. We're coming.'_ Ren silently thought.

To their benefit, the message sent to them was correct, and they weren't attacked by lightning. They landed at the entrance to Asgard. A short path stretched out before them, ending at two large doors.

"Alright, is everyone ready?" Ren asked. The entire group all nodded in response and took off running towards the doors.

"The second we step in there, it's gonna be one fight after the next." Kirito guessed.

"That works fine for us." Helios said with a smirk. "We'll take down anything that gets in our way and save Luna."

"Quite the change in attitude from yesterday Helios." Alice said harshly.

Helios grimaced, knowing Alice was right. "Look, I know what I said yesterday was harsh. But I'm here now. That should mean that I want to save Luna, if nothing else."

Alice still didn't seem to believe her friend, but decided to let it go for now. They wouldn't have time to argue once they entered the dungeon.

As they approached the large doors, Alice reeled her fist back. She swung it forward with all her might, making the doors swing open with ease. What greeted them on the other side was not what they would have liked to see though.

Hundreds of guards were awaiting them. They all had the same armor and basic one-handed sword equipped. But the number of them was going to make things difficult. The real problem though was what was standing at the end of the army. The Nordic god of thunder, Thor.

"Who dares to enter the sacred realm of Asgard, unannounced?" Thor asked with a booming voice that echoed clearly all the way over towards the group.

Alice glared hell at Thor. "The people who you stole Luna from! Tell us where she is!"

Thor stared at Alice, bowing his head slightly. "I see. You are the girl's parents. You have my sincerest apologizes, but we cannot allow that child to live."

The grip Alice had on her scythe tightened. She knew they had planned on capturing Luna, but killing her? That was the thing that pushed Alice's motherly instincts to their limit. "If you plan on killing Luna, you're going to have to kill us first."

"If that girl lives, then the thing sleeping within her will awaken. If that happens, we are all doomed." Thor replied.

"I don't know what the hell you're talking about." Ren said. "But god or no god, we're taking Luna back with us. Alive."

"Then you leave me no choice." Thor said with a sigh of regret. "Soldiers! Do not let them pass!"

The group watched as the army of soldiers all got into their fighting stances and prepared to attack. Mai growled in annoyance. "We don't have time for this."

Suddenly, a loud bash was heard behind the group. All heads turned to see Asami stab her large two-handed sword into the ground. She cracked her knuckles and smirked. "Leave this cannon fodder and that pathetic excuse of a god to me and my party. You guys get moving and rescue this Luna girl you're so high strung about."

"Asami…" Alice gasped.

"Don't go getting all teary eyed on me, Alice." Asami said, stepping forward. "I'm just selecting the best members for the mission at hand. I was a tactician after all. I wouldn't expect someone like you to wrap your head around it."

Despite the harsh words and insults mixed in, Alice could tell what Asami was trying not to say straight out. She was entrusting the mission and more surprisingly Ren's safety to her. The female Imp gave her a thumbs up. "You got it Asami. Just don't go getting yourself killed, or I'll never let you live it down."

"Same to you, Alice." Asami grinned. "Alright guys! Let's clear a path for them!"

"Leave it to me!" Ayumi said as she stepped forward and brought out her two crossbows. She held them up and quickly chanted a spell. When she finished, she aimed her two weapons at the army standing in front of them with the arrows on both of her crossbows veiled in a red light. She fired them and the arrows rocketed towards the soldiers, exploding upon impact.

"Way to go Ayumi!" Asuna cheered.

With the battle started, the soldiers all charged at the group. Asami ran in and leaped into the air. Her sword glowed as she crashed down upon the army, creating an even larger gap in the formation of the Asgard soldiers.

"Now guys! Move it!" Asami yelled.

The other two parties didn't need to be told twice as they ran into the fray, attacking the weakened area of the formation and breaking through with ease. But Thor still stood in their way, and the Nordic god did not seem willing to let them pass. He swung his massive hammer down at the group.

"Not gonna happen, pal!" Liz shouted as she leaped up and swung her weapon with all her strength, clashing head on with the hammer. The fact that the weapon in Liz's hand was Mjollnir, which Klein had given to her after the Excalibur quest, was about the only thing that kept her from being swatted away like a fly. With the back-up of Asami, the two girls managed to parry the attack. Ren and Kirito's parties ran past Thor and further into the dungeon.

Thor stared down at the party of six that stayed behind to fight him and his army. "What you are doing will bring ruin to the world. Please, you must understand."

"No, you understand!" Liz shouted, holding the hammer and pointing it towards Thor. "We don't care what you gods have to say, there's no way we'd let our friends down."

Thor looked at Liz, recognizing her. "You. You were one of the fairies that helped me reclaim my treasure from Thrymr. I gifted you with that hammer"

"That's right, and I plan on using this hammer to knock some sense into that thick skull of yours." Liz shouted. "We'll take you down, and then our friends will save Luna!"

"Very well then." Thor said as he stood, ready to fight. "Show me your power and conviction!"

Asami and Liz jumped back as Thor's hammer came crashing down on them. The two girls fell back and regrouped with the rest of their party members.

"Alright Asami, you're in charge here." Liz said. "You're the tactician out of our group so tell us what to do."

Asami nodded her head. "You and I will do some crowd control on these soldiers and get Thor's aggro on us." She looked at Saki and Ayumi next. "Undine kid, stay back and heal. Puca girl, you keep him safe and buff us." She then turned her attention towards Yaksha and Silica. "Yaksha, you take out as many of these soldiers as quickly as you can. Cait Sith, you back him up since you won't deal much damage with that dagger."

Silica gave a smirk. "Don't worry. I have a way of dealing plenty of damage."

"That so? Well then show us what you got. It'll make soldier clearing a lot easier."

Silica nodded and looked at her familiar. "You ready, Pina?" The dragon gave a cry of agreement and sat on Silica's head. She recited a spell as her avatar became veiled in light. Asami and the others shielded their eyes as Silica and Pina merged together. When they could see again, they all gasped at Silica's new form.

"What the hell is that?" Saki asked.

"It's a high level Cait Sith spell called Perfect Synchronization." Silica explained as she gripped her dagger tightly. "Check it out." With surprising speed, Silica dashed through a line of soldiers, ripping through all of them with her weapon and taking them out instantly.

Asami blinked in surprise, but was soon grinning. "Now that's what I'm talking about. We're gonna need to do our best to keep up with her. Alright everyone, let's do this!"

"Right!" the group all shouted.

Asami and Liz charged towards the soldiers near Thor. As they ran, Asami looked over at Liz. "By the way, who's this Luna girl that everyone keeps talking about?"

"Oh her? She's Ren and Alice's daughter." Liz explained.

Asami's jaw dropped as she stopped in her tracks. "Their WHAT?!"

* * *

Ren and the others ran through the temple of Asgard as fast as their virtual legs would allow them. Even though there was a gigantic army that had greeted them the second they entered, there were still no shortage of soldiers to deal with further in. Luckily, the twelve of them were more than capable in dealing with the soldiers sent their way.

They had gone through every door they could find, desperate to find Luna. After fighting their way through four grueling floors, they had finally arrived at the end of the dungeon, where two massive golden doors stood in front of them.

"How much Yld you guys wanna bet that there's gonna be an insanely hard boss past here?" Dagger asked to no one in particular.

"It doesn't matter what's waiting for us past these doors." Alice said. "If Luna's here, then we have to beat it."

"We understand how you feel Alice." Asuna said, putting a comforting hand on her friend's shoulder. "But we can't go rushing in blindly. We need to calm down and mentally prepare ourselves for whatever's waiting for us."

Alice nodded her head and took a deep breath. "You're right. Thanks Asuna."

"I don't know if it'll be possible, but we should try and see if we can grab Luna during the boss fight." Kirito suggested. "If we can, then the best person for that would be Ren."

The tactician nodded his head. "If I can get a good enough opening while you guys distract the boss, I should be able to get her safely. But that's assuming it'll be possible for us to do that at all."

"Right. So we've got ourselves a game plan." Alice said.

"Leafa and Mai can buff you guys while I focus on healing." Asuna suggested. "With twelve people, we're going to need as many people working support as we can."

Ren nodded in agreement. "Sounds good. Alright, is everyone ready?" He saw everyone nod their heads. Asuna, Mai, and Leafa all began applying buffs to the group. Once everyone was ready, they pushed open the doors and walked inside.

As they stepped inside, Ren and the others couldn't help but be impressed at the design of the place. The room was huge, and even more decorated than the outside of the temple. Golden pillars held up the ceiling, all decorated with streams of white cloth. The outside sky could be seen from a few balconies at the side of the room. What really caught everyone's attention though was Luna lying weakly on the ground in the center of a weird looking circle at the other end of the room.

"Luna!" Alice exclaimed. She took off running for her daughter, but stopped in her tracks as a booming sound was heard that suddenly shook the room. The group struggled to keep their balance as one shake came after another. Looking past Luna, they were able to see what, or in this case who, was causing the tremors.

A large giant around the same size as Thor stepped past Luna and stood firm. He was dressed in a long red regal-looking robe. A long white beard fell from his face. The crown on his head was decorated with several jewels.

"I am Odin, King of Asgard." the giant spoke. "I am impressed you have been able to make it this far."

"You can keep your praise!" Alice yelled. "Give us back Luna!"

"That is something I am afraid I cannot do." Odin replied. "This child must be executed as soon as possible."

"Why?!" Alice shouted. "What did Luna ever do to deserve this?! Why do you gods want her dead so badly?!"

Odin's expression grimace as he looked at Alice. "The child herself has done nothing. If there were any way we could allow her to live, I would rather do that than this. But unfortunately, to prevent the disaster that is to come, she must die."

"What disaster?! Why do you keep acting like Luna is some sort of monster?!" Ren asked.

"The child isn't a monster, but the thing sleeping within her is."

Alice gave a confused look at Odin. "The thing sleeping within her? What's that supposed to mean?"

"I suppose you have a right to know." Odin said as he began to explain. "Nine years ago, a terrible beast threatened to destroy the world. It was a monstrous snake by the name of Jormungandr. It threatened to devour the whole world, and the many other worlds connected by Yggdrasil. Myself and the gods of Aesir battled against the monstrous beast for several days. After much fighting, and several tragic deaths, we succeeded in finally slaying the beast. Or so we thought at least."

"What do you mean?" Leafa asked. "And what does this have to do with Luna?"

Odin frowned as his expression darkened. "In a desperate attempt to survive, Jormungandr split part of its own essence from itself and searched for a host to reside in while it recovered. The host it found was that of an infant fairy who had recently been born into the world at the time."

Alice's eyes widened as she realized who Odin was referring to. "Luna."

Odin silently nodded his head. "After all this time, Jormungandr has nearly recovered all of its strength. If things stay the way they are, the great beast will revive and the world will be in peril once again. The only way to stop this is to kill the child while Jormungandr still sleeps within her." He stared at the group with an apologetic look on his face. "Forgive me, but this is the only way."

Alice clenched her fists as her whole body shook with rage. "Why… Why should Luna have to die because of your mistake? It's not fair… IT'S NOT FAIR DAMNIT!"

"You are correct, young fairy." Odin nodded. "But whether it is fair or not, Jormungandr cannot be allowed to revive."

"That's too bad." Ren said, grabbing the hilt of Ragnarok sheathed to his back. "Cause we're not letting Luna die. If Jormungandr revives, then we'll find a way to stop it without killing Luna."

"Very well then." Odin said. The god held his hand out and a long silver spear manifested in front of him. "As king of Aesir, I cannot allow Jormungandr to bring ruin to the world again. Please forgive me."

Suddenly, a total of three health bars appeared next to the god, as well as a cursor with the name reading Odin, God of the Aesir. Ren and the others unsheathed their weapons and got ready to fight.

"Stick to the plan everyone." Ren said. "We'll wait for an opportunity to run past him and rescue Luna. For now, focus on figuring out his attack patterns and dealing damage when you can."

"Right!" everyone shouted. The group all charged towards Odin with a collective war cry while Asuna, Mai, and Leafa stayed behind to heal. Ren noticed Alice still slightly shaken by everything going on. He gave his in-game wife a reassuring tap on her back.

"Don't worry Alice. We'll save her, I promise."

Alice looked at Ren and nodded her head. "Yeah, you're right." She grabbed her scythe and got ready to fight. "Now let's take this so-called god down."

Ren smiled as he nodded his head and the couple took off running. Odin swung his spear down at the group with a powerful show of force. Ren and the others jumped out of the way, but had to brace themselves from the shockwave the spear created.

"Sinon, Dagger, cloud his vision!" Ren called out.

The two girls followed Ren's orders and quickly went into action. Dagger chanted a spell and blew out a cloud of black dust that flew towards Odin. The dust hovered around the god's head and dazed him slightly. Sinon followed up by chanting a spell as she aimed her bow at Odin's head. When she finished, she fired the bow, which exploded into a cloud of thick smoke that blinded Odin.

"Now guys! Hit him hard!" Ren shouted.

Nobody needed to be told twice as they all went in for a relentless assault at Odin's legs. Alice's Twilight Crescent lit up with a violet light as the female Imp leaped into the air and spun her body around, delivering a series of slashes down Odin's leg. Ren then switched in and attacked Odin with an 8-hit sword skill. The barrage of attacks sent Odin's health skyrocketing down. The group fell back as the god began to regain his bearings.

"Careful! A breath attack is coming!" Yui warned from Asuna's shoulder.

Just as Yui had said, Odin took a deep breath before blowing a powerful gust of wind at the group all stabbed their weapons into the ground in an attempt to avoid being blown away. Just as the wind attack seemed to begin subsiding, Odin spun his spear above his head, creating a powerful tornado. The force of the wind was too great and pulled out everyone's impaled weapons. They were blown around helplessly in the air.

"Look out guys!" Asuna shouted from the ground.

It wasn't hard for them to guess what Asuna was referring to when they saw Odin reel back his spear with the tip pointed towards them. With one swift motion, the god thrusted his spear forward. The attack sent the group flying back and crashing into the wall. They fell to the ground with a painful thud.

"Damnit… This thing's strong." Helios grunted as he slowly got to his feet.

"How're we supposed to avoid that wind AoE attack?" Riku wondered.

"Hang on. I'll heal you guys as fast as I can." Asuna said as she began chanting a spell. They didn't have time to sit around however as Odin could be seen coming over to them.

Mai pulled out her rapier from her waist. "Leafa and I will keep this old fart busy for a bit while you guys heal." She looked over at her friend. "You ready Leafa?"

"You bet." Leafa grinned. The two Sylphs took off, charging towards Odin at full speed.

Odin saw the two girls coming his way and thrusted his spear down at them. Mai and Leafa leaped sideways to avoid the attack. While the spear was still impaled into the ground, Mai jumped onto it and ran up the shaft of the weapon. She leaped off as Odin pulled it out of the ground and went in for an attack directly at the god's face.

"Take this!" Mai shouted as her rapier glowed in an emerald light. She delivered a series of quick thrusts to Odin's face, dealing a large amount of damage to the boss. As she fell to the ground, her eyes widened as she saw Odin's fist come for her. It collided with her avatar and sent her crashing into the ground, forming a crater upon impact.

"Mai!" Alice exclaimed.

As the debris cleared, the group saw Mai's green remain light burning in the crater. Alice's eyes went from angry to full on rage as she charged at Odin with her HP finally restored to a safe amount.

"This is for Mai you asshole!" Alice yelled with a tight grip on her scythe. Odin prepared another breath attack. Alice impaled the curved blade of her scythe into the ground like last time to avoid being blown away, but the tornado gust from Odin twirling his spear sent her flying into the air once again.

"Alice!" Ren exclaimed as he took off running.

"Don't worry about me!" Alice shouted. "Get to Luna!"

Odin thrusted his spear forward at the female Imp in the air. Alice wasn't willing to get hit by his attack again and this time hooked her scythe around part of Odin's spear to avoid getting blown away. Sheer determination was the only thing that let her hang on. Alice swung herself onto the shaft of the spear and began running along it. Odin tried to swat her off, but Alice jumped onto the other arm instead. When she got close enough, she reeled her fist back as it became veiled in violet light. With a great show of strength, Alice delivered a powerful punch to Odin's face. The god stumbled back slightly, while Alice used the opportunity to hook her scythe around his neck. She yanked it forward and leaped off of Odin, leaving a large red gash on his neck that sent his HP skyrocketing down. Before she could crash into the ground, Kirito ran in and caught her. He put her down once the two of them landed.

"Thanks Kirito." Alice said to the raven haired Spriggan.

"Don't mention it."

Ren used the opportunity Alice had given him to dash over to Luna at full speed. He went into a full out sprint towards his daughter. "Luna!"

Luna opened her eyes as she saw Ren run over to her. A weak smile formed on her lips. "Papa…"

Ren ran with all his might, but once he reached the circle Luna was lying in, a sudden force knocked him back. Ren fell back painfully and noticed a small distortion near the edge of the circle where he had been blown back. He walked up and reached his hand out. Sure enough, there was a forcefield holding Luna in there.

"Papa… I'm scared." Luna said.

"Don't worry Luna. I'm gonna find a way to get you out of here." Ren told her with a reassuring smile. He racked his brain for a way to do just that. Would they have to beat Odin before they could get rid of the force field? Or was there another way?

'_Come on! Think!'_ Ren told himself. He looked around and his eyes took notice of something. At both ends of the circle, there were two rods sticking out of the ground. Curious, he walked over to one of them. He delivered a kick to it, causing a small distortion in the forcefield. It was just a theory, but if Ren was right, then there was a way to get Luna out of here without defeating Odin. Cause with their numbers, he highly doubted it would be possible.

"Helios! Kirito! I need you guys over here!" Ren shouted.

"Easier said than done!" Helios yelled as he jumped back from another attack from Odin. "We're a little busy right now!"

"And Asuna's still working on rezing Mai!" Kirito added.

"Just get going you two!" Sinon shouted as she fired an explosive arrow at Odin.

"We can keep this guy busy." Himiko said, stabbing her katana into Odin's knee.

Dagger stood in front of Kirito and Helios. "I'll give you guys some cover. When I do, run like hell." She quickly recited a spell and summoned a thick smokescreen that covered the ground around them. "Now!"

Kirito and Helios used the opening Dagger and the others had provided them and ran through the smokescreen over to the forcefield where Ren was. They stopped their running when they finally reached Ren. Helios looked at his friend. "Okay, so what do you need us to do?"

"You see the two rods?" Ren said, pointing to both sides of the circle. "I need you both to hit them simultaneously as hard as you can. It should hopefully stop the field for a split second, while I rush in. Then you guys do the same thing again once I have Luna and I'll rush out with her."

Kirito and Helios nodded their heads as they each ran towards one of the rods. Ren sheathed Ragnarok onto his back and got ready for the window of opportunity his friends would provide him.

"We're all set Ren." Kirito said.

"Got it." Ren said. "Alright, on my signal. 3… 2… 1… NOW!"

At Ren's command, both Kirito and Helios swung their weapons at the rods as hard as they could. The impact caused the field to distort slightly. Ren used that small window of time and ran inside the field. It quickly regenerated after he had gotten inside, but the important thing was that he could get to Luna now. He ran over to his daughter.

"Papa… You came." Luna said with a weak smile as Ren held her in a tight embrace. Tears rolled down her eyes. "I was so afraid."

"Shh… It's alright Luna. Papa's right here." Ren said in a soothing voice as he held Luna. "We're gonna get you out of here." He stood up while holding Luna in his arms. "Alright guys. One more time. Ready… NOW!"

Once again. Kirito and Helios hit the rods with their weapons. A small distortion appeared in the field, and Ren sped out of the circle with Luna. Once they were out, Ren breathed a sigh of relief. "Are you alright, Luna?"

Luna hugged her father tightly and began crying. "I was so scared! There were weird voices! And then these strange people! And… And…"

Ren stroked Luna's hair with his hand as he held her. "Don't worry Luna. You're safe now. Everything's gonna be alright."

Odin noticed that Luna was free as he turned his head. His eyes widened in fear. "No… Jormungandr… It can't be allowed to return!"

Ren looked up at Odin and gasped as he blew out a powerful breath attack. The powerful gust sent him and Luna flying into the air. He felt his grip on his daughter loosen and the two flew away from each other.

"Luna!"

"Papa!"

Odin reached out his hand and grabbed Luna. He tightened his grip on the girl, trying to crush her. "Forgive me, but this is what needs to be done to save the world."

"LET HER GO!"

The sudden yell came from Alice as she glared hell at Odin. She charged forward. She didn't have a plan, or any idea of how to get to her daughter whatsoever. She just knew that she had to reach her.

Riku shouted over to Alice as he saw her run his way. "Alice, jump off me! I have an idea!"

Alice didn't know what her friend was planning, but she decided to trust him. Riku kneeled down and held his spear like a stepping board for Alice. The female Imp jumped onto the shaft of the spear and Riku launched her up into the air. "Now Leafa!"

Leafa had finally finished reciting a spell and held out her palm towards Alice. A powerful gust of wind erupted from her hand, giving Alice an extra boost in height. She wasn't going to waste this opportunity. She swung her scythe at Odin's neck from behind, causing the god to flinch in pain slightly. His grip loosened slightly, and Alice delivered another slash from her scythe, this time to the arm Odin was using to crush Luna. The attack forced him to let go of Luna dn the young girl plummeted towards the ground.

"Hang on Luna!" Alice yelled as she jumped off and dived down towards her daughter. She reached out her arm towards Luna. "Grab my hand!"

Luna stretched out her arm as far as she could. Alice desperately reached out and grabbed her, pulling her in close. She wrapped herself around her daughter like a cocoon as they crashed onto the ground. The impact depleted most of Alice's HP, leaving her with only a small sliver of health left.

"Mama!" Luna exclaimed, shaking Alice's body. "Mama, wake up!"

"Ugh…" Alice moaned weakly as she blinked her eyes open. She looked at Luna, who had tears rolling down her eyes. "Are you alright Luna?"

Luna nodded her head several times and wrapped her arms around her mother as she cried. "Mama!"

Alice held her daughter in a comforting embrace. "Thank god… Thank god you're safe."

"Mama… I wanna go home." Luna said.

Alice nodded her head as tears formed in her eyes. "Alright Luna. Let's go home." She managed to get to her feet, but suddenly. Luna began to act strangely. A black aura began to surround her the young girl. She lost all the strength in her legs and fell to her knees. Alice looked worriedly at her daughter. "Luna? Luna, what's wrong?! Are you alright?!"

"The voice…" Luna said, a tone of fear in her voice. "It's scary."

Odin saw the black aura surrounding Luna and gasped. "No… It's coming…"

"Luna! LUNA!" Alice yelled, trying to get her daughter's attention. Her voice didn't seem to reach the young girl. Luna was trembling as the aura around her shot up like a geyser, blowing Alice back.

"Alice!" Ren exclaimed. He ran over and caught Alice as she flew into him. The couple stared at Luna as she began to cry out in pain.

"What's happening to her?!" Alice gasped.

"No… It's too late…" Odin gasped. "ALL OF YOU! TAKE COVER NOW!"

The aura around Luna condensed into a pitch black sphere, completely enshrouding the girl. Then the energy exploded with a huge burst.

* * *

Outside of Asgard, players stared at the temple. Dark clouds formed around the top of the world tree, blacking out the sky. Then Asgard became engulfed in a pitch back explosion. The players in Arun all gasped as the dungeon that had been floating next to the World Tree was destroyed in an instant. And that was only the beginning of their surprises.

From the clouds, a massive serpent coiled around the trunk of the World Tree, slithering down towards the city. Pitch black scales covered its entire body. With its massive size, it could wipe out a block of the city in one bite. It's piercing emerald eyes glared at the players as they all stared in fear of the monster. The only thing that snapped them out of their trance was a notification that popped up in front of them.

'_Safe Zone protection in Arun and Yggdrasil City will be disabled and turned into a raid zone until the raid boss is defeated. The raid boss is The Demon Snake, Jormungandr.'_

Aesir's worst fears had been realized. Jormungandr had been revived.

**A/N: Hope you guys have all liked this arc so far, including the reappearances of Yaksha and Asami. Next chapter will be the finale for the arc and I promise you, it'll be a good one. Until tomorrow readers.**


	112. What it Means to Be Real

**A/N: Here it is everyone. The finale of the arc. Enjoy.**

"Ren! Ren, are you alright?! Answer me!"

Alice's voice rang in Ren's ears as he slowly regained consciousness. He woke up to Alice staring down at him. He let out a moan as he sat up. "What happened?"

"I don't really remember." Alice said. "The last thing I remember was Luna being engulfed by that energy and-" Alice's eyes widened. "That's right! Luna! Where is she?!"

Ren and Alice quickly scanned the area around them. Unfortunately, there seemed to be no sign of the young girl.

"Where are we anyway?" Ren asked. "And how the hell did that explosion not kill us?" Looking at his HP gauge, he was surprised to see that his health hadn't decreased at all since the fight with Odin. They seemed to be in some sort of forest. Ren could only assume it was the woods near Arun. The rest of their friends were also lying around or sitting up weakly.

"Ugh, what the hell happened back there?" Kirito groaned.

"No clue." Asuna said in a similar weary voice. "Last thing I remember is us fighting Odin."

Ren and the others sat around, slowly recovering and regaining their bearings. Suddenly, a shout was heard in the distance. "Ren?! Everyone?! You guys here?!" The group all looked as Asami appeared through the trees, along with the rest of her party. She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw the others. "Oh good, you're here."

"Glad to see you guys are alright." Kirito said to Asami's party. "How'd you do against Thor?"

Asami showed a smirk. "Heh, like that overrated god could handle us. He was no problem."

"We were in the middle of fighting him, when the whole place started shaking." Liz explained. "Next thing we knew, we were all coming to in the woods here."

The group nodded understandingly. Suddenly a loud roar was heard in the distance towards Arun. The sound of it was menacing and sent shivers down the spines of the players.

"What was that?" Himiko asked to no one in particular.

"Could it… possibly be Jormungandr?" Asuna suggested.

"Jormunwhater?" Asami asked with a confused expression.

"Jormungandr." Saki corrected. "I believe I've read about it. Legend says it's a monstrous snake that nearly devoured the world. The gods of Aesir were said to have fought it in a devastating battle that scarred the land."

"That's correct."

Ren and the others turned their heads towards where they heard the weak voice just now speak from. They got to their feet and walked further into the woods. Their eyes widened at what they saw.

Lying on the ground was Odin. His clothes were torn and his breathing was weak. He didn't seem to have the strength to even sit up. As Ren and the others stared at the god in surprise, he showed a weak smile to them. "Good, you are all safe. I'm glad."

"What happened to him?" Sinon gasped.

Odin coughed as he spoke to the group. "I created a last minute barrier around you all to shield you from the explosion. Unfortunately, there was not enough time to protect myself."

"But why?" Alice asked.

Odin stared directly at Alice. "To attone for my mistakes. It is the fault of us gods that this all happened. If it were not for our mistake, then that child would not have had to go through this. For everything that has happened, you have my sincerest apologizes. And now Jormungandr has revived and will plunge the world into turmoil once more."

"What about Luna?" Ren asked. "Jormungandr should have left her body, right? So where is she?"

"I'm afraid that is not the case." Odin explained. "Jormungandr hasn't left her body. Instead, it took over her body and transformed into its original form."

"Is there any way we can save her?"

Odin frowned. "There is not, I'm afraid. The only thing that can be done now is to slay the beast. Unfortunately… doing so will also kill the child."

The life drained from Alice's face as she heard Odin's words. "No… There has to be another way… There has to be a way to stop Jormungandr without killing Luna!"

"Forgive me, young fairy." Odin said. He let out another cough, gasping for air. "If I could fix my mistakes I would. But now, I have no choice but to pass this burden to you." He took his last breaths as he spoke his final words. "Please… Stop Jormungandr… I beg of you."

The group all watched as Odin shattered into fragments before their eyes. Silence overtook them as everyone turned their heads to Ren and Alice. They all knew what had to be done, but that didn't make it any easier.

Tears welled up in Alice's eyes as she fell to her knees. She took her fist and slammed it into the ground. "It's not fair! Why Luna?! Why her?!"

A loud roar was heard once again from the city. There was only one way to end this. They had to take down Jormungandr. They had to take down Luna.

"Ren… Alice…" Kirito said. "I know it's hard. But you two knew Luna better than anyone. Do you really think she'd want to be this monster and terrorize Alfheim?"

Alice stayed on the ground crying. Tears fell from Ren's eyes as well. But he knew that Kirito was right. He grabbed the hilt of Ragnarok from his back. "We don't have a choice."

"Why…" Alice choked out from her tears. "Why did this have to happen?"

The group allowed Alice some time to come to terms with what had to be done. Even Asami was silent, knowing full well how hard of a decision it would be for Alice. Finally the female Imp picked herself up off the ground and wiped the tears from her eyes. "Ren… we have to do it, don't we?"

Ren nodded his head. "I wish we didn't. But this is the only way."

Alice took a deep breath and steeled her resolve. "Alright then. Let's move out."

The group of players gave a collective nod as they all spread their wings and took off into the sky. They flew past the trees and towards the city, already able to see the war zone it had become. A gigantic snake let out a roar as it dived its head in for an attack, likely taking out several players in the process.

"That thing is Jormungandr?" Klein asked.

Leafa answered with a nod. "Yeah. In Nordic mythology, it was one of the most dangerous monsters of all time."

As they flew, Kirito could see the turmoil going through Ren and Alice's heads based on their expression. He addressed all of his friends. "If we find any way to save Luna and take out Jormungandr, no matter how slim our chances of succeeding are, we take it. Agreed?"

Ren looked at his friend in shock. "Kirito…"

"Of course." Mai said.

"It goes without saying." Liz told them with a thumbs up.

"We've pulled off tougher stuff than this." Riku added. "Besides, we owe it to Luna to at least try."

"Everyone…" Alice gasped. A smile formed on her lips. "Thanks. That means a lot you guys."

The group gradually got closer and closer to Arun. The devastation of the battle going on was becoming more and more apparent from the cries coming from the players fighting Jormungandr. Ren and the others brought out their weapons as they closed in on the city.

"Flank and attack from the sides!" Ren said. "Asuna and Saki, heal and rez as many players as you can! If we're gonna win, we need every player we can get!"

"Leave it to us!" Asuna said as she and Saki dived down into the city streets of Arun.

As they got closer to Jormungandr, Ren noticed the massive snake stare at them. It's as if it suddenly ignored all of its accumulated hate towards the players aggroing it and focussed its attention on Ren and Alice.

'_Looks like it'll automatically target me and Alice whenever we get close to it.'_ Ren realized. He called out to his friends. "Attack its body! Alice and I will keep it distracted!"

Following Ren's lead, everyone split up and flew around Jormungandr's long body. Their weapons all lit up as they delivered a barrage of sword skills to the beast. While they did, Ren and Alice flew directly at Jormungandr's head. They flew up as it lunged at them, barely evading the bite from its fangs. Ren took a deep breath as he steeled himself for what he had to do. _'Sorry about this Luna.'_

Ren dived down at the top of Jormungandr's head. He took Ragnarok and delivered a powerful slash to it, making the snake cry out in pain. Alice followed up as she went in and swung her scythe down at Jormungandr. She could help but hear Luna's voice as Jormungandr cried.

The boss glared at Alice and focussed its attention solely on her. Alice quickly dodged its head as it lunged at her, but was surprised when she saw it circle around almost immediately and attack her from behind.

"Alice!" Ren called out. He flew in at full speed and tackled her away before Jormungandr could swallow her whole. "You alright?"

"Yeah." Alice nodded. "Thanks Ren."

Along the side of Jormungandr, Kirito gripped his two blades tightly and attacked with sword skill after sword skill, depleting as much of the boss's health as possible. The hits themselves did relatively little damage, but the combined assault from the hundreds of players fighting right now was having an effect on the boss. As he swung in for another slash, Yui flew out from his coat pocket. "Papa, I think I found something!"

"What is it, Yui?" Kirito asked.

"It's Luna! I can sense her data mixed in with Jormungandr's!"

"Seriously?!" Kirito exclaimed. "Have you figured out a way to save her?!"

"I have an idea, but it's very risky, Papa." Yui told him. "I'm not even sure if it'll work."

Kirito smiled at his daughter. "Yui, did you forget the promise we made to Ren and Alice? No matter how slim our chances may be, if there's a way for us to help Luna, we take it."

Yui nodded her head. "Right. In that case, we need to get to Ren and Alice."

Kirito nodded his head as Yui flew back into his coat pocket. He flapped his wings and took off for Jormungandr's head where Ren and Alice were. Unfortunately, Jormungandr took notice of him coming.

'_Looks like I've got no choice.'_ Kirito silently thought. "Yui, get to Ren and Alice! I'll keep the boss busy!"

Yui flew out of her father's coat and made her way to the couple. Kirito kept Jormungandr's attention on himself as he dodged a bite from the giant snake. "Come on ugly! Catch me if you can!"

While Kirito distracted the boss, Yui fluttered over to Ren and Alice. Ren saw the tiny Navigation Pixie coming over to them. "Yui? What's wrong?"

"It's Luna! I can sense her data inside the boss!" Yui explained.

Ren and Alice gasped at Yui. Alice looked at her with pleading eyes. "Is there any way for us to separate their data?"

"I think so." Yui nodded. "If I can touch Jormungandr near the core of its data where Luna is, I may be able to create an opening in its data where you can get Luna out from." Before the couple could get too excited, Yui finished her explanation. "There's just one problem. I'm not entirely sure if it's safe for anyone to enter Jormungandr's data. Any after effects are completely unknown. In addition, we'd need to completely immobilize Jormungandr for me to even attempt to create an opening in its data."

Alice looked at Jormungandr rampaging around. "Keeping something that big from moving is going to be pretty difficult."

"Maybe for two players." Ren pointed out. "But not for a raid group of over a hundred players working together." He flapped his wings and took off.

"Ren?! Where are you going?!" Alice called out.

"I have a plan! Just trust me!" Ren yelled back as he flew at full speed. He knew what he had to do. Conveying a message to all of the players fighting in the city by telling everyone one at a time would take too long. He needed an instantaneous message that everyone would notice. There was only one way he could think of doing that.

Ren finally caught sight of the player he was looking for. He called out to her. "Ayumi!"

Ayumi turned her head and saw Ren coming over her way. "What is it, Ren?"

"Ayumi, how loud can you make your voice echo with Puca magic?" Ren asked.

Ayumi blinked at Ren in surprise. "Umm… pretty loud I guess. I'd need to use most of my MP if you want it maxed out though."

"Would it be loud enough to reach every player in the city?"

"Every player?!" Ayumi exclaimed. She saw the look in Ren's eyes that told her he wasn't kidding. "I suppose so. Something that loud would drain all of my MP though."

"It doesn't matter, just do it." Ren told her. "I need you to convey a message to everyone."

Ayumi listened carefully as Ren explained to her what to say. When he finally finished, she nodded her head. "Alright. I got it Ren. Leave it to me." She flapped her wings and ascended higher into the air. If she was going to get everyone's attention, she'd need to be high enough for her voice to reach. When she felt like she had gone far enough, she stopped and began reciting a spell. When she finished, her body was enveloped in a dazzling glow, telling her that the spell was in effect. Aymui took a deep breath as she began to speak.

"Attention everyone! We have a plan to defeat Jormungandr!" Ayumi yelled. She heard the yells and shouts from players begin to die down, telling her she had their attention. "We need everyone to hold down Jormungandr! Don't let it move around!" There wasn't any sound, but Luna could tell that the players were skeptical of the plan. "Please! I need you to trust me! If this works, we may be able to severely weaken the boss! We need your help!"

Time went on as Ayumi saw no visible answer from the army of players. Then all of a sudden, she saw players fly into the air, one after another. They all dived down at Jormungandr and pushed down on teh snake's body. More and more players followed their lead and soon everyone was working together in an attempt to keep the boss from moving.

Ren smiled as he silently thanked all of the players. His plan might actually work out at this rate. He yelled over to Alice and Yui. "Now you guys! This'll only work for a few seconds! Grab Luna now!"

Alice quickly nodded her head as she and Yui dived down at Jormungandr. Alice looked at Yui. "So where do you sense Luna's data?"

"Down there!" Yui pointed. "At the top of its head!"

The two girls quickly descended and landed on Jormungandr's head. The giant snake struggled to move, but the army of players holding it down were putting up a tough fight. Yui touched the palm of her hand to Jormungandr's scaly skin. Several seconds passed by before a crack began to appear in it's head. Bright light poured out from the opening. Inside, Alice could see bits of code floating around.

"It's dangerous to keep this open for too long." Yui told her. "We need to grab Luna fast."

Alice stared down into the code, desperately searching for Luna. Suddenly her eyes caught sight of her, huddling in the distance. She dived into the opening. "Luna!"

"Wait Alice!" Yui called out. "It's dangerous!"

Alice ignored Yui's warning as she swam through the ones and zeros, desperately trying to reach her daughter. "Luna! Luna, it's me! Can you hear me!"

Luna huddled her body. Tears rolled down her eyes. "Mama… Papa… Where are you? I don't want to be all alone."

"LUNA!"

The voice barely registered in Luna's ears. She lifted her head and gasped as she saw Alice. "Mama…"

"Luna!" Alice called out, stretching out her arm. "I'm right here, Luna! Take my hand!"

Luna got out of her huddling position and reached out towards her mother. Alice grabbed Luna's hand and pulled her in close, embracing her in a tight hug.

"Luna…" Alice mumbled, tears of joy flowing down her eyes. "Please tell me you're alright."

"I was all alone." Luna muttered. "You and Papa weren't here. I was so scared."

"It's alright, Luna. I'm right here." Alice told her. "We're getting you out of here."

Luna held onto her mother as Alice swam through the code, making her way towards the opening Yui had created.

"Hurry!" Yui shouted. "I can't keep this open much longer! Jormungandr's breaking free!"

Alice picked up the pace as she swam as fast as she could towards her exit. The tear in Jormungandr was slowly beginning to close. As they neared the end, Alice and Luna saw a hand reach out for them. Ren's hand.

"Papa!" Luna exclaimed.

"Quick! Grab my hand!" Ren called out.

Alice locked her arm around Ren's and the male Imp pulled the two girls out with all of his strength. Almost immediately after they were out, Yui lost her control on Jormungandr's data and was blown back. Ren flew out and caught her, while Alice held onto Luna tightly. The couple flew away from Jormungandr and to an area of the city the snake hadn't reached yet.

Alice held Luna in her arms as they landed. The young girl seemed exhausted. "Luna, are you alright?"

Luna looked up at Alice, who had tears dropping from her eyes. "Alice? Why are you crying?"

A stare of confusion followed as Alice looked at Luna. She had never called her Alice. It had always been Mama for as far back as she could remember. "What are you talking about?"

"Why are you crying over me? And why did you save me?"

"Isn't it obvious Luna?" Alice asked her. "We saved you because you're our child. We love you."

Luna stared at her mother. "But… how can you love me… when I'm not real?"

Alice blinked in surprise. "What do you mean, Luna?"

Luna sat up and got out of Alice's arms. She stared down at the ground with a frown on her face. "While I was inside Jormungandr… I learned everything. About Alfheim Online... about the real world… about what an AI is."

"Luna…" Ren gasped.

Tears fell down from Luna's eyes and splashed onto the ground. "I'm not real. I'm just a program. A program that was made to become Jormungandr and die." The tears soon became a waterfall and Luna sobbed even more. "You two aren't even my parents. You're from the real world. I… I don't even know why I'm crying. How can something that's not real have emotions?"

Suddenly Luna felt Alice wrap her arms around her from behind. Tears fell from Alice's eyes as she held Luna in a tight embrace. Luna turned her head towards her mother in shock. "Alice…"

"Don't…" Alice began as she sobbed. "Don't ever say such horrible things ever again, you hear me Luna?! I don't care what any data or system says, you are real! You're real to me and to Ren! You're our child and nothing will ever change that!"

Luna stared at the female Imp. She was left speechless as Alice held her while crying. Why? Why did they care so much about her? And why did she feel like she wanted to stay like this, in Alice's… in her mother's arms… forever?

Ren kneeled down and looked at Luna with a smile. "It doesn't matter to us if you're an AI, Luna. You can still think and feel for yourself. And we'll love you no matter what. That's what parents do."

Luna stared at her parents for what seemed like forever. Finally she turned her body around and hugged her mother back. "Mama… I love you and Papa. I love you both so much."

"We love you too, Luna." Alice told her.

Yui transformed from her Navigation Pixie form into her human form and smiled at Luna. "I was really confused when I first found out I was an AI too. But my Mama and Papa helped me. And now we're a family. You can be that way with your Mama and Papa too."

Luna looked at the young girl. "Yui…"

A sudden roar broke up the touching moment for the family. They all looked at Jormungandr, who seemed to be thrashing around angrily for some reason.

"What's going on?" Alice gasped. Her eyes widened in fear when she saw Jormungandr's gaze become focused on them.

"Move!" Ren shouted. He grabbed Yui while Alice took Luna and took off into the sky as Jormungandr lunged its head at them. It smashed into the streets, destroying most of the block in the process.

"It wasn't acting that way a minute ago." Alice said. "Why is it suddenly going berserk?"

The couple retreated to a safe distance. Ren looked and saw the boss thrash around in a fit of rage. He grabbed the hilt of Ragnarok and unsheathed the sword. "We need to take it down before it destroys all of Arun. I'll try and keep it busy while you get Luna and Yui out of here."

"Ren don't do anything-" Alice didn't get to finish her sentence as Ren flapped his wings and took off like a speeding bullet. She sighed to herself. "Waste of breath."

Ren flew towards Jormungandr with all the speed her could muster. The snake eyed him since he was so close. The Imp dodged a snap from its jaws and cut his sword into its body as he flew. He dodged another bite from the boss, but was suddenly being pushed back. Jormungandr kept attacking Ren, with its attacks becoming more and more frequent.

'_What the hell is going on?'_ Ren thought. _'It's like a completely different boss now. It's all I can do just to avoid getting hit!'_

Ren's eyes widened as Jormungandr came at him like a speeding bullet. It tackled him and sent him crashing through the window of a building in the city. His health dropped drastically as he struggled to get up. As he approached the window, he gasped as he saw Jormungandr prepare to take a bite out of the building with him in it. He flew out the window and out and got away just as Jormungandr destroyed the building with its powerful jaws. He breathed a sigh of relief as he thought about how close he was to getting taken out.

In the distance, Alice watched as Jormungandr continued its rampage, suddenly having no concern for the damage it was doing to the city. "This doesn't make sense. There's no way the GMs would design the boss to do this much damage to the city."

Suddenly, Luna spoke. "I think… it's because of me."

Alice looked at her daughter with a confused look. "What do you mean Luna?"

"Jormungandr's data." Luna explained. "It's connected to me. Now that I'm separated from it, Jormungandr is becoming filled with errors that are overwriting its original programming. The result is the berserker state it's in now. If it continues at this rate, it'll go on a rampage and spread the errors across Alfheim."

"What?!" Alice exclaimed. "There has to be something we can do to stop it!"

Luna stared down as her expression grimaced. "There is one way." Alice and Yui stared at her as she explained. "Since I'm a part of Jormungandr, I can hit a delete switch that will destroy it, errors and all."

"But if you do that, you'll-"

"Yes." Luna nodded. "I will also be deleting myself."

"No! Absolutely not! Out of the question!" Alice yelled. "There is no way I'm letting you do that!"

"But-"

"No buts!" Alice kneeled down and threw her arms around Luna. "I can't lose you. Not again."

"Mama…" Luna said, gently touching Alice's cheek, causing her mother to look at her. "If Jormungandr isn't stopped soon, Alfheim will be at risk. The errors could spread to player data and corrupt people's avatars. I don't want the world that Mama, Papa, and everyone else love so much to be destroyed."

"I don't care!" Alice cried. "None of that matters to me! Not if you die trying to save everyone!"

Luna hugged her mother tightly. "I love you Mama."

Suddenly, Alice felt her body stiffen. She fell over onto the ground, and saw a paralysis icon on her HUD. Luna smiled at her as she got to her feet. "No… Luna…"

"I'm sorry Mama." Luna said, tears rolling down her eyes. "But I have to do this."

"LUNA!" Alice cried out as she watched her daughter spread her wings and fly off towards Jormungandr.

The wind brushed past Luna's face as she flew towards Jormungandr. In a way, they were one and the same so it was only fair that they suffer the same fate. Jormungandr lunged at her, but Luna dodged the bite from the boss and landed on top of its head. She gently touched the beast's skin and her hand began to glow.

'_I won't let you hurt anyone else.'_ Luna silently said to Jormungandr. _'This world… The people that live in it… Mama and Papa… I will protect them.'_

Jormungandr began to cry out in pain. It squirmed around violently as its body began to break apart into clusters of light particles. Luna smiled to herself that it had worked. Jormungandr was self-deleting. As Jormungandr's body disintegrated beneath her, she fell towards the ground. Before she reached it though, she felt herself fall into someone's arms. She looked up to see Ren staring at her as he held her.

"Luna, are you alright?" Ren asked. "What did you do?"

Luna gave a weak smile to her father. "I protected everyone Papa. Just like you and Mama."

Ren noticed the particles of light beginning to escape from Luna's body. He quickly flew her over to Alice and Yui. The paralysis affecting Alice disappeared and she made a breakneck run for her daughter.

"Luna!" she cried out. She ran over and kneeled beside her. Ren handed her over to Alice and she held her daughter in her arms. "Luna, please! You can't go! I'm begging you!"

Luna could barely move her body with how weak she felt, but she managed to wrap her arms around Alice. "It's alright Mama. Everyone's safe. This world is safe. That's all that matters."

Tears fell from Alice's eyes and splashed onto Luna as light continued to escape from her body. "Luna… Don't leave me… I need you…"

Luna shook her head. "You have Papa. He makes you happy."

"But you make me happy too!" Alice told her. "Luna… you're our child… How could we possibly live without you…"

Luna touched her hand to Alice's chest. "I don't know a lot about human emotions. But I've learned that when people are close to one another, they live on in their hearts. So if that's true… then I'll live on in Mama and Papa's hearts."

"Luna…" Ren muttered, still trying to process what was happening right now.

Several figures flew down to where Ren, Alice, Yui, and Luna were. Kirito and the others landed and ran over to their friends. They gasped at what they saw happening.

Luna turned her gaze towards Ren. "Papa… I love you. Promise me you and Mama won't forget about me."

Ren reached out his hand and held Luna's hand. He looked her in the eyes with tears rolling down his face. "I promise Luna. Your mother and I will never forget you. Not for as long as we live."

Luna smiled and nodded her head before turning back to Alice. "Mama… did you mean what you said? About me being real?"

Alice wept the tears from her eyes. It didn't stop new ones from forming, but it dried them up a little. "Of course Luna. Whatever the system says, you're not just a bunch of ones and zeroes. You are the most real, most wonderful daughter we could have asked for."

Tears formed in Luna's eyes as she gave a smile to Alice. Her body became more and more transparent, telling her that her time was up. "Thank you. Mama. Papa. I love you. I'm so happy right now."

Gradually, Luna disappeared as she evaporated into light. The little girl Alice was holding was gone. Tears welled up in Alice's eyes and came pouring through like a waterfall.

"LUNA!"

As they watched Luna disappear, Kirito and the others teared up as well. Luna had been so sweet. So innocent. She didn't deserve this.

Ren kneeled down next to Alice and held her as she cried. Tears fell from his own eyes as he mourned the loss of his daughter.

Suddenly, a window popped up in front of Ren and Alice, as well as every other player in the city. It showed a list of drops from the raid that were handed out to everyone. Alice was about to close the window, not caring about whatever items she got, until her eyes caught something on the list. The item read 'Luna's Heart'.

Alice tapped the tab for the item and it manifested in her hands. It was a golden necklace with a violet heart at the end of the chain. She tapped the item again, and details about the item appeared. It didn't give any stat boosts whatsoever, but it did show the flavor text.

_The transformed spirit of a child loved by her parents. The bond of love created this necklace and will carry through even the boundaries between worlds._

Alice held the item tightly in her hands. She could feel the same warmth she felt whenever she held Luna's hand. She didn't care that it was nothing more than an accessory without any stat boosts. This was all that remained of Luna. She would treasure it forever.

Several minutes passed by as everyone silently mourned Luna's death. Eventually, Alice managed to dry up her tears and get to her feet. Ren helped Alice as they headed back to their home in Lunet. Their friends stayed behind, deciding to give the couple some much needed privacy.

The trip back to their home felt like an eternity to Ren and Alice. When they finally returned, Alice went to the bedroom almost immediately. She laid in bed, slowly trying to cry herself out. Ren laid next to her and held her in a loving embrace.

"I miss her Ren. I miss her so much."

Ren nodded his head understandingly. "I know, Alice. So do I." He laid in bed with Alice until they finally managed to fall asleep.

* * *

A week had passed by since the Jormungandr raid in Arun. During that time, the GMs had managed to repair Arun to how it was before Jormungandr wrecked over half of it. Life had begun to get back to normal for everyone.

Alice stood in the living room of her home in Lunet. It felt a bit more lonely without Luna, but time was slowly managing to heal that wound. She would miss Luna, after all she was her mother. But she knew that Luna was right. She would always live on in memory. Alice knew she would never forget her daughter for as long as she lived.

Walking over to the drawer in the living room, Alice looked at a picture of her, Ren, and Luna that they had taken with a photo crystal. She smiled at the pleasant memories of the three of them as a family. She looked down at the necklace she was wearing, Luna's Heart. With this item, a part of Luna would always stay with her and Ren.

Soon Ren logged on and walked in from the bedroom. He gave a smile to the female Imp. "Hey Alice."

"Hey." Alice greeted with a smile of her own. "You ready to get going?"

"Yeah." Ren said with a nod of his head.

The couple walked out the door and spread their wings as they took off into the sky. As they flew, Alice felt she could hear something whisper in her ear.

"_I love you Mama."_

**A/N: Oh I'm sorry. We're you all expecting Luna to stay alive like Yui? Yeah, sorry but no. Believe me, a part of me wanted to have her stay but then it'd be no different from Yui and I really don't like making Ren and Alice look exactly like Kirito and Asuna. **

**Now I know some of you are still probably riding the feels train right now so I will give you the good news that the next few chapters will be a lot more lighthearted. As I'm sure you all could guess from earlier in the arc, there will indeed be a prom chapter. Details about that will be revealed more next chapter.**

**Lastly, there will not be a new chapter next week. After writing out a chapter per day for five days straight, I am a bit exhausted, so I will be taking a week to recover. Now don't worry, in place of the Blazing Revolution chapter, I will be updating Hollow Inferno next week since we all know that is long overdue.**

**Hope you all enjoyed the Luna arc everyone.**


	113. Preparations For the Prom

**A/N: Hello everyone! I'm back! Boy it has been a great week. I started adding this cool product to my morning coffee... what was it called again? Give me a sec (goes to check). Hmm... "Readers' Tears"? That's an odd name. Oh well, all I know is that it was very tasty. After the last chapter, I suddenly had a gigantic supply of it.**

**Yes, I'm a horrible person. I know.**

**Anyway, don't get too sad. This chapter will be a lot more happy and lighthearted, trust me. Hope you all enjoy it.**

After a long week of school, the weekend had come at last. The weather was nice, the breeze was refreshing, and most importantly of all there was no school. That only meant one thing for the girls. Shopping day.

Asuna, Lilina, Alicia, Rika, Emi, and Keiko had gotten together for the day. The school prom was right around the corner and that meant it was time for prom dress shopping. After a surprising amount of research, the girls had selected a few stores to browse around and look for the perfect dress for each of them.

"It's a shame we couldn't bring the guys with us." Asuna said.

"It can't be helped." Lilina shrugged. "If we want to surprise them on prom night, we can't let them see what we're going to wear beforehand."

"But they make such great pack mules." Rika said with a teasing giggle.

"Then why didn't you suggest bringing Yuya along?" Asuna teased. "Unless of course… you want him to be surprised too." Rika's cheeks blushed, causing Asuna to giggle. "I knew it. You DO want to get his attention."

Rika turned her head away from her friend. "If he asks me, then sure I'd go with him. It's not like I could ask him or anything."

"Why not?" Emi asked. "You know Yuya's shy. You just need to give him that small push."

Rika rolled her eyes as they walked. She admitted she had gotten a lot closer to Yuya these past few months. She had even quested with him from time to time. But she still wasn't sure if she felt anything romantically towards him.

Once they walked into the first store, Asuna and the others were assisted by the staff right away. The first to try on a dress were Keiko and Emi. The girls watched as the two of them exited the dressing room. Emi was wearing an elegant green dress that fell to her feet. White frills came out at the end of the dress. Keiko had a cute dress on that was yellow like the sun.

"Oh, you two look so adorable!" Alicia squealed.

Emi giggled as she twirled around. "What do you think? Not bad, right?"

"You'll be turning the younger guys' heads for sure." Alicia told her sister. "You and Keiko both."

"Thanks." Keiko smiled. "You really think we look pretty?"

"Totally." Lilina told them with a thumbs up.

Emi and Keiko got undressed and made sure to set the dresses aside for later. They were definitely a good choice, but it would be best to try a few other dresses before making a selection.

Alicia was up next. She came out wearing a long elegant dark-red dress that showed her slim figure and brought a large amount of emphasis to her curves. Red was one of the main colors of Wyvern's Inferno back in SAO, but the main reason Alicia liked the color was because she looked so good in it. Dan had also complimented her often on her red dresses.

The girls gave a collective low whistle when they saw the black haired girl. Rika was the first to break the silence. "Damn Alicia, you look amazing."

"Seriously." Asuna agreed. "Dan's mouth is gonna drop when he sees you."

Alicia blushed slightly at all the compliments coming from her friends, but it did feel nice to have their opinion telling her that the dress looked so nice on her. The prom would be a nice night for her and her boyfriend and would be a good chance for them to get their minds off of the loss of Luna. She wanted the night to be as perfect as possible.

As Alicia changed back into her regular clothes, the girls decided who would go next. Lilina was still browsing for a dress that looked good while at the same time wouldn't cost too much so Asuna decided to try something on.

"I'm actually surprised you'd go shopping for a dress, Asuna." Rika said while Asuna changed into the dress she had picked out. "I would have thought a rich girl like you would have tons of dresses to choose from already."

"I've had to wear those for so many family events and other things." Asuna told her friend. "I want to pick out something just for this one night with Kazuto. Something special."

"Aww, that's so sweet." Emi said.

Finally Asuna exited the dressing room. She was wearing a gorgeous pink dress that made her look like a princess. A cheer of applause came from her friends as they saw Asuna, who was happy that she had picked out something nice.

So often, Asuna remembered the family parties and other formal events she had been forced to attend. She always got compliments for her looks, but she could see right through them. They only wanted to be close to the wealthy Yuuki family, or woo her heart in the case of suitors. That's why she always felt different from compliments from her friends, and especially from Kazuto. They didn't care how much money her family had… ok, maybe Lilina was an exception to that. But their complements were always genuine, because they knew the real her, not the rich daughter of the high-class Yuuki family but instead Asuna Yuuki.

Lilina had finally picked out a dress to try on and went into the changing room. When she came out, she got an immediate round of applause from the other girls. She was wearing a long bright yellow dress that looked as if it was made of gold. The girls could all see what a perfect choice it was for the money lover as it was almost a cliche to her behavior.

"Well, well, well what do we have here?" A newly arrive voice called out from behind the entourage of girls. All heads turned to see a sight that made Lilina seethe in inner rage, Kaia Minazuki. "If it isn't plain Lilina and her backup dancers."

"What are you doing here snake?" Lilina growled. "I thought I made myself clear that you don't approach me, my friends, or my boyfriend."

"Like I care what you say, you're not my mom or any police officer so I'll do what I want. And if you must know why I'm here, it's to get a dress for the prom so alluring that my Hyde will jump right into my lap." Lilina's rival taunted, taking satisfaction in seeing Lilina's look grow more heated.

"Um... not to be that girl but what do you mean 'my' Hyde?" Asuna questioned.

"What do you mean?"

"Didn't you hear that Hyde and Lilina are engaged to be married?"

Kaia stopped browsing through the dresses, her face going slightly pale as she turned to the Yuuki heiress. "I'm sorry did you just say engaged? Because if you did I think I might be having a heart attack right now."

Lilina gave the biggest shit eating grin that ever appeared on her face while she sauntered over to Kaia, showing off her beautiful ring to her. "Read it and weep bitch!"

Kaia looked at the ring absentmindedly for a few seconds, absorbing the knowledge of Hyde being put off the market by the witch in front of her. After around half a minute passed she took in a deep breath and exhaled loudly. "Okay, I see what this is all about. It's fine. Everything is just fine because now I know what I need to do."

"I'm sorry?"

"All I have to do is steal Hyde from you before the wedding happens. He'll break off the engagement, take the ring from your gold digging ass, and give it to a woman who truly values him." Never before had Lilina looked so red in the face due to anger, and Kaia took note of that as a sign to get the hell out of there. "Well I see there are no dresses here that will rock Hyde's world so I'll be looking somewhere else. See you later plain Lilina, you better keep that ring close in sight because you'll never know when I might take Hyde and that ring from you."

"I'll kill you!" Lilina screeched at Kaia, charging with the intent to kill. Or at least she would have if it wasn't for Alicia and Rika blocking her path and holding her back while Emi and Asuna covered her mouth to block all the obscenities from coming out of her mouth.

"Lilina she isn't worth it!" Alicia said, trying to stop the girl from attacking the retreating Kaia.

"Don't stoop to her level. Be the bigger woman!" Asuna told her.

"Screw being the bigger woman! I'll tear her apart, I swear it!" Lilina yelled, managing to escape Asuna's grip for a moment before being reined in by the foursome of girls.

It took some doing, and bribery on Asuna's part to get Lilina to calm down enough to be reasoned with. After much debating on the ethics of committing murder to defend her relationship status, the money loving girl settled down when Asuna offered to pay for her dress.

'_I was not ready for this today, I really wasn't.'_ Rika thought tiredly.

As Rika caught her breath from having to hold Lilina back, her eyes caught sight of an interesting looking dress. She walked over and took it off the rack to take a look at. The color was a lovely shade of orange and the design was eye-catching. "Hey girls, I'm gonna try this on. I'll be back in a sec."

Asuna and the others waited as Rika went into the dressing room and changed. The brunette soon came out, wearing the dress she had chosen. Asuna's face lit up with a smile as she looked at her best friend.

"What do you think?" Rika asked as she struck a pose. "Do I look good, or do I look GOOD?"

"You look perfect, Rika!" Alicia said as she clasped her hands together. "That one's a keeper for sure."

As Rika struck another pose in the dress, Asuna took out her cellphone and discretely took a picture of her friend without her noticing. But that didn't stop Keiko from noticing as she looked at Asuna's phone.

"What are you doing, Asuna?" Keiko whispered.

"Just giving a small preview to Yuya." Asuna giggled. "All part of my master plan."

Keiko decided to keep her nose out of whatever Asuna was planning. She knew that when it came to the insane matchmaker, it was best to stay out of it.

* * *

_-The next day-_

Rika yawned as she sat on the couch of her house. It had been a long and eventful day yesterday throughout the shopping trip she had with the girls. But now they all had their prom dresses picked out and just in time for the big event that would be happening less than a week. And now it was Sunday and she was officially bored with nothing to do.

So when Rika heard the sound of a text notification on her phone, Rika was slightly startled. She grabbed her phone and took a look at it to see a text from Kazuto.

_Hey Rika. I need your help with something. Could you come and meet me at the park? -Kazuto_

It felt somewhat weird to Rika that Kazuto would need her help with something. If anything, it was usually the other way around. But she didn't have anything better to do other than sit and watch tv so she decided to meet up with her friend. She quickly texted a response back to Kazuto.

_Sure. I'll meet you there in half an hour._

After the text was sent, Rika grabbed her coat and headed out to the park. It was a nice warm day and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. Perfect weather. The nice breeze only added to Rika's pleasant walk as she made her way to the park.

When she finally arrived at the park, she looked around for Kazuto. He didn't seem to be there. She shrugged it off, figuring he was just running late and would be there soon.

"Rika! Sorry I'm late!"

It was the words Rika had been expecting to hear, but the voice wasn't Kazuto's. She turned her head and her eyes widened at who was running over to her.

'_Yuya?! What's he doing here?!'_ Rika thought to herself. Within seconds, the answer hit her. _'Asuna…'_

The boy ran up to her. His avatar and his real self looked a lot alike, but that was to be expected since he was in SAO. The only big difference was the hair color. Instead of the blue colored hair of his Undine avatar, Yuya's hair was blonde. He was slightly shorter than Rika and had clear blue eyes.

"Sorry I'm late." Yuya said as he came up to Rika. he looked around, as if expecting someone else to be there. "Where's Asuna? I thought she said she'd be here too."

"Something tells me she isn't going to make it." Rika said dryly.

Yuya didn't seem to understand what was going on, and in Rika's mind that was probably for the best. "Oh that's right. You looked really cute in that dress the other day."

"WHAT?!" Rika exclaimed, blushing her cheeks. "Y-Yuya?! Were you spying on us?!"

"N-No, of course not!" Yuya assured her, waving his hands in front of him. He took out his phone and showed a picture of Rika wearing the prom dress she had picked out yesterday. "Asuna sent this to me yesterday."

Rika swiped the phone from him and looked at the message. Under the picture was the following text message. _You better ask her before someone else does Yuya_.

The message only managed to increase the blush on Rika's face. She handed back the phone to Yuya. "Excuse me for a second. I need to make a call." Rika quickly ran behind some trees and brought out her phone. She dialed a number and brought the phone to her ear.

"Hey Rika. So how's your date going?" Asuna asked from the other end.

"What the hell Asuna?!" Rika said in a loud whisper. "That was so not cool what you did! What were you even thinking sending that picture to Yuya?!"

"I was trying to get him to finally ask you to the prom!" Asuna told her. "And you aren't exactly helping your situation by running behind some trees."

"... Where are you right now?"

"Turn to your two o'clock."

Rika looked over in the direction Asuna had told her. She saw the chestnut haired girl waving her hand with her phone to her ear. "Asuna I swear, I am going to-"

"I know what you're going to say." Asuna told her. "So I'll make you a deal. You hang out with Yuya for the rest of the day, and if you still don't feel anything for him after that, then I'll back off with the whole you and Yuya thing."

"... You promise?"

"You have my word."

Rika mulled it over for a few seconds before responding. "Fine. But you stay away from us. I better not see you anywhere around me or Yuya today, got it?"

"Understood. Have fun on your date."

Rika sighed as she put away her phone. She knew Asuna was only trying to be a good friend, but she was going way too far with this. All things considered though, there were worse people to spend the day with.

Meanwhile, Yuya stood where Rika had left him, waiting for the girl to come out from behind the trees. He felt his phone vibrate and took it out, seeing a text message.

_Listen Yuya, I know you're shy, but you need to get it into your head. Rika LIKES you! So be a man and ask her out already! Good luck. -Asuna_

A blush appeared on Yuya's cheeks as he realized Asuna knew that he had feelings for Rika. But was she right? Did Rika actually like him too? He knew Rika viewed him as a good friend, but he didn't know if there was anything more to it than that.

Finally Rika emerged from the trees. Yuya noticed she seemed flustered about something, but didn't know what.

"Looks like Asuna won't be able to make it." Rika said. "So why don't you and I just hang out for the day?"

Yuya nervously nodded his head. "O-Ok. Sure." Suddenly, a thought popped into his head. "So where do you want to go?"

"Hm…" Rika brought her hand to her chin as she thought about the question. It was a fair point. What could the two of them do together. If they went shopping, it wouldn't be fair to Yuya as he would just end up carrying her bags. Where could the two of them go to have fun, without it looking like they were on a date? The answer came to her as she grinned.

"Yuya, I know just the place."

* * *

The city's arcade was filled with people. It only made sense since it was the weekend. Usually it was Dan and Hyde that enjoyed coming here. But although Rika wasn't the best at the arcade fighting games that those two prided themselves on, there was one game here that she loved and could beat Hyde and Dan at any day.

"I didn't know you came to the arcade, Rika." Yuya said as he walked beside her.

Rika shrugged her shoulders. "I don't do it that often. Usually just on days where I've got nothing to do."

"So what game do you want to play first?"

"This way. Follow me."

Rika led Yuya further into the arcade. At the end of the building, Yuya found what Rika had been dragging her to. Dance Dance Revolution.

"What do you think? You up for it?" Rika asked.

"I-I don't know, Rika." Yuya said shyly. "I'm n-not a very good d-dancer."

"It's easy. Come on, I'll show you." Not even giving Yuya a chance to argue, she dragged him up to the game. Both spots were open so she took one end while Yuya took the other. Rika could see Yuya's legs shaking and giggled. "Relax Yuya. Just follow my lead. You do know how this game works, right?"

Yuya feverishly nodded his head. "M-More or less."

The song began as Rika and Yuya started playing. Rika hit each step perfectly as they came up on the screen. Most people she knew that played this game simply hit the steps as they came, but Rika felt that destroyed the point of a dancing game. She put all her effort into each movement, as if she was actually dancing.

Yuya on the other hand was messing up at nearly every step. He was barely scoring any points and was quickly losing confidence. Rika noticed this and decided to encourage him.

"Just take it slowly." Rika told him. "Find your rhythm and then just go with the music."

"B-But I-"

"Yuya." Rika told him, forcing him to look her way. "Just follow my steps. And more importantly, have some confidence in yourself."

Yuya saw the bright smile Rika showed him. He nodded his head and focused his attention on Rika. Her legs moved so smoothly with the music, as if she was a pro dancer. Rika seemed to be having so much fun as she danced. Yuya slowly began to gain his own rhythm as he followed Rika's steps. Slowly but surely, he beginning to hit the steps as they came and score some points.

"There you go!" Rika said with a smile. "Keep it up."

Yuya stopped looking at Rika and focused back on the screen. He was slowly gaining his momentum and kept going with each step. His nervousness seemed to have suddenly disappeared and suddenly he was dancing perfectly. And before he even noticed, he was actually having a lot of fun.

Rika and Yuya continued to dance as the song went on. Left, right, left, up, behind, it was all coming so smoothly to both of them. Of course Rika had a huge lead in points since Yuya had taken so long to find his groove. But as they danced, Yuya kept glancing at Rika every now and then. Each step. Each sway of her hips. If it weren't for the fact that he kept having to pay attention to the screen, he would have stared at her all day.

As the song continued, people at the arcade began looking at the two teens dance. Most people's eyes were on Rika, but no one could deny that Yuya was also doing very well.

When the song was finally over, Rika wiped the sweat from her forehead. She showed a big grin to Yuya. "See? I told you that you could do it Yuya."

"Thanks Rika." Yuya said as he caught his breath. "But you were just… wow! It was so easy to you."

Rika giggled at the comment. "Yeah well I've always had a thing for these kinds of games so-"

"Rika? Yuya? Is that you?"

The two teens turned their heads to see a pair of familiar faces come their way. Rika gasped at who it was. Dan and Alicia. "You guys? What are you doing here?"

Alicia grinned at them. "We could ask the same thing to you two. So, what's the story you two? On a date?"

"A-Alicia!" Rika exclaimed as both she and Yuya started to blush. "No! It's nothing like that! We're just hanging out!"

"Mhm, sure you are." Alicia said with a grin. "By the way, was that you two just now playing DDR?"

Yuya managed to nod his head. "Yeah. You should have seen Rika. She was amazing!"

Rika's blush became even more apparent on her face, causing Alicia to giggle. The black haired girl looked at the two teens. "So are you entering the competition they're holding today?"

"Competition?" Rika asked.

Alicia nodded her head. "Yeah. The arcade's holding a tournament for DDR in about an hour. They're still accepting sign-ups."

"And you two are competing?"

Dan sighed. "I mentioned it to Alicia, and she ended up getting really excited about it. She even forced me to sign up."

"Oh hush you." Alicia said as she delivered a playful hit to her boyfriend. "I thought you were a master at arcade games."

"Put me in front of a shooter or racing game and I'll wipe the floor with anyone here." Dan argued. "Dancing is not my forte though."

"You don't seem to have a problem with it at school dances."

"That's slow dances, and the only reason I'm any good at those is because Clair used to be my dance partner at weddings and other formal events."

Rika smirked at Dan. "Well I hope you're as quick of a learner as Yuya here, or else you're going down fast."

"Does that mean you're entering?" Alicia asked.

"Bring it on." Rika said with an eager grin. "I'm so gonna win this thing. Yuya and I will get first and second easily."

"Oh is that so?" Alicia questioned. "Challenge accepted."

"D-Do I really have to enter?" Yuya asked. "I mean… there's gonna be so many people watching a-and-"

"Come on Yuya. You'll do great." Rika assured him. "It'll be fun. Whaddya say?"

A gulp went down Yuya's throat. "A-Alright. I'm in."

"Alright! This is getting exciting!" Alicia cheered. "I'm all fired up!"

"Don't get too excited Alicia. Cause I'm winning this thing." Rika said. She grabbed Yuya's arm and dragged him off to sign up for the competition. Rika asked herself why she had been so insistent on doing this with Yuya. Asuna's voice spoke in her head, but Rika quickly shook them out of her thoughts. She was just doing this with him as friends, nothing more.

* * *

"Woo! Go Yuya!"

Rika cheered as she watched Yuya compete in the tournament. It was currently the second round of the tournament and the shy boy she knew was doing fairly well. She had also made it through her round as well, as had Alicia. Dan had barely managed to win his first round, and that was mostly because his opponent was just as much of an amateur as he was.

The tournament format was fairly simple. It was one-on-one matches on the DDR system in the arcade. Get a higher score than your opponent and you move on. Sixteen people had entered the tournament, so that meant a total of four rounds.

"Yuya's doing really well." Alicia said from Rika's side. "Is this really the first time he's played this game?"

"Well we did do a lot of practicing for the last hour before the tournament." Rika told her friend. "And just look at him go. He's a natural."

After another minute, the song finally ended. It had been a close game, but Yuya had managed to win. Cheers filled the crowd of people watching the tournament, congratulating him on his win. The blonde boy wiped the sweat from his forehead as he walked over to his friends. "I don't know how much longer I can keep going."

"You can't give up now Yuya." Rika said. "You're doing so well."

"She's right Yuya." Dan nodded.

Suddenly, the manager's voice came from the DDR system. "Next up is Dan and Hiroshi. Both participants please come forward."

"Well, looks like I'm up." Dan said. "Wish me luck."

Alicia, Rika, and Yuya watched as Dan walked up and stood on the DDR system with his opponent. The song began and cheers filled the crowd. Alicia cheered on her boyfriend, but it was clear to see that the skill level between him and Hiroshi was too great. When the song ended, the score wasn't even close.

Dan walked back over to his friends with a depressed sigh. "Well that sucks. But I wasn't really expecting to win this thing in the first place." He looked over to his girlfriend. "Good luck in the next rounds Alicia. I'll be cheering you on."

"Don't worry. I'm gonna win this thing for sure." Alicia grinned.

With Dan's turn over, the second rounds were over. There were only four people left in the competition. The manager announced the next match-ups. First was Rika vs Hiroshi. After them it would be Alicia against Yuya.

By the time the semifinals were underway, the crowd had increased even more than before. Looking around, no one could think of when they had last seen the arcade this crowded. Both matches were heated and very close. Cheers erupted from the people watching from the excitement. After it was said and done, the finalists were Rika and Alicia. Both girls stepped up for the finals while Dan and Yuya watched from the crowd.

"Hope you're ready to lose, Alicia." Rika grinned.

"Bring it." Alicia said with an eager smirk of her own.

The song began and both girls started right away. The cheers coming from the spectators were deafening. Yuya watched Rika closely as she danced. Even after the tiring three rounds she and Alicia had competed in so far, both girls still seemed to be full of energy. Every step, every sway of her hips, Yuya couldn't take his eyes off it.

"Well you seem to be enjoying the show."

Yuya turned his head to Dan. "O-Oh, I uh… y-yes. It's really exciting."

"I just hope you're not staring at my girlfriend." Dan told him.

"Wh-What?! N-No I'd n-never! I-I mean-"

"Relax, I was joking." Dan laughed. "Well, for the most part at least." He looked at Rika, knowing she was the one that Yuya couldn't look away from. "She really does like you, you know. Probably more than you or she knows. You should ask her out."

"B-But, I… I don't know…"

Dan put a hand on Yuya's shoulder. "I get it, you're nervous. Believe me, I know the feeling. But trust me on this. She won't say no."

The two boys returned their focus to Alicia and Rika as they danced. Dan could never recall Alicia playing this much before. But it was still a nice sight to see her having so much fun.

The song was coming to a close and the scores of the two girls were neck and neck. Everyone watched with anticipation at who would come out on top. Finally, the song ended and everyone looked to see who had won the competition.

"And the winner is Rika Shinozaki!" the manager announced. "Congratulations!"

"Aw yeah! That's how it's done!" Rika said with a cheer as she jumped into the air. People clapped to congratulate the winner.

Although she was disappointed over losing, Alicia congratulated her friend. "Good job Rika. You were amazing."

"Thanks." Rika smiled. "You did really well too."

The two girls walked back over to Dan and Yuya. After congratulating Rika on her victory, Dan dragged Alicia away with him to give Yuya and Rika some alone time. It was up to Yuya now whether he would ask Rika or not.

Rika and Yuya left the arcade and decided to walk through the city for a bit before heading home. The tournament had taken up most of the day. But neither of them could honestly say they regretted it.

"Y-You were really good out there, Rika." Yuya said.

"Thanks. You know Yuya… today was really fun. I really enjoyed this."

"Maybe you should come here more often then." Yuya suggested.

Rika shook her head. "No Yuya, that's not what I meant. I meant I enjoyed… hanging out with you."

An embarrassed blush appeared on Yuya's face. "O-Oh, r-r-really?"

"Yeah." Rika nodded. "Yuya I-"

"Yo, Rika!" a sudden voice interrupted.

Rika and Yuya turned their heads to see a teen with smooth slick hair walk up to them. Rika groaned as she recognized the teen as Kouta, a guy that went to the SAO Survivor School and was a capital A asshole in her eyes. "What do you want, Kouta?"

"I saw you in the arcade." Kouta explained. "You were on fire there. Almost as smooth a dancer at me."

Rika rolled her eyes. "Get to the point of why you're here. I'm hanging out with a friend."

"I was just wondering if you'd like to go to prom with me." Kouta said. "I hear no one's asked you yet. So how about it?"

Yuya stood there completely shocked. A frown became present on his face. The others were right. They were right and he just didn't want to believe them. Now because he was too shy, Rika was going to go to prom with another guy.

"No thanks." Both Yuya and Kouta widened their eyes as the words came out of Rika's mouth. "Why would I want to go with you? You're a jerk. I've seen the way you pick on the younger kids at school."

Kouta growled at Rika. "Who do you think you are? Here I am doing you a favor by asking you out to prom, and you're rejecting me?! That's a pretty cocky attitude for someone like you. I would have already asked the hot girls at our school like Asuna or Alicia, but they're already taken. A second-rate girl like you should-"

"Don't talk to her like that!" Yuya shouted. The sudden outburst surprised Kouta, Rika, and even Yuya himself. Before he knew what he was doing, he continued. "Rika is not a second-rate girl! She's awesome, cute, and way too good for a jerk like you!"

Kouta glared at Yuya. "And just who are you, kid? This is none of your business, so butt out before I teach you a lesson!"

"Back off!" Rika yelled as she shoved him away from Yuya. "I'm not going with you, so leave me and my friend the hell alone!"

"Why you little…" Kouta growled as he stared at Rika and Yuya. "Fine! Your loss, bitch!"

Rika and Yuya watched as Kouta stormed off. The brunette rolled her eyes before turning back to Yuya. "Thanks Yuya. I appreciate you standing up for me."

"O-Oh, it w-was no problem R-Rika." Yuya said, his shy and reclusive personality returning to him.

"Yuya…" Rika said. "Did you mean what you said? About me being cute?"

Yuya froze. He had said those things without even thinking. But at the same time, he couldn't say that he didn't mean them. He did. If anything, what he said was an understatement to how he felt. The words of Asuna, and all of the others that had pushed him forward flowed through his mind.

"Yes. I meant every word."

Not a single stutter in the sentence. Rika was shocked. "But why? I mean, I know I can't compete with girls like Asuna when it comes to looks."

"But that doesn't change the fact that you're still beautiful to me." Yuya told her. _'Why am I saying this? What am I doing?'_ "You're an awesome person. You're not afraid to be yourself, or to stand up to scary people like Hyde Gekido. You're completely fearless."

"Y-Yuya…" Rika gasped.

"Rika, I have a question." Yuya gulped. The nervousness was returning. He was sweating, not knowing what to do. "W-W-Would you like t-to go to p-p-p-p-pr-"

Before Yuya could finish, Rika leaned in and pressed her lips against his. Yuya's eyes widened, and he wondered if he had hit his head somewhere and was now dreaming. Finally Rika pulled away. She looked at Yuya with a warm smile. "I'd love to go with you."

"R-Really?!" Yuya gasped.

"Yep. Though we're gonna have to work on your nerves so you're not standing stiff in front of everyone all night." Rika giggled. "Pick me up at seven." She walked away, leaving Yuya in awe. "Oh and Yuya? Thanks for what you said. It meant a lot."

As Rika walked away, she heard her phone ringing. She took it out and groaned as she looked at the caller ID. Rika brought the phone to her ear. "What do you want, Asuna?"

"Never doubt my skills."

Rika felt a cold sweat go down her neck as she realized what had just happened. "You SAW all that?!"

"Yep, and you were just so cute! I told you that you and Yuya were perfect for each other."

A moan escaped Rika as she hung her head down. "Ok, so I like him. We're going to prom. Happy?"

On the other end of the phone, Rika could practically feel the smirk that Asuna had on her face. "Very."

**A/N (IMPORTANT! PLEASE READ!): And thus, another couple has been born. As I'm sure you can all tell, the Blazing Revolution prom is happening soon. So in the spirit of prom, I will be holding a poll for the prom king and queen of Blazing Revolution. All of you readers will get the chance to vote for whatever ship is your favorite.**

**The rules are simple. Each reader can pick one boy and girl from the story to vote for king and queen. This can be your favorite couple in the story, or whatever duo you ship the most. You can choose whatever duo you wish, as long as one of them is a boy and the other is a girl. If you like Relice the most, then pick them. If you like Kirisuna the most, then pick them. If you have some crazy out-of-there duo that you really ship, then pick them. I will also be including Riku and Sinon in this poll, even though they technically don't go to the SAO Survivors School.**

**Post your choice for king and queen in either a review or a PM. I will tally up the votes after a certain amount of readers have voted. The winning king and queen will also be the king and queen for the prom, next chapter, which will be two weeks from now so I have enough time to effectively write out the situation for whoever wins.**

**Now before you guys complain about another extended wait for a chapter, I have a bonus for your patience. I will be posting a second chapter along with the prom chapter.**

**Be sure to vote, and look forward to the prom readers.**


	114. A Night to Remember

**A/N: It's finally time readers. After two weeks of waiting, the prom chapter is finally here. I want to give big thanks to all of you that voted. Between the reviews and PMs I got, the vote was VERY close. I ended up having to come up with multiple scenarios towards the end because I couldn't tell what the outcome would be. But the king and queen have been chosen. Read to find out who it is.**

**I also decided to throw in some songs with this chapter, which are the two ending songs for the SAO anime. Feel free to listen to them when they come up, as I think it really helps with the mood.**

The sun had set in the afternoon sky and the moon had come in its place. Street lamps had just started to turn on. It was night. But for the students of the SAO Survivor School, it wasn't just any night. It was prom night.

Dan got out of his mother's car after they pulled up to the Tsuki residence. Juna was the one driving them to the big event and they had come just a little earlier than the time Dan had told Alicia he'd pick her up. He was dressed in a black suit with a red neck tie that felt like it was strangling him. He always hated ties, but he made an exception for tonight since it was prom.

Dan walked up to the front door of the house and knocked. After a few moments of patiently waiting, the door opened with Emi standing on the other side. She was already dressed in her elegant green prom dress as she greeted him with a smile. "Hey Dan. You ready for tonight?"

"Of course." Dan nodded as he walked inside. "Is Alicia ready yet?"

"I'll go see. Just one sec." Emi told him. She walked over to the stairs and yelled up. "Oh Juliet! Romeo's here to take you to the ball!"

Alicia's voice called back down in response. "I'll be down in a minute."

Emi rolled her eyes as she looked at Dan. "She's been getting ready for the past two hours."

Dan let out a small chuckle in response. Alicia was already the most beautiful girl in his eyes. She didn't need to go over the top to prepare herself, even if it was for prom. But it was still nice to know just how badly she wanted to impress him.

Soon the sound of footsteps were heard coming from upstairs. Dan and Emi watched as Alicia came into view, dressed in the beautiful red dress she had picked out the other day. Dan couldn't remember the last time Alicia had looked so beautiful. Her red lips curved into a smile as she looked at him.

Emi walked past Dan and towards the front door. "Do us all a favor and put your sword away."

A feeling of dread overtook Dan as he looked down, only to see that Emi was simply pulling his leg. The brunette girl giggled as she walked out towards the car. Alicia rolled her eyes at her sister's childlike behavior as she walked up to her boyfriend. "Ready to get going?"

Dan nodded his head as he held Alicia's hand and walked out the door with her. Alicia and Emi waved goodbye to their parents as they walked up to the car to go to the prom. Unfortunately, Juna seemed to have other plans at the moment.

"Alright you two, smile." The mother's camera flashed as Dan and Alicia posed for a picture. Simply one picture wasn't good enough for Juna though as she began to take several pictures of the couple.

"Mom, can we get going now? We'll be here all night at this rate." Dan said, trying to hide the irritation in his voice.

"Aww, but this is my little boy's big night! I have to capture the memories!"

Dan groaned as his mother took yet another picture of the couple. It took several minutes, but Dan had finally managed to convince his mother to stop with the pictures. They got in the car and drove off to where the big event was being held.

* * *

The place that the school had managed to rent for the prom was a large and rather fancy hotel. The main hall was completely reserved for the students, which was packed with table after table. There was already a large group of students present when Dan, Alicia, and Emi walked in.

Emi gave a low whistle as she looked around. "Wow, the school really went big with this thing."

Alicia scanned the area and saw Asuna waving over to them from the table where she and Kazuto were sitting. The black haired girl pointed them out to Dan and Emi and the trio walked over to the table. As they got closer, they also noticed that Hyde and Lilina were present at the table. Alicia smiled as they took a seat with their friends. "Hey you guys. Enjoying the night so far?"

"You bet." Lilina nodded. "I can't wait for the dances to start."

While Lilina seemed to be having fun, Hyde was busy pulling at his tie. "Damn monkey suit. I hate this thing."

"Oh hush you." Lilina giggled. "It's not that bad."

"Easy for you to say. You're not the one that feels like they're getting strangled."

The group shared a laugh at Hyde's expense. The next ones to come over to the table were Rika and Yuya. The group gave a knowing grin to the couple, causing Rika to blush.

"Well aren't you gonna introduce us, Rika?" Asuna asked.

Rika shot a glare at her friend. "Everyone here knows who Yuya is, Asuna. And since I know you're all going to ask, yes we are a couple now."

A collective "Awwww" came from the girls, causing Rika to pout. Hyde however had other things to say to Rika.

"So Yuya, what did Rika have to bribe you with to-" Hyde was cut off as Asuna drove her heel into his foot, making him cringe in pain. He glared at her, while the only response Asuna gave was a look that said 'Don't give Rika any crap tonight'.

The minutes ticked by as more people began to show up. Eventually, Asuna caught sight of another one of their friends. "Hey Keiko! Over here!"

Keiko looked over at Asuna and waved back to her with a smile. But what happened next made Asuna gasp in shock. As Keiko walked over to them, there was a boy walking beside her. And they were holding hands!

When Keiko finally made it over to the table, everyone gave curious looks at the girl, wondering who the boy with her was. The young girl gestured to him with a small blush on her face. "E-Everyone, this is my date to the prom, Ishida Nakamura."

The young boy with Keiko seemed to be around the same age as her. He had jet black hair that was a bit longer than most boys. Over his light-blue eyes was a pair of glasses with brown frames. He was obviously a little intimidated by the group of famous SAO Survivors, but did his best to calm his nerves. "H-Hello. I'm Sili- I mean, Keiko's date. My name back in SAO was Quint."

"And when were you planning on telling us about your little boyfriend here, Keiko?" Alicia asked with a teasing grin.

Keiko and Ishida both blushed at the mention of the word 'boyfriend'. They weren't exactly a couple yet, so the word made things somewhat awkward. Keiko grabbed Ishida's hand and began to lead him away. "W-Well, I think we'll go take a look at some of the appetizers available over there. See you later everyone."

The group all watched as Keiko and her date walked away. They were all mildly curious at just how close the two of them were. A sudden moan from Asuna caught everyone's attention though and they all turned to see the girl with a deadpanned expression on her face.

"Asuna?" Kazuto asked, waving his hand in front of his girlfriend. "Is something wrong?"

"How… How could this happen?" Asuna asked.

"What do you mean?" Dan asked.

"How could I not see such a perfect couple to get together in front of my very eyes?!" Asuna exclaimed. "How could I be so blind?! I was so busy trying to get Rika and Yuya together that I lost sight of another perfect duo to ship!"

"Asuna…"

"What kind of shipper am I if I play favorites?!" The chestnut haired girl planted her face on the table. "Don't look at me! I'm a failure!"

"You know we really should sit down and have a big discussion about this whole 'friend shipping' thing that you're so obsessed with. I think you have a problem." Hyde noted.

Asuna was too depressed to even make a retort at Hyde's remark and only let out a weak moan in response.

When the music finally began to play and the dances started, Kazuto managed to get Asuna out of her depressed mood to dance with him. Dan also grabbed Alicia's hand and led her over to the dance floor. Several couples came up and danced with their significant others as the music played. This was a night that all of them had been looking forward to for a while, and so far it had yet to disappoint. Dan's arms were wrapped around Alicia's waist while her arms were wrapped around the back of his neck as the two of them danced.

Other couples were also enjoying the slow dances. Keiko and Ishida danced together, something Kazuto did his best to keep Asuna's attention away from while he danced with her. Hyde was doing a much better job at dancing with Lilina this time compare to some of his more embarrassing dances in the past. Yuya had been shaking like a leaf when the dances started, but Rika's bright smile of encouragement calmed him down.

Students gradually circulated in and out of the dance floor as songs played one after another. After dancing through a few songs in a row, Dan and Alicia sat back down at their table. Most of their friends had decided to take a break as well from dancing.

"This is great." Lilina said with a smile. "We really needed this."

"I'll say." Emi nodded. "Things are gonna be a lot different once summer comes. Everyone's gonna be going off to college."

"Don't worry squirt. We'll make sure to visit so you don't get lonely." Hyde remarked with a condescending grin.

Emi responded with a scowl towards Hyde. The two continued to glare at each other, until Emi caught sight of someone in the distance. "Hey, isn't that Hikari?"

Dan and the others turned their heads in the direction Emi was looking. Sure enough, Hikari was sitting at a table in the distance. She was wearing a beautiful azure blue dress. But she didn't seem too happy. She was sitting all alone.

"I wonder what's up with her?" Asuna said. "She seems so sad."

"She's probably just mad that she doesn't have Dan as her date." Alicia said with a roll of her eyes.

Lilina shook her head. "That's not it. Didn't you guys hear? The guy she was going with stood her up at the last minute."

"Are you serious?!" Keiko gasped. "Who would do something like that?!"

"Apparently he was a member of the Holy Dragon Alliance like Hikari." Lilina explained. "From what I heard, he only asked her to prom just in case he couldn't get a date. When another one of the girls he asked said yes, he just dumped her."

"That's a low move." Emi scowled. "Poor Hikari. She must feel awful."

Dan nodded his head in agreement. "I feel bad for her. I know she brought her share of trouble every now and then, but it wasn't like she was evil or anything."

As she listened to her friends talk, Alicia couldn't help but feel pity for Hikari as well. Granted, the girl had been a nuisance plenty of times with how she always tried to steal Dan from her. But even still, she didn't deserve to get treated like that. She let out a quiet sigh. _'I'm going to have to do the right thing here, aren't I?'_

"I wish there was something we could do." Asuna said. The group stayed silent until Alicia finally spoke up.

"… One dance."

Emi raised a brow at this. "What was that Alicia?"

"She can have one dance with Dan." Alicia grumbled.

The entire group looked at the black haired girl in shock. "Are you serious?" Hyde gasped.

"Don't make me say it again." Alicia said. "She can have one dance with Dan. It's probably the only thing that would make her night."

Dan looked at his girlfriend, surprised by what she was saying. "Alicia, are you sure about this?"

"Just hurry up and ask her to dance before my better judgement takes over." Alicia said. "She gets one dance. No kissing. No getting handsy. Nothing else. Just one dance."

Dan had never expected this from Alicia. She hadn't liked Hikari. If anything, the two girls were usually at each other's throats. He didn't have an objection to dancing with Hikari. He still viewed her as a friend despite some of her approaches on him, and he didn't like seeing her all mopey. "If you're sure about this-"

"I am."

Somewhat hesitantly, Dan did as Alicia had suggested and walked over to Hikari. Alicia looked away, not wanting to see what she was letting happen right now.

Lilina put a hand on her friend's shoulder. "That was really big of you Alicia."

"Just drop it." Alicia muttered, not wanting to talk about it any further. It took all of her self-control not to call Dan back over to her. She knew he would never choose Hikari over her, he had shown that plenty of times in the past.

Another thing, although Alicia didn't like to admit it, was that Dan was right when he said Hikari wasn't really evil. She had come to her aid in the past, something Alicia was grateful for. And one thing Alicia knew was that Hikari truly loved Dan like she did. It wasn't some simple crush due to looks or anything of that nature. She knew that Hikari loved Dan for the person he was.

As Dan walked over to Hikari, he could easily just how depressed she was. Tears were beginning to form in her eyes. When she caught sight of Dan coming her way, she quickly wiped away her tears. "What do you want, Dan?"

"I was just wondering if you'd like to dance." Dan offered as he held out his hand.

Hikari narrowed her eyes as she looked at him. "You're kidding, right?"

"No girl deserves to be at a dance alone."

"You sure your girlfriend won't yell at me for trying to steal you away from her again." Hikari muttered harshly.

"My girlfriend was the one who suggested this."

Hikari blinked her eyes in surprise. "Come again?"

"She said you could have one slow dance with me." Dan said with his hand still held out. "So Hikari, would you like to dance?"

Hikari couldn't believe what she was hearing right now. She wiped away her remaining tears and showed a soft smile as she grabbed Dan's hand. "Yes, I would like that very much."

Dan led Hikari over to the dance floor as the next song began to play. She wrapped her arms around him and he did the same. They stepped side to side in rhythm with the song.

_Hands up high. Raise them high_

_And cast your worries to the skies_

_There's no doubt. Not one doubt_

_As I make my wish and let it cry out_

Hikari smiled as she danced with Dan. She remembered back in Sword Art Online when she had worked with him as fellow tacticians. She had always been amazed by his skill at analyzing a boss and finding weaknesses with even minimal information. He always put everything he had into making strategies, saying he wanted to do everything he could to protect players.

_If I gathered all the love in my heart_

_That grows with every passing day_

_I would find a confusing puzzle that changes and rearranges_

_Will I ever find my place? I'm not sure_

_Or will I forever feel insecure?_

_And the moment all the questions fade I notice my tears_

_But can't hold them back_

_Maybe it's too late I've lost my chance_

_All of my questions shall go unanswered_

_Will I keep fighting to find the light or will I descend to a bitter end?_

Over time, she had begun to feel something more towards him. She would look at him and never want to look away. Before she knew it, her thoughts were filled with his image. She began working harder and harder as a tactician, doing everything she could to get Ren to notice her. But his attention was always on Alice more than her. It hurt her how close the two of them were. Why? Why couldn't that be her with him?

_Hands up high. Raise them high_

_And cast your worries to the sky_

_If you can't stand then take my hand_

_And I will rise to fight by your side_

_My beating heart is burning on_

_And as it races I realize_

_There's no doubt. Not one doubt_

_As I make my wish and let it cry out_

Eventually, her wanting to be with Ren turned into jealousy. She hated it all. She thought she hated Alice for taking away her chances of being together with the person she loved. But looking back, maybe she was just mad at herself because deep down she knew she'd never be able to make Ren as happy as Alice did.

_I have always danced to my own beat_

_But you always throw me out of sync_

'_Cause around you I am holding back and I'm mastering a fake brave smile_

_Maybe it's too late I've lost to my dreams_

_All of my wishes come true only here_

_If I wake up now I'll lose this moment_

_I fear my dreams will fade around me_

Hikari stared at Dan. She could tell he was doing his best, despite how awkward this must have felt for him. She knew he would rather be doing this with Alicia right now. Looking past Dan, she saw Alicia sitting at her table. She was the one that had suggested Dan come over to her and do this with her. She couldn't even begin to imagine how hard that must have been for her. She closed her eyes and showed a bittersweet smile. She knew deep in her heart what she had to do.

_I'm so close yet so far_

_I can't reach out to where you are_

_I'd give my heart. I'd give my soul_

_But some things are not in our control_

_Your hand's not meant for me to hold_

_And I'll be lonely when you're gone_

_I'm aware so aware_

_Only through my memory you'll be there_

_It's not the destiny that I've dreamed of_

_And as I cry I know this is goodbye_

_How can I ever reach you when I can't even see the sky?_

Hikari leaned her head against Dan. How often she had dreamed of being able to do something like this with the boy she loved. Now that dream was finally coming true, even if it was only for a short while. Hikari treasured every passing second as she danced with Dan. There was also a small feeling of regret because she knew this would be the only time the two of them would dance like this.

_Hands up high. Raise them high_

_And cast your worries to the sky_

_If you can't stand then take my hand_

_And I will rise to fight by your side_

_My beating heart is burning on_

_And as it races I realize_

_There's no doubt. Not one doubt_

_As I make my wish and let it cry out_

The song finally came to a close. It was only a few minutes, but to Hikari it felt like forever. She removed her hands from her dancing partner and showed him a heartfelt smile. "Thanks Dan. I really appreciated that." She motioned over towards Alicia. "Now go on. Your girlfriend's waiting."

"Hikari…"

"Don't worry. I'll be fine. Really." Hikari assured him. "See you later Reny-kins. And tell Alicia thanks for me."

Dan watched as Hikari walked away from him. Not a single hint at seduction or anything. He couldn't remember the last time Hikari had talked to him like that. She seemed… at peace. Dan walked back over to his table where Alicia was sitting. He sat down next to his girlfriend. "You alright, Alicia?"

"Yeah." Alicia nodded, sighing in relief that the toughest few minutes of her life were over. "I'll be fine."

"Well in that case" Dan said as he held out his hand. "Alicia, would you like to dance?"

Alicia smiled as she accepted his hand. "You bet I would."

Dan and Alicia walked over to the dance floor and got into the position they had been in for all of their dances before. His arms around her waist, pulling her in close. Her hands locked around the back of his neck, never wanting to let go. They danced in rhythm to the music.

"Hikari says thank you by the way." Dan told her. "That was a really nice thing you did."

"Thanks." Alicia said. She rested her head against Dan, wanting to stay like this forever. "I'm never letting you go again. I want us to be together forever."

"I wouldn't have it any other way." Dan told her as the two of them shared a kiss.

The couple danced for a long while to the music playing. Neither one of them wanted to leave each other's embrace. But after a while, the couple could feel both of their legs getting tired and decided it was time to take a break from dancing. Dan walked over to the punch table to get a drink for both him and his girlfriend.

As Alicia walked back to her table, she was stopped short by Hikari. The blonde girl stared at Alicia. "Can we talk?"

Alicia was slightly surprised by the way Hikari said her words. No smugness, no venomous tone, nothing. She managed to hide her surprise and nodded her head. "Sure."

Hikari and Alicia walked out of the room and stood in the hallway. The two of them stood together in silence for a few moments before Hikari finally said what she needed to. "You win Alicia."

Alicia blinked her eyes in surprise. "What?"

"I said you win. I give up." Hikari told her. "What you did there… letting Dan dance with me cause you saw how sad I was. I don't think I would have been able to do the same. I would have been too selfish to let him go for even a second. And during that entire dance, I could tell how awkward it was for him. He wanted to do his best to make me feel better, but at the same time I could tell how afraid he was that what he was doing was hurting you."

"Hikari…"

The blonde girl let out a sigh. "He really does love you more than me. I never wanted to admit it, but now I don't think I have any other choice." She stared at Alicia, eye to eye. "So you win. I'll back off from Dan. For good this time."

Alicia couldn't believe what she was hearing. Hikari was flat out telling her that she would stop trying to steal her boyfriend from her. There was no way for Alicia to tell just how unbelievably hard that must have been. She showed her an appreciative smile. "Thanks Hikari."

Hikari nodded her head. "And Alicia?"

"Yes?"

"I know you and I have never really been on the best of terms. But do you think… you and I could take a shot at being friends?"

Those words surprised Alicia almost as much as Hikari saying she would back off. She had started to hate Hikari less lately. The two of them had some moments where they almost seemed like friends. And as long as she stopped trying to steal Dan, why couldn't they be friends?

"Sure." Alicia nodded. "I'd like that."

"Thanks." Hikari said with a smile. Before she even knew what she was doing, Hikari hugged Alicia. "Take care of him for me, ok?"

"I will." Alicia told her. "Thanks Hikari."

The two girls separated and Alicia went back into the dance hall. Hikari sighed to herself due to the fact that she finally had to give up on her feelings for Dan. Just as she was about to return to the dance hall, a voice came up behind her.

"Would you like to dance?"

Hikari turned around and widened her eyes slightly in surprise at who it was.

* * *

Alicia walked back to her seat, where Dan and her friends were waiting. Lilina saw her friend and motioned for her to hurry up. "Alicia, where have you been?!"

"Sorry. Just got caught up with some unfinished business." Alicia explained. "Did I miss anything important?"

"No, but you almost did! They're about to announce prom king and queen!"

Alicia gasped as she quickly took her seat next to Dan at the table. She and Dan may have been front runners for winning it, but there were still several other potential couples. Kirito and Asuna were two of the most well-known SAO players so they were definitely potential candidates. Hyde and Lilina were both crazy at times, but their chances were just as good as them since they were a popular couple. Hell, maybe even Rika and Yuya could win if enough people knew about them beforehand.

The principal of the SAO Survivor's School stepped up to the podium by the DJ. He cleared his throat before speaking into the microphone. "If everyone is ready, I will now announce the king and queen for the prom." He opened the sealed envelope and looked at the slip of paper. "The king and queen are… Dan Hiryo and Alicia Tsuki!"

Several cheers, gasps, and other reactions were seen around the room. Dan and Alicia gasped as they looked at each other. Neither of them had actually expected to win. Kirito and Asuna were the most likely contenders for king and queen.

"What are you waiting for you two? Get going." Asuna said, giving her friends a small nudge.

Dan and Alicia stood up from their seats and walked over to the podium while students clapped to congratulate the couple. When they arrived and stood in front of the hall, facing everyone, neither of them really knew what to do or say. Two teachers came up and put a crown on Dan's head and a tiara on Alicia's. They were the first prom king and queen of the SAO Survivor School.

A single word echoed throughout the room, everyone chanting the same thing. "Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!"

Dan and Alicia looked at each other. It was a little embarrassing in front of everybody, but the king and queen had to do what they could to make their subjects happy. They leaned into each other and pressed their lips together. A huge cheer of applause came from everybody as they saw their king and queen kiss.

Music for a new song began to play as their lips separated. Dan smiled as he looked at Alicia. "Shall we, my queen?"

Alicia giggled as she responded with a nod. "Of course, my king."

Dan and Alicia held each other as the two of them began to dance. Several other students decided to get up and slow dance as well. Soon, the dance floor was populated with students, boys and girls together dancing with the music. Dan and Alicia's friends smiled at the happy couple from their table.

"So the Crimson Flash and the Berserker Lotus of SAO are the prom king and queen." Asuna said with a smile. "I'm happy for them."

"Me too." Kazuto nodded. Suddenly his eyes caught sight of another twosome dancing together. He had to double check just to make sure it was them. "Well that's a surprise."

"What is it?" Asuna asked.

"Um… well I'm not too sure if it's a good idea for you to see."

"Oh come on. How bad could it be?" Asuna asked. "Just show me already."

Kazuto shrugged his shoulders and rubbed the back of his head. He knew how this was going to end as he pointed out to a specific area of the dance floor. "Recognize those two?"

Asuna's eyes followed the direction Kazuto was pointing in. She scanned the area, wondering what her boyfriend was referring to. And then she saw it. "No way…"

"What? What do you see?" Lilina asked.

Asuna moaned as she planted her face on the table. "How could this happen? It's not fair."

"Seriously, what is it Asuna." Rika asked, curious to what had her best friend so shocked and depressed.

"See for yourself."

The group all looked towards where Kazuto was pointing. When they realized what Asuna saw, all of their jaws dropped.

It was Hikari. And she was dancing with Yaksha.

"Another couple that got together without me realizing it!" Asuna sulked. "I give up. Just kill me now and put me out of my misery."

Everyone ignored Asuna's moaning due to the sheer surprise of the sight of Hikari and Yaksha dancing together. Hikari didn't seem to be the type to be satisfied dancing with anyone other than Dan. And Yaksha… he didn't even seem the type to go to a dance in the first place.

Emi smiled as she looked at the two of them. "I'm happy for Hikari. Maybe she's finally moved on from Dan."

"You might be right about that Emi." Keiko nodded.

Meanwhile on the dance floor, Dan and Alicia swayed with the music. They were surrounded by other students dancing together, but they didn't even notice them. The world was shut out except for the two of them as the song played.

_No matter if one day I wake and blink away this world around me_

_And I'm lost in thoughts of what could be_

_I know that I will find my way_

'_Cause now I have this light within me_

_It shines on me forevermore_

_And shines and shines forevermore_

_For you and me eternally_

**A/N: Hope you all liked the chapter, as well as the two new ships of Yaksha and Asami as well as Silica and Quint (though technically Silica and Quint were introduced in Hollow Inferno). I also thought it would be nice to add the Ren and Asami moment for all of you that ship them and apparently have some weird death wish that involves Alice ripping you in half with her scythe. The second chapter I promised you all will be up within a few days, probably around Friday. See you then.**

**Also for those of you interested, here are the results of the prom poll. I took the votes for king and queen separately.**

**King:**

**Ren/Dan: 5**

**Kirito/Kazuto: 4**

**Saki/Yuya: 2**

**Helios/Hyde: 4**

**Queen:**

**Alice/Alicia: 5**

**Asuna: 4**

**Liz/Rika: 4**

**Dagger/Lilina: 2**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the songs used in this chapter both were the english versions of Overfly and Yume Sekai done by Amanda Lee.**


	115. All Good Things Must Come to an End

**A/N: Sorry this chapter is out a day later than I promised. This took me longer to write than I thought. I promise the next one will be out on Tuesday like usual though.**

**By the way, if you didn't notice already, I posted a new story called Imprisoned Heart. Feel free to give it a read.**

The sun was already high in the morning sky as Alicia yawned and blinked her eyes open. The prom had gone on for a long time last night, just up to midnight. After parting ways with Dan, a kiss goodbye, and several more pictures taken by Mrs. Hiryo when she discovered the two of them were crowned prom king and queen, Alicia was dropped off at her house. Once she got out of her prom dress, she collapsed on the bed, exhausted from the eventful night.

It was Saturday, and that meant the weekend for relaxing. And to add to the student's excitement, they had next week off as well. It was to allow students to ponder what they want to do with their future, for any of those who hadn't yet. Alicia knew what she wanted to do with her life, so that gave her a whole week to be with Dan and her friends.

Come to think of it, why not hang out with Dan today? She didn't have any plans, and neither did he as far as she knew. The weather was supposed to be nice too. Perfect for a full day of hanging out with her boyfriend.

Alicia grabbed her phone and dialed Dan's number. After a few rings, he picked up. "Hey Alicia. Sleep well?"

"Yep. Slept like a baby." Alicia told him. "Are you free today? I was wondering if you wanted to hang out."

"That sounds great." Dan said. "When do you want to meet up?"

"Do you think you can get here at around 2?"

"Works for me."

"Alright. See you then." Alicia hung up her cellphone and grinned. Today was going to be a good day.

Alicia quickly went over to the mirror she had in her bedroom and began brushing her hair. Lately, she had been hanging out with her boyfriend as much as she could. The main reason for that was how they'd both be going to college soon. Once they were busy with their studies, they wouldn't be able to hang out as often. No more ALO, no more walking around the city, no more of a lot of things. But after they were done with college, what then? Alicia imagined her and Dan together, starting a family, and living happily ever after.

Actually continuing a family would be the better way to put it. The two of them had already started a family when Luna came into their lives. Even if she was gone now, both Dan and Alicia would always see her as their first daughter.

Once Alicia had finished brushing her hair, she went downstairs for breakfast, or rather lunch considering it was already close to noon. When she arrived downstairs, her parents were already there. Emi was present too, though the tired look in her eyes told Alicia that she had just woken up too.

"Good morning Alicia." Mrs. Tsuki smiled. "How's my little prom queen doing?"

Alicia blushed, wondering how her mother had found out that she and Dan had been crowned king and queen. She looked over to her sister Emi who was quietly giggling, telling her the answer to her question.

Mrs. Tsuki giggled at her daughter's embarrassed face. "So then Alicia, what do you have planned for today?"

"I was planning on spending the day with Dan."

"Oh that sounds fun." Mrs. Tsuki smiled. Suddenly an idea flashed in her mind. "Alicia, why don't you invite him over for dinner? It's been awhile since you have."

Alicia thought about her mother's proposal. It was true that it had been awhile since Dan had eaten over at her place. Most of the times they ate together were on their dinner dates. Plus she had been practicing her cooking with help from Asuna, so it would be a nice chance to get some feedback.

"That sounds good." Alicia said with a nod. "But is it alright if I cook it?"

"Aww, she wants to cook for her boyfriend. How cute!" Emi teased.

Alicia countered with a smirk at her sister. "At least I have a boyfriend to cook for."

Emi's response was a pout. "That was a low move sis. Not cool."

Alicia giggled at her sister's pouting face. After eating her lunch, she went back upstairs to freshen up for the day. She took a quick shower, since she hadn't gotten the chance to last night with how tired she was.

As the hot water rained down on her, Alicia hummed a soft tune. She didn't realize it until halfway through, but the tune she was humming was the BGM for Lunet. The music had seemed to get stuck in her head lately. Perhaps it was because she loved that place. The home she and Ren shared together. The place that held so many memories for the two of them. That was her paradise.

Not long after Alicia finished her shower and dried herself off, the sound of the doorbell ringing was heard. She made her way downstairs and opened the door, smiling when she saw Dan standing on the other side.

"Hey Dan." Alicia greeted, letting him into the house.

Dan leaned in and gave Alicia a peck on the cheek. "Hey. So, got anything planned for today?"

"I was thinking we could try and finally beat Super Mario GR." Alicia suggested. "We were on the last world last time we played."

"You sure you don't want to play the VR version of Five Nights at Freddy's instead?" Dan said with a teasing grin.

Alicia shuddered at the thought of that game. "Don't remind me of that terrifying experience. I still get nightmares about it."

Dan let out a small laugh as he and Alicia walked into the kitchen. When they entered, Alicia's parents greeted her boyfriend with a smile.

"It's nice to see you again, Dan." Mrs. Tsuki said.

"It's nice to see you too, Mr and Mrs. Tsuki." Dan responded politely.

"Hey Dan, guess what." Emi said as she came over to the couple. "Alicia's cooking tonight just for you. Isn't that sweet?"

"Emi!" Alicia pouted while having an embarrassed blush on her face, causing her sister to giggle teasingly.

Dan looked at his girlfriend. "You're really cooking tonight?"

"Well… I wanted to try and see what you thought of it." Alicia told him. "Asuna's been giving me lessons and I thought it'd be nice. If you can't stay for dinner I understand but-"

Alicia stopped her rambling as Dan leaned in and silenced her with a quick kiss. He showed her an encouraging smile. "I'm sure I'll love it if you make it."

"Th-Thanks." Alicia blushed.

Emi rolled her eyes at the couple. "Ugh, you two are way too lovey dovey sometimes. I'm gonna go play ALO for a bit."

Alicia watched her sister walk upstairs and shrugged as she turned to her boyfriend. "So, you wanna get started on that game?"

"Um, Alicia… Emi said she's going on ALO right?"

"Yeah." Alicia nodded.

"So that means we only have one Amu Sphere to use."

The sudden realization hit Alicia. The black haired girl sighed to herself. "So much for that. What now?"

"Well I don't know about you." Dan said as he put his arm around her waist. "But I don't mind us just spending some time together cuddling."

"Hmm… you are a good cuddler." Alicia said with a chuckle. "Alright then." She grabbed his hand and brought him upstairs, but not before a call came from her parents.

"We better not hear any shaking up there."

Alicia's face went completely red at the implication. "M-Mom! Was that really warranted?!"

"I'm just joking sweetheart." Mrs. Tsuki laughed. "But in all seriousness, I don't want to hear any nasty stuff coming from upstairs, got that?"

Doing her best to ignore her parent's comment, Alicia went to her room with her boyfriend. The two of them laid together on her bed, holding each other in a warm embrace. Simply being together was enough for them. Neither one wanted to leave the other's embrace.

* * *

Kikouka sat at his desk doing paperwork. Things had gotten quite peaceful ever since the Ghost incident was finished. There were still things that needed to be wrapped up, but at least there wasn't any large scale crises that needed his attention.

Which is why he was rather annoyed when a worker knocked on his door. "Kikouka, sir. Do you have a minute?"

"Come in." he said, not even glancing at the door as he continued his paperwork.

The door to his office opened and the secretary walked in. "Sir, I think there's something you should see."

"Can it wait? I'm rather busy right now."

"I believe you're going to want to see this now."

The government official sighed as he grabbed the tablet she handed him. He scrolled through the information, his eyes widening with what he saw. Two incidents, neither one good, and both were most likely related. "When was this?"

"The first was about three weeks ago. The second happened a few days ago."

"And you're just telling me this now?!"

"W-We just received word of it." she explained.

"Damnit all…" Kikouka muttered, running his fingers through his hair. One thing was for sure. This was bad. This was very bad.

* * *

Dan sat at the table in the Tsuki's kitchen along with Emi and her father. Alicia soon came over holding two plates in her hands. She placed one for herself and one for her boyfriend. "Here it is."

On the plate was a cooked salmon, along with a few vegetables as a side dish. Cooking the fish wasn't too hard, but the sauce was the tricky part. She had made a homemade one, a recipe that Asuna had taught her. According to her, the sauce was what really brings the dish together.

After serving the fish to the rest of the family, everyone began eating. Alicia however waited to eat, wanting to see what Dan thought of it. Her boyfriend took a bite of the meal. Her face brightened when she saw Dan smile. "Mmm, this is really good Alicia."

"You really like it?" Alicia asked.

"Of course." he nodded. "It's delicious."

"He's right." her father said as he ate a piece of his salmon too. "It's cooked to perfection. And the sauce is incredible."

Alicia took a bite of the dish she had made and smiled. It really was good. They liked it. Dan liked it. That made it all the more worth it. She made a mental note to thank Asuna for this later.

The dinner went on for awhile as they talked about various things. Dan and Alicia would be going off to college soon, as would most of their friends. Emi would be the only one in the Wyvern's Inferno guild staying behind, since she was younger than the rest of them. The young girl didn't seem to mind too much though, as it would mean no more Hyde and his annoying ego for awhile. Heck, most of the school was glad that he would be out of their hair soon. Plus Kazuto would still have one more year before he would be off to college so at least she had someone to tease and help her with her homework.

After dinner was over, Dan thanked Alicia for the meal and also the rest of her family for their hospitality. The couple parted ways with a kiss and Dan headed back home.

* * *

Dan walked through the city streets, with his mouth still enjoying the taste of the fish Alicia had cooked. Asuna must have been a really great teacher, but he doubted even she would be able to make him any good at cooking.

As Dan walked, he looked up at the sky. The moon was beginning to shine and a few stars were already twinkling in the night sky. He gazed at the sky and thought back on these past few years.

First came Sword Art Online. When the death game started, he had no idea just how much it would change his life. He wasn't even sure if he would make it out alive. But then he met Alice and Mai, who joined him, Helios, and Riku to form Wyvern's Inferno. Even though they were small, the guild managed to keep up with the front lines and made a name for themselves. And then Dagger met Helios and joined the guild, bringing fortune and disaster alike for them. But he couldn't imagine a better group of friends to have at his side.

Even after clearing SAO, adventure still found its way into their lives. Rescuing Asuna introduced them to ALO, which was nothing like Sword Art Online had been. They fought Yamato at the World tree, a fight that Ren nearly lost if it hadn't been for Kirito. And even after all of that was said and done, things weren't over. He recalled all of the insane adventures he had with his friends in Alfheim, both good and bad. He fought Asami in Fire Emblem Online. He and his friends fought in the ALO World Tournament and then fought against Gabriel Miller. And then came the Ghost incident that he, Alice, Elza, and Ayumi managed to stop. Even though some of them were dangerous, he still remembered the fun times he had during them.

But now those times were slowly coming to an end.

'_Guess we can't stay young forever.'_ Dan thought to himself with a sigh. He continued walking towards the subway to take a train back home. Suddenly he turned his head around, thinking he had heard something. After a few moments of silence, Dan shrugged it off as just his imagination.

And then it came again. Dan paused his walking, glancing around him. Now this was really starting to get weird. He couldn't put his finger on it, but something told him to be on his guard.

'_Something's not right.'_

As Dan walked past an alleyway, a hand reached out from the shadows and grabbed him, pulling him into the darkness of the alleyway. The teen struggled with his attacker, who covered his mouth before he could call out for help. Dan swung his head back, delivering a rather vicious headbutt to the person attacking him. He managed to break free of his grip as shoved his elbow into the man's gut. Turning around to face his attacker, Dan's eyes widened at who it was.

"You…"

As Dan was about to call for help, the man sprayed some type of gas at him. Dan covered his mouth to avoid breathing it in, but he could tell some of it made its way into his body. He could tell by the dizziness he suddenly felt that it wasn't poison, but was instead designed to knock him out. He became sluggish, but he could still escape if he ran right now. Unfortunately, he didn't notice a second attacker coming up behind him.

The last thing Dan remembered before blacking out was a hard blow to the back of his head.

**A/N: Ooooo, and trouble comes once again. Who are the mystery attackers? You'll just have to wait until Tuesday to find out. See you then, readers.**


	116. One Last Fight

**A/N: Hooray. Got the chapter up on schedule this time. I'm sure you've all been eager to see what's going to happen after the ending last chapter had. Well here you go. Hope you like it.**

Alicia woke up with a yawn. The sun was still rising in the morning sky. After she got out of bed and brushed her hair to get rid of the mess it had become while she slept, Alicia went downstairs to eat breakfast. She quickly made up a plate of eggs and toast for herself and Emi who soon came downstairs as well.

The two Tsuki sisters ate breakfast together while talking about what to do for the rest of spring break. Alicia was planning to spend as much time as possible with Dan. It wouldn't be long before the two of them would be off to college. While she was glad that she had found a college with a major in literature nearby the university Dan would be attending, they still wouldn't be able to be together as often as usual.

Alicia finished eating and brought her dishes over to the sink to wash them. As she washed them under the water from the sink, she heard her cellphone ring. Alicia quickly dried her hands and went to answer the phone. Surprisingly, the number calling her was Clair's. Alicia hit the 'Accept' tab and brought the phone to her ear. "Hey Clair. What's up?"

"Alicia, did my brother stay over at your place last night by any chance?" Clair asked.

"No. He went home last night around nine or so. Why?"

"Alicia… Dan never came home last night."

Alicia was glad she wasn't holding any dishes right now, or she would have dropped them on the floor. "What do you mean he never came home? He's missing?"

"I don't know. It seems like it. My mom's getting really worried." Clair explained.

Alicia began to grow worried as well. Dan's house wasn't too far of a trip from her own. He just had to take the bus or the subway and walk for a bit.

"Alicia, do you have any idea where he might be?" Clair asked.

"No. I assumed he made it home last night. I have no idea where he could be." Alicia responded. She could hear the younger girl trying to hold back tears of worry. "Ok, let's get everyone together and meet up at Dicey Café. Surely someone must know where he could be"

"R-Right. I'll meet you there in about an hour" Clair said before hanging up the phone. Emi looked over at her sister, wondering what was going on based on what her sister had been saying over the phone.

"Dan's missing" Alicia quickly explained. "We're meeting everyone at Agil's place. Come on."

Emi quickly nodded and brought her dishes over to the sink. Alicia left a note for her parents, telling them where she and Emi were going and that it was an emergency. After calling up the rest of her friends, Alicia ran out the door with her sister and they quickly made their way to the Dicey Café.

'_Dan, where are you?'_

* * *

Opening his eyes, Dan found himself in a room he didn't recognize. It was somewhat dirty with spider webs in corners of the room and from the look of it the room seemed to be someone's basement or cellar. The only door was at the top of a small flight of stairs. He was strapped to a chair and was unable to move his arms or legs. The back of his head was aching.

'_Where am I?'_ Dan thought as he slowly regained his consciousness. _'The last thing I remember… I was going home from Alicia's. Then some guy came out of nowhere and then… what happened next?'_

Dan's train of thought was interrupted as the door opened and a person walked down the stairs. The sight of Dan being awake seemed to excite him for some reason. "Oh you're awake. Perfect"

"Where the hell am I?" Dan glared. "Who are you?"

The only thing he got as a response was the man pressing a switch and a coursing shock of electricity flowing through his body. Dan cried out in pain as the jolt shook him awake. If there had been any thoughts that this person was here to help him, they were gone now.

"You would do well to mind your manners kid. It's rude to act mean to your kidnapper"

Dan breathed heavily as he tried to recover from the pain the electric shock had brought. After shaking away the black spots that came into his consciousness. He looked up at the man walking over to him. He removed the hood he was wearing to reveal his face. Dan had never met the man in person, but he knew all too well who he was.

"Sugou?!"

"Oh good, you know who I am. Then we can skip introductions" Sugou said with a malicious grin. "I believe you know my partner"

Before Dan could ask who this 'partner' was, the door opened again and another person walked down into the room. This one was someone Dan knew all too well as he snarled the man's name. "Yamato"

"Good to know you didn't forget me this time" Yamato smirked.

"How the hell are you here? Both of you are supposed to be in prison"

"I broke out of prison once. Did you really think I couldn't do it again?" Sugou chuckled. "After I made it back to Japan, I helped my associate here break out. Then it all came down to planning revenge"

"So you picked me over Kazuto and Asuna? I'm flattered" Dan said sarcastically. Another electric shock soon coursed through his body, quickly shutting him up.

"I don't remember giving you permission to speak" Sugou grinned. "Try to keep your mouth shut until I say otherwise. Now where was I? Oh yes, revenge. You see, I really couldn't care less about you and your friends. I'm just interested in Asuna and her little hero boyfriend. My friend here however was quite insistent on getting some payback against you. So we decided to go for a little compromise."

"And what would that be? You're gonna take turns acting like pricks instead of both at the same ti- AUUUUGGGGGHHHHHH!" Dan was cut off as a much more painful shock of electricity hit him this time.

"I see you're a slow learner. No problem. It just means I get to watch you scream in agony even more." Yamato said as he switched off the electric shock. "You see, you're simply the bait to bring out the bigger fish. Three to be in fact"

Three fish? It wasn't hard to guess the first two were Kazuto and Asuna. But who was the third? When the answer finally hit him, Dan's eyes widened in fear. "Alicia…"

"Smart kid" Yamato chuckled. "You're the one I really want dead, but having some fun with her will be a nice bonus. Oh how I'm gonna enjoy listening to her scream."

"YOU BASTARD! DON'T YOU DARE TOUCH HER!" Dan yelled at the top of his lungs. As he spat out the words, he already knew the electric shock that was coming. This one was more painful than any of the others before. Dan couldn't find the energy to stay awake as his consciousness drifted off.

* * *

Everyone had gathered together at the Dicey Café quickly after Alicia had called them. All of her friends and guild mates were present in the café. Once everyone was present, Alicia and Clair went into detail about what was going on.

"So that's the situation" Alicia said as she finished her explanation. "Has Dan contacted any of you since last night?"

Nobody spoke up with an answer. They were all silent. Alicia had expected this much, but she still wanted to hope someone had known where he was.

"Where could he be? This isn't like him at all?" Clair wondered. Tears began to form in her eyes as Asuna tried to comfort the young girl.

"Don't worry Clair, we'll find him. I promise."

Kazuto addressed the group. "I don't think Dan ended up anywhere too far away. We should split up and search."

Everyone nodded in agreement and divided into groups. If anyone ended up finding Dan, they were to call everyone immediately. Everyone was to meet back at the café at five o'clock if nobody found him.

Alicia walked through the city with Emi. The two girls were in charge of searching the route between the Tsuki house and the subway. Clair was currently searching the area between where Dan would have disembarked from the subway and her house with Shino. Everyone else was scanning around the city for any leads on where Dan might be.

As the two Tsuki sisters searched the area, Emi could easily see the look of panic on her sister's face. "We'll find him, Alicia. Don't worry."

Alicia nodded her head while trying to hold back tears. "I… I'm just so worried. What could have happened to him?"

"I'm worried too. But we have to stay positive" Emi told her. "We can't give up"

"You're right" Alicia nodded. She wiped her eyes. "Alright, let's keep searching"

Time passed by as everyone searched desperately for their missing friend. He hadn't been missing for 24 hours yet, so they couldn't bring this to the police right now. Five o'clock finally came around and everyone returned to Agil's café. Unfortunately, none of them had found even the slightest clue where Dan could be. They all agreed to search the area again tomorrow, though chances were it would be in vain considering they hadn't found anything today after hours of searching.

Rika and Shino agreed to walk Clair back to her house. It wasn't a good idea to let the young girl be alone in her current mental state right now. Alicia decided to stay at the café for a little while longer to get her head together. Emi was afraid of leaving her sister alone, but Kazuto and Asuna assured her they would stay with Alicia and make sure she got back home alright. After Emi walked out the door, Asuna put a comforting arm on her friend's shoulder. "Are you alright Alicia?"

Alicia gave a weak nod. "Yeah. It's just… I just feel so useless right now"

"It'll be 24 hours soon. Once we have the police helping, we'll have a much better chance of finding him."

Alicia knew that Kazuto was right, but it didn't help ease her nerves. She soon heard her phone ringing from her pocket. Alicia figured her parents asking for details on why she had left so suddenly earlier in the morning and reached into her pocket. Suddenly she realized something. The ringtone playing wasn't her usual ringtone. It was the one she had set for whenever one specific person was calling her, Dan.

Alicia quickly took out her phone and checked just to be absolutely sure. It was true. The phone calling her was Dan's number. She quickly accepted the call and brought the phone to her ear. "Dan, where are you?! Are you alright?!"

"Sorry, but your prince charming can't come to the phone right now"

Alicia felt a cold shiver as she realized the voice speaking wasn't Dan's. "Who is this?"

"Oh you'll find that out very soon. For now, just listen and do as I say. There's a package outside the building you're currently at. Pick it up and open it."

Alicia did as she was told and went to the door of the café. Outside was a box that was about a foot in width, length, and height. She brought it inside and opened it. The package contained a small television device, along with a remote.

"What is this supposed to be?" Alicia asked the person on the other end of the phone call.

"Turn it on and you'll find out." After saying that, the person hung up and ended the call.

Alicia grabbed the remote and hit power. When the screen turned on, the teens all gasped at what they saw. Dan was sitting in a chair with his arms and legs bound. His body was clearly in pain and he was breathing heavily. Alicia backed away a few steps and brought both of her hands to her mouth in horror. "Dan… what happened to him?"

"Such a lovely sight, isn't it?" a voice said from the room being shown on the television. The man walked into the range of the screen and revealed himself. All three of them gasped in shock as they recognized the man.

"Sugou?!" Kazuto yelled. "You're behind this?!"

"I see nothing gets past you Kirito" Sugou smirked. He turned his gaze towards Asuna. "Ah, my lovely Asuna. It's so nice to see your face after so long"

"Sugou, you coward!" Asuna yelled. "Let Dan go right now!"

"If you want him back so much, come and get him. I'll be emailing you the address shortly"

Kazuto walked forward and glared at Sugou. "When I get my hands on you, I'm gonna kill you for good this time!"

"By all means. Feel free to try Mr. Hero" Sugou chuckled. "But try not to take too long. Otherwise…" He let his actions do the rest of the talking as he hit a switch and Dan's body began spasming. Alicia could see her boyfriend was doing everything he could to suppress his body's desire to scream in pain.

"No… please don't hurt him" Alicia begged as tears began to fall from her eyes.

"Hmmm. Seems he's lost his voice. No matter, I'm sure my friend here can help him find it." Sugou grinned. Another person soon appeared on screen, walking over to the restrained teen.

Alicia's eyes widened in horror as she recognized the man. "Yamato…"

"Happy to see me?" Yamato grinned. He pulled out a knife with a clearly sharp blade. The look he was giving Dan was clearly one of hatred. "Why don't you say hello to your girlfriend kid? I'm sure she's happy to see you alive." He pressed the blade against Dan's arm, cutting into the skin. Dan tried to hold back his screams of agony, but the pain was too much. The screams coming from him made Alicia feel like her ears were bleeding.

"Please… just stop" Alicia pleaded as she fell to her knees crying. Kazuto glared at Sugou and his companion.

"Damn you Sugou! I swear when I get my hands on you, I'm gonna make you wish you were never born you son of a bitch!" Kazuto yelled.

"Go ahead and try. I'll be waiting." Sugou said with a grin. "You three have forty-eight hours to show up. If you don't show up, or if anyone other than the three of you show up, your friend here dies. Try not to be tardy."

"Alicia, guys, don't come! Whatever you do, don't come!" Dan finally managed to yell. Sugou rolled his eyes and flipped the switch for the electricity once again.

"How many times do I have to tell him? He needs to learn to speak only when given permission."

The screen went to black after that. Kazuto looked down at Alicia, who had completely broken down and was now crying a waterfall of tears as she kneeled on the floor. He clenched his fist and slammed it against the table. "Damnit! Why did this have to happen?! After everything we've gone through, why?!"

Asuna watched as Kazuto began to walk towards the door. "Where are you going?"

"To save my friend and kill those bastards"

"Not by yourself you're not" Asuna told him.

"Asuna, don't come with me. Promise me you won't come."

"You seem to be forgetting something" Asuna said as she walked over to her boyfriend. "Sugou's emailing the address to ME! That means if you want to know the address, I'm coming along with you"

Kazuto placed both his hands on his girlfriend's shoulders. "Asuna, I don't know what Sugou and Yamato have up their sleeve. If something happened to you, I'd never forgive myself."

"And the same goes for me if something happened to you. I'm going and that's final"

Alicia finally managed to choke out something as she paused her crying. "I… I'm going too"

Kazuto and Asuna looked at their friend as she got off the ground and wept the tears from her eyes. Kazuto shook his head. "No Alicia. I'm not letting you go and-"

"I wasn't asking for permission! I said I'm going!" Alicia sternly told him. "If the situation were reversed, Dan would be rushing out the door right now to save me. There's no way I'm staying behind."

"Ahem!" a loud voice said from the bar counter. The three teens all turned to face Agil, just remembering that he was there with them. "You kids can't really expect me to just let you go and do this, do you?"

"Agil, I need you to trust us" Kazuto told the owner of the bar. "Besides, we don't have much choice. Sugou said himself that if anyone other than the three of us show up, Dan's as good as dead"

Agil tried to find the words to discourage them from going, but couldn't. As dangerous as it was, Kazuto was right. "Fine, but I'm not letting you go in empty handed." The muscular bar owner went under the counter and pulled out three long jagged kitchen knives. Each of the blades were a little less than a foot long. "I know it's not much, but it's better than nothing."

The three teens nodded and took the knives, concealing them under their clothes. No doubt they'd need them if they ended up in a fight. Kazuto gave an appreciative smile to Agil. "Thanks Agil. I promise we'll be careful and bring Dan back alive."

"You better. You kids are my main source of income to keep this place going." Agil said with a joking smile. At this point, it was all he could do to try and lessen the tension.

"Right. Wish us luck" Kazuto said as the three of them walked out the door. After looking at the email Sugou sent her via her cellphone, Asuna found where the address was and they began running there. Alicia had a fierce determination in her eyes as they ran through the streets. She held the locket that was around her neck and opened it, showing a picture of her with Dan. Looking at the picture made Alicia's determination stronger and stronger. She would save him no matter what.

'_Hang on Dan. We're coming'_

**A/N: Hope you all enjoyed the chapter. Next one is going to be very eventful as I'm sure you all could guess, as well as a very shocking surprise at the end. See you then everyone.**


	117. To End it All

**A/N: Hey readers. Time for the new chapter, and the big battle against Yamato and Sugou. Hope you all enjoy it.**

Dan slowly opened his eyes. The last thing he remembered, he passed out from the torture Sugou and Yamato were putting him through. He recalled seeing a video chat with Alicia and him begging her not to come. He prayed she would listen to him and do just that, but he knew she wouldn't. She was probably rushing to him at this very moment.

"Well we're in a pretty shitty situation, wouldn't you say?"

Dan suddenly noticed another person with him. It was himself, back in SAO. The avatar called Ren. The two weren't in the basement room anymore, but instead a wide open field filled with nothing but grass and a serene breeze.

"What's going on?" Dan wondered.

"Well let's sum it up shall we? You're currently being held hostage by your most hated enemy and his boss. Your friends are probably on their way right now to rescue you, which as we both know has a good chance of ending with all of them dead. And to top it all off, you're talking with me right now, a figment of your imagination."

Dan sighed as he took a seat next to his SAO avatar. The breeze flowing towards him felt so nice. He wished he could bring Alicia to this place right now and have the two of them take a nap. But right now, all he could hope for was that Alicia wasn't coming on the suicide mission to rescue him. "You're right. We are in a pretty shitty situation."

"So what are you gonna do about it?" Ren asked.

Dan looked up into the sky, watching the clouds drift by. "There's nothing I can do. I'm powerless. Completely pathetic."

"Is that so?" Ren questioned. His tone didn't have any hint of judgment or harshness. It was just acceptance, as if he knew the answer Dan would say before even asking the question. "You've been in sticky situations before and made it out of those. You beat the Skull Reaper when it was thrashing around and nobody had any idea what to do. You defeated Hikari when she was the Dark Knight and had already beaten you before. You put a stop to Ghost in GSO. You even made it to the top eight in the ALO World Tournament and helped save the world from Gabriel and his plans."

"That was all you" Dan said in a hollow voice. "Every single great thing I've done was through your actions. I don't have any real power."

"What do you mean?"

"You were what I always wanted to be. I wanted to be a hero that everyone admired. Someone that could protect his friends. In the real world though, I can't do a thing."

Ren didn't say any more as the two of them continued to simply stare out into the distance.

* * *

Night was slowly extending its reach across the sky as street lamps began to turn on. Asuna was leading Kazuto and Alicia to the address Sugou had sent her with the GPS in her phone. Through subway travel and walking, it was about an hour trip to the building.

Finally the three of them arrived. The building was a large mansion, even bigger than Asuna's house. The gates were wide open, as if Sugou was taunting them to walk through the front door. Kazuto took the lead as they walked through the gate. The tension was the same as if they were going into a boss room in SAO. They walked up to the front door and pushed it open. No doubt Sugou had security cameras hidden all over so he could track their every movement.

"Sugou! Show yourself you coward!" Kazuto called out at the top of his lungs. "Stop hiding and face us right here and now! Let's settle this!"

Suddenly the sound of clapping was heard by the group. It wasn't in the main hall they were currently in though. It sounded like it was coming from a speaker. "Excellent speech Kirigaya. Quite moving. I almost want to take you up on that offer. But I won't."

"Where's Dan you bastard?!" Alicia screamed.

"You'll have to find that out yourself. Think of it as a game. A high stakes version of hide and seek. Winner take all. It'll be a blast!"

"You're a disgusting rat Sugou!" Asuna yelled. "You won't get away with this!"

"Try not to get too hurt Asuna dear. I don't want your body all mangled before I play with it. Hahahaha!"

Those words made Asuna shiver in disgust and made Kazuto glare in anger. He looked towards his girlfriend. "Asuna, go with Alicia and find Dan."

"But what about you?" Asuna asked.

"I'm going to find that son of a bitch and kill him once and for all." Not even giving Asuna a chance to respond, Kazuto ran up the stairs and went through one of the doors. Asuna looked towards Alica and the two of them nodded in agreement. They ran through one of the doors on the first floor and began their search.

Minute after minute passed by as the two girls searched the mansion, trying to find Dan. Asuna was desperate to find her friend, but Alicia seemed like a wild animal as she tore the place apart looking for him.

"Alicia, calm down. We can't go running around blindly"

"I can't calm down damnit!" Alicia yelled. "Dan's here somewhere, probably suffering beyond belief! I have to find him as quickly as possible before Sugou or Yamato does god knows what to him!"

Asuna couldn't blame her friend for the panicked state she was in. She would be the same if it were Kazuto in Dan's shoes right now.

Time continued to pass by as the two girls ran through a long hall, looking into every room they came across. As they turned a corner in the hall, Alicia stopped dead in her tracks. She paused for a moment. Asuna soon stopped too and looked at her friend in confusion. "What's wrong?"

"I thought I heard something. It sounded like Dan"

"Good ears" a sudden voice said. The two girls looked to see Yamato before them, slowly walking towards the two of them. In his hand was a long metal sword. One slash from it could easily rip either of the two girls in half. "Your little boyfriend is very close by. Don't worry, I'll let you see him. You can watch as his life slowly fades away."

Alicia snarled at them man across from her as she pulled out the blade she had gotten from Agil. Compared to Yamato's weapon, it was weak and flimsy at best. But it was all she had right now. This was the final boss standing between her and the person she loved. "I'll kill you."

"Oooo, scary!" Yamato remarked sarcastically. "If you give yourself up now, I might let you kiss him one last time before he dies."

Alicia ran towards Yamato with murderous intent in her eyes as she let out a terrifying war cry. She held a firm grip on her weapon as she slashed it at Yamato. He easily dodged it by stepping back and then grabbed Alicia by the arm that was holding the blade. He threw her against the wall and stared at her in the eyes. A sadistic smile was stretched across his face.

"What did you think coming here would accomplish? Did you honestly think that you had even the slightest chance of succeeding? Maybe I should have another go at your body to show you how the adult world works."

Yamato was so busy in his own thought that he almost missed Asuna coming at him with her blade. He let go of Alicia and moved away just in time to avoid the chestnut haired girl. He looked at her with a smug grin as Alicia stood behind her. "Don't worry. The boss plans on having plenty of fun with you too. Can't have you feel left out now can we?"

Asuna rushed forward with her own murderous glare, ready to kill the piece of scum standing before her.

* * *

Sitting comfortably in his chair, Sugou watched as the two girls fought Yamato. He had a full view of everything going on in the mansion from the camera footage. It was obvious the girls had more experience in this type of fight, but they were hopelessly outmatched in terms of equipment. Not to mention the training Yamato went through to wield that sword so efficiently. Sugou had done the same, all to kill a certain raven haired kid that had been a thorn in his side for too long.

Finally the doors to the room swung open. Standing on the other side of them was the very same raven haired boy he had trained himself to be able to kill. He turned his chair around to face him. "Ah Kirigaya, so glad you could make it."

"Enough fooling around Sugou. Let's end this" Kazuto glared.

"Straight to the point I see. Very well" Sugou said as he got out of his chair and grabbed the sword sitting next to him. "It's time for you to die"

Kazuto sped at Sugou as fast as his feet would allow. Sugou easily read his movements and lunged his long blade forward. Kazuto rolled out of the way and went in for another strike. Before his blade could reach him though, Sugou sidestepped away. The battle quickly escalated into a tradeoff between slashing and dodging, neither one of them getting a hit in.

How was he so good? He had never been this skilled back in ALO. Sugou had prepared this much? Trained this much? All for revenge. These thoughts flooded Kazuto's mind as he fought with the man standing before him.

Kazuto swung his blade again at Sugou. The older male quickly evaded a fatal hit, but it hadn't stopped his shoulder from getting cut. He endured the pain however and quickly swung his sword up, knocking Kazuto's long knife out of his hand. The small weapon skidded across the floor as Kazuto now found himself unarmed. He ducked under another slash from Sugou's weapon but was unable to avoid the kick that came for his stomach. Kazuto fell back and his back hit against the wall. Sugou walked forward and prepared to finish him off.

"Die you stupid brat!" Sugou yelled in delight as he swung his sword down.

Kazuto rolled his body away at the last second and avoided getting cut down by the blade. He got up to run but soon received another kick from Sugou that made him fall back into another wall. Not willing to let his opponent escape this time, Sugou firmly planted his boot on Kazuto's chest. He shoved his sword into Kazuto's arm, making the teen cry out in pain. Sugou twisted the blade inside his foe's arm, making the pain worse and worse for Kazuto, who was now trying not to lose consciousness. Sugou grinned at seeing the person he hated more than anyone else suffer. It had made all that time in prison worth it.

"Don't worry about Asuna. I'll be sure to take VERY good care of her." Sugou chuckled. He was done toying with Kazuto and prepared to deal the blow that would end his life. Sugou pulled back his sword and thrusted it towards Kazuto's head. "Die!"

Now was the moment Kazuto was waiting for. He tilted his head and barely avoided the pointed end of the blade, though the side grazed his cheek. Kazuto reached towards the knife on the ground where it had fallen before. He gripped the handle of the weak weapon and grabbed Sugou's arm holding the sword before the man could retract it and stabbed his knife into it. Sugou cried out in pain as he lost his grip on his sword and stepped back. Kazuto grabbed the sword Sugou dropped on the ground and got to his feet. Sugou yanked out the knife and looked at the raven haired boy glaring at him.

"Sugou… I've waited for this moment for a long time. I won't be sparing your life this time." Kazuto glared as he slowly walked forward. Sugou stumbled back and fell over, slowly crawling until his back hit the wall.

"N-No… please!" Sugou begged. "Let me live, I beg you! I'll leave you alone! I'll never bother you or your friends again!"

A look of pure hatred was painted on Kazuto's face. After causing so much suffering, Sugou didn't even have the guts to die with dignity. Kazuto raised the sword he was holding and prepared to finish the man off once and for all. "I'm fresh out of mercy for you Sugou."

"AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!" Sugou screamed as Kazuto swung the blade down and cut him down with one strike. Sugou lied on the floor as a lifeless corpse, blood flowing out of his body.

With his battle over, Kazuto felt the pain from the wound Sugou gave him come rushing back all at once. Kazuto looked over towards the screen in the room. He scanned the cameras, trying to figure out Dan's location. He quickly found it, along with Alicia and Asuna fighting against Yamato nearby. After ripping off part of the sleeve from his one shirt and tying it around his wound, Kazuto rushed out the door and headed towards the two girls.

* * *

Alicia felt her body hit against the wall with a painful thud. Before Yamato could attack her again, Asuna lunged at him. Yamato quickly blocked the chestnut haired girl's weak weapon with his sword and knocked the blade out of her hands with a swing of his weapon. The knife flew far away from Asuna as she widened her eyes in fear. Yamato shoved his knee into Asuna's gut, making her clutch her stomach and kneel over. The man followed up with a swift kick to her face, knocking her out cold.

"Asuna!" Alicia cried out. She ran towards Yamato while gripping her blade, but stopped as Yamato threateningly pointed his sword at Asuna.

"I don't think so. Now be a good girl and toss your little kitchen utensil to the side if you don't want your friend here to die."

Alicia glared at Yamato in hatred but did as she was told and threw her weapon across the hall. Yamato grinned in delight to see the young girl at his mercy. "Now then, let's go on a little walk shall we?"

Yamato led Alicia through one of the doors on the side of the hallway they were at. Alicia walked down a flight of stairs before her eyes locked in on someone. The person she had come to rescue.

"Dan!" Alicia cried out as she ran over to him. She attempted to remove the metal restraints on him, but was only able to undo the one on his left arm before she was forced to back away from a shock of electricity that jolted her. The painful shock forced Dan to regain some of his consciousness and scream in pain. She turned around to see that Yamato had flipped the switch for the electricity. "Stop it! Leave him alone!"

"I think you're forgetting who's in charge here." Yamato smirked. He hovered his hand dangerously close to the electricity switch. "I make the rules here, and that means I can kill your boyfriend any time I please."

Tears formed in Alicia's eyes as she fell to her knees. "Please… I'm begging you… Don't hurt him. I'll do whatever you want, just don't hurt him."

Yamato didn't know which he loved more, seeing Alicia grovel at his feet or watching Dan write in pain. He walked over and grabbed Alicia by the collar of her shirt. "You're quite the obedient little girl once your weakness is exposed." He dragged her over to the other end of the room where chains were hanging down from the ceiling. Alicia put up no resistance as Yamato chained her wrists so she was hanging with her feet hovering off the ground. If it meant protecting Dan, she would go through any torture Yamato threw her way.

Yamato pulled out a knife from his pocket and reveled in the look of fear he saw in Alicia's eyes. "I've got a fun game for us all to play. I'll take turns torturing the both of you. I'll switch between you two every five minutes and we'll get to see who dies first."

"Leave her alone!" Dan shouted from his seat.

"Oh? So you still have the strength to speak? Impressive." Yamato smirked. He brought the sharp knife in his hand closer to Alicia's arm. "Now you get to enjoy listening to your princess scream in agony. Don't worry, it'll be your turn after five minutes."

Dan glared at Yamato, angrier than he had ever been before in his life. "I'LL KILL YOU! YOU HEAR ME?! JUST WAIT UNTIL I GET MY HANDS ON YOU, YOU BASTARD!"

There was little he could do though. The exhaustion he felt made his consciousness begin to fade once again. He once again found himself back at the fields from before. Ren, his avatar from SAO, was there too, sitting at his side.

"You're back. That was quick" Ren said.

Dan sighed and looked at the sky once again. "I really am pathetic. I can't even keep Alicia safe"

"You've saved her plenty of times before"

Dan looked at his avatar in anger. "That was YOU! YOU did all those amazing things in SAO! YOU took down countless powerful enemies! I'm NOTHING!"

Ren smirked and looked back up at the sky. "What about when Alice was in trouble when you fought Yamato for the first time?"

"What's so different about that situation?! It was still you that saved her!"

"Is that so?" Ren asked. "Don't you remember? I was completely powerless against Yamato. I had all but given up and couldn't even move my own body."

"So? You still moved in the end anyway"

Ren shook his head. "No. The reason my body moved wasn't me. It was you. You're intense desire to save Alice allowed you to move and fight."

Dan looked at Ren in surprise. "Me?"

"You know, for a tactician you're pretty stupid." Ren chuckled. "You and I are the same. I'm not a stronger you. I AM you."

Dan watched as Ren raised his fist up towards him. Dan did the same, making him and his avatar bump fists together. Ren became veiled in light and flowed into Dan's body.

"_Now go. Save her and be the hero she fell in love with"_

Alicia's scream brought Dan back to reality. He watched as Yamato's blade cut into Alicia's arm. Blood slowly dripped down from the wound. Yamato grinned at the look of pain and agony on Alicia's face.

Dan slowly moved his one arm that was free from the restraint, thanks to Alicia, and undid the other restraints on his other arm and his legs. He had to move fast, before Yamato noticed he was free. Dan put all the energy he could muster into one quick motion as he got out of his seat and dashed towards Yamato and Alicia. It was a miracle he didn't pass out again from his exhaustion. His will to protect Alicia was the only thing driving him.

"Get away from her!" Dan shouted.

Yamato turned his head just as Dan was a couple feet away from him and gasped as Dan lunged at him and tackled him to the ground. The knife fell out of his hand and he struggled with the teen, trying to throw Dan off him.

"This is for all the shit you've put us through!" Dan yelled as he swung his fist down at Yamato repeatedly. "I let you live last time, but I'm not making that mistake again!"

"You damn brat!" Yamato growled as Dan's strength finally weakened for a moment and he threw the teen off him. Yamato got to his feet and lunged at Dan. "I'm sick of you! Now be a good little kid and DIE!"

Dan put everything he had into one last motion. He curled his body back and sprang his legs forward, delivering a painful kick to Yamato straight in the face. The blow knocked Yamato back and made him hit his head against the concrete wall, knocking him out cold.

After a few seconds passed and Yamato hadn't moved, Dan rushed over to Alicia and unchained her. He held her in his arms as they both fell to their knees.

"Thank god…" Alicia cried as she hugged Dan tightly. "I'm so glad you're safe."

"It's alright. I'm right here." Dan told her, embracing Alicia in a tight grasp. "Are you alright?"

Alicia silently nodded her head. Her arm was still bleeding from the cut Yamato had given her, but compared to Dan's injuries, it was nothing. All that mattered to her was that they were both safe.

At least that was what she thought until she heard the clicking sound of a gun.

Dan and Alicia both turned their heads to see a glock in Yamato's hand that he must have been hiding until now. "Now I'll finally get to see you both die."

Acting on pure instinct, Dan shoved Alicia away and grabbed the knife Yamato had dropped by his feet. He threw the knife just as Yamato fired his gun. The knife lodged itself in Yamato's chest, making him fall onto the cold hard floor, dead. At the same time though, the bullet Yamato fired pierced Dan's body as well. He held his hand to the wound and coughed up some blood before falling back.

"Dan! NOOOOO!" Alicia screamed as she ran to her boyfriend and caught him in her arms. Tears rolled down her eyes as she saw the bullet wound. It hadn't pierced Dan's heart, but the rate of blood flowing out of him told her that it had most likely pierced an artery, meaning it was more than enough to kill him. "Dan, don't die! Please! Stay with me! I need you to stay with me!"

"Dan! Alicia!" Kazuto called out as he and Asuna finally arrived. When they looked into the room, they gasped as they saw Alicia holding Dan's body in her arms. "No…"

"Hurry! Call an ambulance!" Alicia yelled.

Kazuto quickly nodded and brought out his phone. Asuna ran over to Dan and tried to help Alicia put pressure on the wound to keep Dan from bleeding out.

"A…li…cia…" Dan muttered. He brought his hand to her face and wiped the tears falling from her eyes. "Don't cry… I can't stand to see you cry."

"Just hang on! An ambulance is coming! I'm not going to let you die, you hear me?! I WON'T LET YOU DIE!"

"Alicia…"

"DON'T YOU DARE TALK ABOUT DYING! YOU CAN'T LEAVE ME DAMNIT!" Alicia cried. "YOU PROMISED! YOU SWORE THAT WE'D ALWAYS BE TOGETHER!"

Dan shook his head with tears rolling down both of their eyes. He could tell how severe his wound was without even looking at it. He looked over to Kazuto who had just finished calling for the ambulance and rushed to Dan's side. "You're gonna be fine Dan! An ambulance will be here any minute! Just hang on!"

"Kazuto… promise me… promise me that you'll keep an eye on Alicia for me… just for a little while after I'm gone."

"You aren't going to die, got that! I won't-"

"Promise me"

Tears fell down Kazuto's eyes as he looked at his friend. Finally, he nodded. "I promise"

"Thanks" Dan smiled. He coughed up more blood. Looking at Alicia, he could see tears rolling down her eyes like a waterfall. He gave a sad smile towards the girl. "I'm sorry. All I wanted was to be with you forever. Forgive me"

Alicia felt her whole body tremble. This couldn't be happening. It had to be a nightmare. "*sniff* Dan… Please…"

"I love you Alicia"

"DAN!" Alicia cried, her wailing echoing through the night.

**A/N: Yeah... so remember when I said there was going to be a shocker at the end of this chapter? I suppose this is as good a time as any to confirm some of your suspicions. Yes, this story will be ending soon. In fact, there's only a few chapters left, as I'm sure you can tell. ****So before you all go and try to kill me for this chapter's ending, I'm gonna make my big escape (quickly runs away). See you all next week!**


	118. Life and Death

**A/N: Come on. You guys didn't REALLY expect me to make you all wait a full week for the next chapter after how last chapter ended, did you? You guys may or may not hate me for this chapter, but here it is.**

The siren of the ambulance roared through the streets as it sped towards the hospital at full speed. In the back of the vehicle, two of the doctors along with one nurse were desperately trying to keep Dan's heart beating until they could make it to the hospital. Alicia, Kazuto, and Asuna rode in the ambulance as well, all of them praying that Dan would be able to hang on.

After calling an ambulance, Alicia, Kazuto, and Asuna performed as much first aid as they could for Dan, though the amount they were able to do was very little. At best, they were able to keep Dan from bleeding out. When the ambulance finally arrived, Dan was carefully moved from the basement of the mansion into the vehicle. It was a miracle that Dan had been able to hold on that long, but he still needed to hold on a little longer to stay alive.

It seemed like an eternity had passed when they finally made it to the hospital. A team of medical staff were already waiting for them when they arrived since thankfully the hospital wasn't swamped with patients at the moment. They wheeled Dan out of the ambulance and into the hospital on a stretcher.

Alicia, Kazuto, and Asuna ran along with the medical staff as they rushed Dan into a room for surgery. When they got to their destination a doctor prevented Alicia and her two friends from entering. "Sorry, you'll have to wait outside."

"But-"

"No arguments. We can't have any distractions"

Asuna had to hold Alicia back as the doors closed. Tears formed in Alicia's eyes as she completely broke down and began crying into Asuna's shirt. Asuna embraced her friend tightly, trying her best to put on a brave face for Alicia.

After a few minutes passed and Alicia had calmed down a little, Kazuto and Asuna brought her over to the lobby. After sitting Alicia down, Kazuto walked away to call Dan's family, as well as their friends to tell them what had occurred and for them to come to the hospital. Alicia sent a text to her parents, though it took a while to type it out with how badly her fingers were trembling. All she could think about right now was her boyfriend in surgery, fighting for his life.

Asuna put a comforting arm around Alicia's shoulder. "It'll be alright. Dan will make it through this"

"I-I'm just so scared" Alicia cried as her whole body trembled. "What if he-"

"Listen to me!" Asuna told her in a stern voice as she forced Alicia to look her in the eyes. "Dan is NOT going to die, got that!"

Alicia nodded and hugged Asuna, trying not to break down into tears. Asuna closed her eyes and prayed. _'Come on Dan. Don't make me a liar'_

Kazuto walked back to the two girls, having finally finished contacting their friends as well as Dan's family. All of them were currently on their way there. The couple did everything they could to keep Alicia from breaking apart, but even their best wasn't enough to keep the tears from falling from Alicia's eyes.

Several minutes passed by before the doors to the front of the hospital opened and Hyde and Lilina rushed in. The two of them quickly spotted their friends and ran over to them.

"What happened?!" Lilina asked. "Is Dan okay?!"

Alicia was in no emotional condition to explain so Kazuto told the two of them what happened instead.

* * *

"Nurse I need a suture"

"Here you go" the nurse said as she handed the doctor the tool. She watched as he and two other doctors operated on the teen, desperately trying to save his life. "Doctor… how can you be so calm?"

"What do you mean?"

"I can tell just as easily as you can sir. This boy should have died before even arriving here. It's a miracle he's lasted this long, but he won't make it at this rate! His pulse is weak and his heartbeat gets slower every minute!"

The doctor had a grim expression on his face as he continued to operate. "Then you tell his friends out there that. You tell that crying girl in the lobby that we're just giving up!"

"Dr. Kurahashi…"

"I've seen too many people die on this operating table. If there's even the slightest chance I can save this kid's life, then I will take that chance damnit!"

As the operation continued, the pulse on the heartbeat monitor began to die down even further. At the rate it was going, it would only be a few minutes before it fell silent.

* * *

Lilina's eyes widened in horror as Kazuto finished his story. She sat next to Alicia and embraced her friend tightly.

Hyde clenched his fists in frustration. "Where's Yamato. Tell me where that son of a bitch is so I can go and-"

"He's dead" Asuna interrupted. "Both Yamato and Sugou."

"Good riddance" Hyde muttered as he took a seat in the lobby as well, trying to process the fact that his best friend might not make it through the night. _'Damnit Dan, you better not die! You're not the type of weak pansy to go out this easy!'_

As time passed, more and more of their friends showed up, including Shirou, Rika, Yuya, Shino, Keiko, Suguha, as well as Alicia's family. Everyone wanted to give Alicia some kind of comforting words, but none of them could find the right thing to say. All they could do was hope that Dan would make it.

Once again the doors to the hospital opened and everyone saw Clair and Mrs. Hiryo rush in. Clair quickly ran over to her friends the second she saw them. "Where's my brother?! Is he alright?!"

Kazuto and Asuna explained what happened to Clair and her mother while Lilina and everyone else tried to comfort Alicia. After hearing what occurred and her brother's current condition, Clair broke out into tears. Rika and Suguha tried to calm the young girl down as much as possible.

"D-Dan's gonna be alright… right?" Clair asked her friends, hoping for a yes.

Nobody could find the courage to lie to Clair. None of them were sure at this point if Dan would make it. Mrs. Hiryo put an arm on her daughter's shoulder. "He'll be fine. If there's one thing your brother is, it's stubborn. He'll make it through this and we'll all be back together."

Everyone could see the doubt in the eyes of Juna, but right now a little hope was what everyone needed, especially Clair and Alicia.

Another half hour passed by before someone finally walked up to the group. Alicia recognized him as one of the doctors that had been on the ambulance. Everyone looked at the man with pleading eyes, begging for him to be coming over with good news.

"Sir… is my brother going to be alright?" Clair managed to choke out through her terrified expression.

The doctor looked at the large group of people. Out of all of them, Alicia and Clair were the ones who seemed to be begging the most. His expression didn't give any clues as to what the outcome was. Finally he opened his mouth to speak.

"He's…"

* * *

Dan slowly felt his vision clear. He looked at his surroundings. He was in a foggy space. Nothing was around except for the endless fog.

'_Where am I?'_ Dan wondered.

Suddenly he began to hear footsteps. He watched as a figure slowly walked towards him through the fog. Dan gradually began to make out who it was. Female. Long blonde hair. Blue eyes. Teenager. Finally Dan recognized the identity of the mystery girl.

"Hello Ren"

"Historia…"

The dead SAO player from Wyvern Inferno gave a sad smile to her friend. "Let's talk, shall we?"

Dan walked alongside his former guild member. He didn't know where they were going, but he had a good enough feeling of what must have happened if he was meeting Historia like this. He was dead.

It wasn't surprising to Dan that he was dead. He had expected that much from taking that bullet from Yamato. But it didn't stop the aching feeling in his heart. The handful of regrets he had. The fact that he wasn't with Alicia anymore.

"So how about we swap stories as we walk?" Historia suggested. The two friends began to walk together as Historia led the way. "I'm guessing SAO's been beaten by now?"

Dan nodded. "Yeah. You remember Heathcliff, leader of the Knights of the Blood Oath? Turns out he was Kayaba all along"

"No kidding?" Historia questioned. "Man that must have been a shock to everyone"

"It was. Kirito ended up beating him though."

"Kirito huh? I always knew he'd do great things. By the way, did he and Asuna finally become a thing?"

Dan nodded in response. "Yeah. It's hard to believe how close those two are now, considering that they were at each other's throats for so long"

"Well at least you guys all made it out of SAO alive"

"Still doesn't change the fact that four thousand people died in that death game." Dan showed a look of regret as he said this. "I'm sorry about what happened. You shouldn't have died protecting me"

"It was my decision. I don't regret it"

"Well I do. I should have been the one to die back then."

"We can't change the past, Ren. No matter how much we sometimes want to."

"True" Dan muttered with a nod of agreement. "Anyway, after SAO we still had problems to deal with."

Historia raised an eyebrow as to what he meant. Dan went on to explain about the three hundred SAO survivors that had been trapped by Sugou and how they went in to rescue them.

"So after we saved everyone from ALO, life started to go back to normal. All of us SAO survivors ended up being put together in one school."

"I bet you and Alice were excited to be together" Historia said with a smile.

Dan smiled as well as he thought about his girlfriend. "Yeah. So much happened between us after SAO ended. We even got married in ALO"

"You two always were inseparable" Historia giggled. "So what about Helios? I bet he's as psychotic as ever. He'll never get a girlfriend if he acts like he did in SAO."

Dan laughed as he heard this. "You won't believe this actually. He got a girlfriend in SAO."

Historia's eyes widened. "Get out?! Are you serious?!"

"Yeah. Her name's Dagger, or Lilina in the real world. She's just as crazy as Helios"

"Wow. Those two must make some pair" Historia said with a laugh.

"You have no idea" Dan chuckled. "But they're definitely a great couple. They're actually engaged to be married."

"Engaged?! You mean Helios proposed to this girl?!"

"Yeah, I was shocked when I found out too."

Hisotria couldn't help but break out into laughter. "Wow, Helios must have changed a lot since SAO"

"Yeah, but in a weird way it's almost like he hasn't changed at all" Dan said as he smiled back on old memories.

Time passed by as Dan went on, telling Historia about the adventures he and everyone had. He talked about saving the world from Gabriel, and the craziness that happened in the real world at school. Historia smiled as she listened to the story. "You sound like you sure had some crazy adventures, Ren"

"That's for sure" Dan nodded as they continued to walk. "So where are we going?"

"What are you talking about? I never said we were going anywhere." Historia said. "We're just taking a walk."

"But I'm dead aren't I? Aren't I supposed to go somewhere?"

"Whoever said you were dead?" Historia told him with a teasing smile. "Take a look at yourself"

Dan looked down as Historia said. He noticed his body was… transparent. Like he was part of the mist. "What's going on?"

"You're not dead Ren" Historia told him. "It's not your time yet"

"But then… where is this?"

"Hmm… I guess you could chalk it up to being a near death experience" Historia shrugged with a smile. "Try not to do it again though, kay? And say hi to the others for me"

Dan smiled and nodded as his vision and hearing began to fade and his body disappeared from the foggy space.

As he opened his eyes, all Dan could make out were bright lights and a small room around him. Several people were around him, but Dan was too tired to try and make out what they were saying. His mind was too focused on the main thing at hand. He was alive.

* * *

"He… He's alive?" Alicia finally managed to choke out from her tears.

The doctor nodded, causing everyone's faces to brighten. Alicia and Clair hugged each other tightly, both girls crying out tears of joy.

"Thank god… Thank god he's alive!" Alicia cried.

"We can't let you see him right now I'm afraid. His body is extremely exhausted" the doctor explained. "He should be ready for visitors in a few hours though"

Alicia and the others gave a collective nod. As badly as they wanted to see Dan right now, it was enough knowing that he was alive.

"If you'll excuse me then" the doctor said before walking away. After the man left, everyone began cheering ecstatically for Dan being alright. Alicia couldn't stop crying out of sheer joy. Clair was hugging her mother tightly. Even Hyde was showing emotion as he wiped a tear from his eye, something Rika took notice of.

"Hyde? Are… are you crying?"

Everyone's heads turned toward Hyde as he tried to cover the show of emotion just now. "Sh-Shut up Rika! I was not crying! I was just sad that I didn't get a crack at Yamato! You know, a chance to rough up the corpse and all! I was not crying though, got that!"

"Whatever you say" Rika said with a teasing grin, earning chuckles from her friends.

A few hours passed by before one of the staff from the hospital came back out to the group. "He can have visitors now, but we're asking that only family members come first. We don't need a flood of people coming all in at once."

Clair and her mother got out of their seats, with them excited to see Dan now that he was alright. As they began to walk away, Mrs. Hiryo looked over to Alicia. "Aren't you coming too Alicia?"

Alicia looked at the woman in surprise. "But they only said family members right now"

"Don't you remember Alicia? I already said we consider you part of the family" she said with a smile.

"R-Really?!" Alicia asked with her eyes gleaming.

"Well let's face it. If we didn't bring you, my brother would never shut up about wanting to see you" Clair added with a shrug. "So? You coming or not?"

"R-Right! Wait for me!" Alicia exclaimed as she quickly got out of her seat and ran over to catch up with Dan's family. Mrs. Tsuki rested her head on her husband's shoulder as she watched their daughter run off.

"That boy really is special to her, isn't he?"

"Geez mom, you're just realizing that?" Emi said with a roll of her eyes.

Meanwhile at Dan's hospital room, Alicia and Dan's family had just arrived. They opened the door and walked inside. Looking over at Dan, Alicia could see the bandages wrapped around his chest and the signs of the heavy amount of surgery he must have gone through. Tears welled up in her eyes as their eyes locked.

Dan smiled at the sight of his girlfriend. "Hey Alicia"

Alicia quickly ran over to Dan, bursting into tears as she wrapped her arms around him. "Thank god! I was so afraid I lost you!"

"Well I think we can agree that was by far my most reckless act yet."

Alicia switched from crying to pouting as she delivered a weak hit to her boyfriend's shoulder. "You idiot! Do you have any idea how scared I was?!"

"Okay, okay, not funny! I'm sorry!" Dan apologized.

Alicia hugged her boyfriend tightly. "Don't you ever scare me like that again, got it?! I… I don't know what I'd do if I lost you"

"I'm just glad you're alright" Dan smiled as he kissed her.

After Alicia took a step back, Clair ran up to her brother and hugged him, happy that he was alright. Dan patted the young girl's head as she hugged him. "Don't worry Clair. I'm alright."

"I… *hic*… I was so scared! I thought you were gonna die!"

"Shh, it's alright. Your big bro's here" Dan said softly as he comforted his sister.

As time passed by, more and more of Dan's friends were allowed in. After they all talked for a few minutes, a doctor came into the room.

"You're quite lucky to be alive right now, I do hope you realize that" he said.

Dan nodded. He was very lucky to be alive right now, that much he was well aware of.

The doctor continued talking. "For the most part, you should be fine. I think you should stay here a few more days just to be sure, but even after you're discharged I don't want you doing anything extraneous for at least a couple weeks."

Dan groaned as he laid his head back against his pillow. "Great, so I get out of the hospital just a couple days before school starts back up again"

"Sucks to be you man" Hyde chuckled. A quick jab to the gut from Asuna's shoulder soon shut him up though.

Alicia looked at Dan with a smile. "I'll be sure to visit you every day until you can leave."

"Well that's definitely a plus"

After a few goodbyes, everyone began to leave the room. Alicia and her family were the last to leave, with Alicia giving her boyfriend one last kiss before she walked away with her parents and Emi.

Dan laid back on his bed. There had been so many times he felt like it was finally over. That the horrors of SAO would finally stop coming back to haunt them. So many times he had been wrong. But for some reason this time felt different. This time Dan felt that it really was over. That maybe, just maybe, they could all finally live in peace.

**A/N: Yay! Dan lives! Hope you all enjoyed this emotional roller coaster of a chapter. There won't be a chapter next week, since you're getting this one early, but the next one will be on schedule. And to make up for no Blazing Revolution next week, I will be updating some of my other stories during the week. Until next time everyone!**


	119. Recovering

**A/N: New chapter time! Finally coming down to the last few chapters of this story. Can't believe all of the updates I've been doing with my stories this past week. But now it's time for the story all of you love the most.**

**Also, as some of you may remember, I asked in an Author's Note in one of my earlier chapters for all of you to recommend a song that represents Ren and Alice as a couple. Well after going through several songs recommended to me through reviews and PMs, I have finally picked one. The song will be featured in this chapter so read to find out what it is.**

The sun shined brightly in the sky as Dan walked to school. He had just gotten out of the hospital yesterday, meaning he was finally able to walk around on his own again. On the down side, he only had a day before the week long break from school was over. Right out of one hell and into another, though he preferred this hundreds of times more than nearly dying and being cooped up in the hospital for a week.

Alicia had come to visit him once a day while he was in the hospital, just like she had promised. Having her around made his time in the hospital a lot less boring. Good thing the school had been closed for a week, because Dan didn't even want to think about how much homework he would have had to catch up on if he missed a full week of school.

Despite the fact that he was out of the hospital, Dan was explicitly told not to do anything strenuous to his body for a least a week or two. The torture Sugou and Yamato had put him through left serious injuries on his body that would take time to recover. The most serious out of all of them were the electric burns on the upper part of his left arm. The doctors had said that would take the longest to recover completely.

As he approached the school gate, Dan could see Alicia waiting for him. She eagerly waved towards him once he entered her sights. Dan waved back to his girlfriend and walked up to her.

"How are you feeling?" Alicia asked.

"Better now that you're here." Dan replied with a smile.

Alicia giggled at him. "You are such a nerdy dork, you know that?" She leaned in and wrapped her arms around him. While Dan enjoyed the hug, part of Alicia's hold was touching where his burn was.

"Ow! Aicia, my arm."

Alicia gasped as she realized what she did. She quickly separated herself from her boyfriend. "I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to!"

"It's alright, don't worry about it." Dan said, trying to shrug it off as the pain began to die down. He reached out and grabbed Alicia's hand, holding it softly. "Come on. Let's get to class."

Alicia nodded and the two of them walked into the school. As they moved through the halls, several students glanced in Dan's direction. As far as he knew, the only ones that knew what happened to him were his friends and he doubted they had spread word of it around the school. But he couldn't deny that he did look a little worse for wear due to the surgery and the fact that he was still recovering. He just hoped no one found out about what happened. The last thing he needed was people mobbing him.

Finally the time came for Dan and Alicia to part ways. Dan kissed his girlfriend on the cheek. "Meet you on the roof for lunch?"

"Sounds good." Alicia nodded. She watched as Dan walked away. For some reason, seeing him leave made her a little nervous. She didn't have time to think to herself at the moment however. Homeroom would be starting soon.

* * *

Through her first few classes, Alicia found it hard to concentrate. Usually it would just be boredom, but it was even happening in literature, her favorite class. Too often, she was catching herself zoning out and thinking about Dan. She quickly tried to shake the worrying out of her head. _'It's fine. He's not in danger anymore. Stop worrying over nothing.'_

"Miss Tsuki? Miss Tsuki?!"

"Huh?" Alicia gasped as she realized the teacher calling out her name. She quickly stood up from her seat. "Y-Yes ma'am?"

"Is everything alright?" the teacher asked.

"Y-Yes." Alicia nodded. "Everything's fine."

"Very well then. In that case, can you please read to the class page 75."

Alicia nodded her head and quickly turned to the page in her book and began reading. She was blushing in embarrassment slightly, but it wasn't present enough for the other students to notice.

What was going on with her? Dan was safe. Everything was fine. But why did she feel so worried then?

The class continued on until the bell rung. Alicia put her things in her schoolbag and prepared to head to her next class. As she was walking towards the door though, her teacher stopped her.

"Miss Tsuki, could we talk for a moment?"

Alicia felt a cold sweat go down her neck. She had a feeling this talk was going to be about her lack of attention in class. "Yes."

The teacher sat at her desk, while Alicia sat across from her. The teacher stared at her with a concerned look. "Miss Tsuki, are you feeling alright? I noticed you were a bit absent minded today. Is something wrong?"

Somewhat hesitantly, Alicia shook her head. "Nothing to worry about ma'am. Everything's fine. I just didn't get much sleep last night is all."

Her lie didn't convince her teacher at all. "Miss Tsuki, I've already been informed about what happened to you and your friend last week." Alicia's surprise was easy to see. She hadn't realized the school had been informed about what happened. Her teacher seemed concerned. "Are you sure what happened isn't affecting you negatively at all?"

"N-No, of course not. I'm perfectly fine." Alicia assured her, trying her best to put on a convincing smile.

The teacher stared at Alicia for a moment before letting out a small sigh. "If you say so. But if you ever feel the need to talk about anything, please come see me."

Alicia nodded her head. "I will. Thank you very much."

As she walked out of the classroom, Alicia let out a relieved sigh. Despite what she had told her teacher, Alicia knew that she wasn't alright. After everything that had happened, she was honestly scared. The person she loved had nearly died right in front of her. What if the same thing happened again? What if Dan wasn't so lucky if it happened again?

The sound of the bell ringing snapped Alicia out of her thoughts. Deciding to put her emotional troubles on hold for now, Alicia rushed to her next class.

The rest of Alicia's morning classes were the same. She could barely concentrate. Her attention was always elsewhere. She was even nudged by Rika in their math class when she saw the black haired girl nodding off. Lunch break couldn't come any sooner.

When it was finally time for lunch, Alicia grabbed her food and headed to the roof of the school. She walked out onto the roof and felt the warm sun shining down on her. She seemed to be the first to arrive, since Dan wasn't there yet so she sat and waited for him.

As she waited, Alicia stared at the clear sky and thought to herself. So much had happened throughout the past few years of her life, and it all began with her logging into Sword Art Online. She lost her childhood friends and found new ones in the form of her guild. She became a warrior and a badass with a scythe if she did say so herself. Most importantly of all, she fell in love. And even after those two years in SAO ended, so much more happened. Her life became one adventure after another. But she was able to make it through all that, and her friends were what allowed her to do so.

Behind her, Alicia heard the door to the roof open. She turned around, expecting to find Dan, but instead it was Asuna.

"I figured you'd be here." Asuna said with a small smile. She walked up and took a seat next to her friend. "Rika told me you were spacing out in class."

"… It's nothing. I'm just a little off today."

"Don't give me that Alicia. You can't fool me that easily." Asuna told her. "Something's bothering you, isn't it?"

Alicia stayed silent for a few moments before sighing in defeat. "Yeah. There is something bothering me." She leaned back and stared up at the sky. "I know it sounds stupid, but I'm worried something will happen again."

"I'm guessing by something you mean an incident like what happened with Yamato?" Asuna asked.

Alicia nodded her head. "Yep."

"Alicia, that's not going to happen. Yamato died, just like Sugou."

"I know that!" Alicia said, slightly raising her voice. "I know that… but still… I can't shake away this fear inside my heart. When we were at the hospital and Dan was fighting for his life, I was so scared. I was scared of losing him. I was scared I'd never see his smile again. And now I'm scared of the same thing happening all over again."

Tears fell from Alicia's eyes. Asuna reached out her arm and put a comforting hand on Alicia's shoulder. "You need to stop worrying Alicia. If you don't then you'll never be able to enjoy yourself when you and Dan are together."

"Asuna…"

"You know how many times Kirito has nearly died on me?" Asuna asked. "First there was Gleam Eyes. Then his fight against Kayaba. In ALO when Sugou had me chained up, I didn't know what was going to happen to him or myself. And during the Death Gun incident, when I found out about how players had died IRL I was so worried about him." Asuna could see Alicia staring at her. "To be honest, I have no idea if or when another life threatening situation might happen. But if I spend all my time worrying about him, how will I be able to smile or have fun when we're together?"

Alicia thought to herself about Asuna's advice. She had a point. Alicia needed to enjoy her time with the one she loved, or else she'd be miserable for the rest of her life.

"Thanks Asuna." Alicia said with a smile.

"Don't mention it." Asuna replied. She got to her feet. "Well I suppose I better find Kazuto. Knowing him, he's probably tinkering around with some sort of machine or another."

Asuna walked away from Alicia and closed the door to the roof behind her. Waiting right by the doorway was Dan. He showed her an appreciative smile. "Thanks Asuna."

"You know, you could have just asked her about this yourself." Asuna reminded him.

Dan shook his head. "She would have clammed up, not wanting to worry me. But with you and the other girls, she's not afraid to talk about what's bothering her."

"I suppose so." Asuna shrugged. "Speaking of which, you should come out and tell her about the troubles you've been having as well."

"What?! How did you-"

"Kazuto's not as good a secret keeper as you think. I know how to get him to talk."

Dan sighed. He had been having some slight troubles lately ever since the incident with Yamato. His stomach got weak every now and then, causing him to throw up. His arms twitched somewhat often. Worst of all were the nightmares he had been having. The doctors diagnosed it as a mild case of PTSD and suggested he see a specialist, though it would probably heal given enough time.

"I suppose I don't like admitting what's bothering me to her too." Dan said. "Neither one of us wants the other to worry. We're stubborn like that."

"You're also both stupid for thinking like that." Asuna scolded, knocking on her friend's head. "You need to tell her if something's wrong or she'll get worried you idiot."

"Fair point." Dan sighed. "Look I'll talk to her about it, but right now I just want to get both of our minds off of this incident."

Asuna nodded her head understandingly. "Alright then. You know Alicia best after all. Just try not to worry her too much." The chestnut haired girl walked downstairs and left Dan to himself.

Dan walked out onto the roof and saw Alicia sitting around waiting for him. He waved over to her. "Hey Alicia. I hope I didn't keep you waiting."

Alicia shook her head and smiled. "Not at all. I just got her a few minutes ago."

Dan took a seat next to his girlfriend. The two of them ate lunch together as they stared at the sky. The serene breeze blew past them. This was what they had fought for so long to get. This was peace. Beautiful, blissful peace.

"So how have your classes been so far?" Dan asked.

"A little rough." Alicia admitted. "But I think I shook off what was bothering me in them."

"Good to hear." Dan leaned in and kissed her on the cheek. "Hey Alicia, do you wanna go out to eat tonight? My treat."

"Sure. I'd love to. Anyplace specific in mind?"

"I was thinking something along the lines of a nice fancy dinner, just the two of us."

"That sounds great." Alicia said with a smile.

"Alright then. I'll come pick you up at six. Sound good?"

Alicia nodded her head. She leaned against Dan as the two of them continued to enjoy their lunch together.

* * *

Night was beginning to darken the skies. Alicia exited her room wearing a fancy violet dress. She saved outfits like this for special occasions between her and Dan. It wasn't often they went on fancy dinner dates, but they were always magical to her. She wondered what restaurant Dan was taking her to.

Once she heard the doorbell ring, Alicia came downstairs and opened up the door. Standing on the other side was Dan in his own formal attire.

"Hey. Ready to get going?"

"You bet." Alicia replied. She called out into the house. "I'm heading out now, mom. We'll be back later."

"Okay, have fun." Mrs. Tsuki called back from the kitchen.

Alicia walked out and closed the door behind her. The couple walked through the streets as Dan led her to the restaurant.

"So where are we going?" Alicia asked.

"It's a surprise. You'll have to wait until we get there."

Alicia gave a mocking pout, but still smiled as they walked to the restaurant. The two of them held hands as they walked. This was a feeling that Alicia loved. Just her and the boy she loved. Asuna was right. If she spent all her time worrying about what might happen next, she wouldn't be able to enjoy moments like this. After a long walk, the two finally arrived at their destination.

"Here we are."

Alicia looked at the restaurant in front of her and her eyes widened. She had heard about this place. It was one of the fanciest restaurants in Tokyo. In addition to excellent food, there was also a dance floor with music for customers to dance to. "How did you get reservations to this place?"

"Long story." Dan simply told her. The fact was that while he was recovering, Kikouka had come to visit him once. He had apologized to him for the fact that Yamato and Sugou had escaped and endangered them all again. Dan tried to shrug it off, not wanting to deal with the government official any more than he had to, but when Kikouka mentioned owing him a favor because of their lateness to act on the matter Dan didn't turn him down. Reservations to a fancy restaurant seemed fair, and it wasn't like Kikouka was going to pay for their dinner, though it would have been a nice bonus.

The couple walked inside the restaurant. The staff seated them at a table. After ordering their food, Dan and Alicia were left alone to talk and enjoy their date.

"There's only two more months of school left." Alicia said. "After that we'll be off to college."

"Yeah." Dan said with a nod of his head. "It's crazy how much has happened these past few years. Perhaps this is a sign of all of our lives going back to normal."

"No more adventures in Alfheim. No more goofing off." The next thought brought a smile to Alicia's face. "No more fighting for our lives."

"Well earned peace." Dan said in agreement. "So how did that final essay for your writing class go?"

Alicia grinned as she looked at her boyfriend. "You'll never believe it. My teacher was so impressed that she said she wanted to enter it in a nation-wide competition for high school students."

"That's amazing!" Dan gasped. "What did you say?"

"What do you think I said? Obviously I agreed to it." Alicia told him. "I still can't believe it. My essay in such a big contest."

"I'd say it shows you made the right choice in deciding to become a writer."

A smile formed on Alicia's face. Her ears picked up the music coming from the dance floor. She recognized the song instantly. "Hey Dan. It's our favorite song."

Dan listened to the music, realizing it was true. "You're right."

"Let's dance for a bit. Shall we?"

Dan nodded his head. "Yeah. Sounds great."

The couple got out of their seats and made their way to the dance floor as the song was beginning. Alicia wrapped her arms around the back of Dan's neck while Dan did the same with his arms around Alicia's waist. The two of them danced together as the song played. Their song.

_You can be the peanut butter to my jelly_

_You can be the butterflies I feel in my belly_

_You can be the captain and I can be your first mate_

_You can be the chills I feel on our first date._

_You can be the hero and I can be your sidekick_

_You can be the tear that I cry if we ever split_

_You can be the rain from the cloud when it's stormin'_

_Or you can be the sun when it shines in the mornin'_

_Don't know if I could ever be_

_Without you cause boy you complete me_

_And in time I know that we'll both see_

_That we're all we need_

_Cause you're the apple to my pie_

_You're the straw to my berry_

_You're the smoke to my high_

_And you're the one I wanna marry_

_Cause you're the one for me, for me_

_And I'm the one for you, for you_

_You take the both of us, of us_

_And we're the perfect two_

_We're the perfect two_

_Baby me and you_

_We're the perfect two_

Dan and Alicia continued to dance as the song went on. This was the song they both loved to listen to whenever they were together. It was their song. The song that represented them as a couple. When the song finally ended, the two of them went back to their table. Not long after that, their food had arrived.

It was to be expected of a fancy restaurant, but the food was delicious. Both Dan and Alicia fully enjoyed the meal, though the same couldn't be said for Dan's wallet from the price of the food. But he ignored that fact since a night like this was exactly what he and Alicia needed.

"Hey Dan…" Alicia said as they ate. "I was wondering… do you want to spend the night at my place?"

Dan nodded his head. So far, the night had been great. It would suck to let it end with the two of them going back to their own houses. He wanted to be with Alicia as much a possible right now. "Yeah, that sounds great."

Once the couple finished their meal, Dan paid the bill and they walked back to Alicia's house. He sent a quick text to his mother, telling her where he would be tonight. As they walked, Dan recalled that he still hadn't told Alicia about what had been happening to him. The nightmares, the vomiting, all of it. He wanted to let her know, since she hated it when he kept things from her to avoid making her worry. He had also promised Asuna he would tell her too.

Dan stopped walking, causing Alicia to look at him. "Alicia… I need to talk to you about something."

"What is it?"

"For the past few days now, I've been having a few problems. I've been getting nightmares, and my stomach's acted up a few times. The doctor's at the hospital think it might be a mild case of PTSD." Alicia widened her eyes. Dan could see she was starting to worry and he wanted to avoid that as much as he could. "It's not as bad as it sounds Alicia. It's nothing serious. They just want me to see a specialist a few times until it passes."

"And how long will that be?"

"I don't know." Dan said with a shake of his head. He wrapped his arms around her and hugged her. "But I know I can get through this. Because I have you."

Alicia hugged Dan back. "You'll always have me. I'll never leave your side, I swear it."

"Thanks Alicia." Dan told her. "You have no idea how much that means to me."

The couple continued walking back to Alicia's house. When they arrived back, Alicia informed her parents that Dan would be staying over. They didn't have any complaints, though they did make a comment or two that made Alicia blush. She walked upstairs and the two of them got ready for bed.

After the two of them were ready for bed, the door to Alicia's room creaked open. Emi peered her head in and the teasing grin on her face meant she wasn't up to anything good.

"What do you want, Emi?" Alicia groaned.

"I just want to remind you two that it's a school night." Emi told them. "A girl like me needs her beauty sleep so I don't want to her any shaking from-"

"Get out!" Alicia yelled as she threw a pillow at the door. Emi quickly shut the door before the pillow could hit her and laughed as she went back to her room. Alicia sighed at her sister's behavior. "She drives me nuts sometimes."

Dan let out a chuckle from the amusing moment. He and Alicia got into bed together. The two of them snuggled as they shared one last kiss before closing their eyes and drifting off to sleep.

* * *

_As Dan opened his eyes, his vision felt hazy. It gradually began to clear up, but he did not like what he was looking at. A man was smirking at him. A man he hated with every fiber of his being._

"_Miss me, kid?"_

"_Yamato!" Dan yelled. He lunged at the man, but soon found himself bound by chains sticking out of the wall. He was only able to get a few feet away from the wall, and Yamato was well out of that reach._

"_I've got a little game for the two of us to play." Yamato grinned. He stepped to the side, revealing someone bound to a chair._

_Dan's eyes widened in fear as he recognized Yamato's prisoner. "Clair!"_

"_Big brother!" Clair cried out. Her voice soon wailed out in a terrifying scream as electricity from the Chair electrocuted her. The young girl screamed in pain, the horrifying sound never ending. It lasted for what seemed like forever. But it felt even worse when her voice fell silent and he body went numb._

"_Clair! Clair!" Dan screamed. The chains came loose and he ran over to his sister. He undid the bindings on her and held her in his arms. "Clair, wake up! Speak to me!"_

_No sound came from his sister. The sinister laugh from Yamato made the teen grind his teeth in pure rage. He looked behind him and saw Yamato run away through a door. He lowered Clair to the floor and ran after him._

_Dan tried to open the door, but found it locked. He slammed his fist against it, trying to force it open. Then the next scream entered his ears, making him shiver in fear. It couldn't be. Not her. Not here. Dan took a few steps back before ramming down the door. It swung open and Dan now found Yamato holding a young girl with his arm. One with short violet hair._

"_Papa!"_

"_Luna!" Dan ran towards her, but widened his eyes in horror when he saw Yamato stab a dagger into her from behind. Yamato shoved her towards him before running away. Dan caught Luna in his arms. Blood flowed out of Luna's body. So much blood._

"_Papa…" Luna quietly muttered. "Please… help me…"_

"_Luna, please! Don't die! You can't die!"_

_It was no use. Luna's body went limp and the life left her eyes. Dan wailed in pain and agony as he held his daughter._

_But then the final scream came. The worst one of all._

"_Alicia!"_

_Dan rushed after Yamato. He came into the next room, where Alicia was chained up. Yamato was standing right next to her with a knife gripped tightly in his hand. He turned his head towards Dan, revealing a sadistic smile. Dan ran as fast as he could, but he felt himself slam into something. A clear glass wall. He pounded against it, trying whatever he could to get to Alicia as Yamato walked over to her._

"_Alicia!" Dan cried out. "ALICIA!"_

"_Dan!" Alicia screamed. Yamato swung his knife, slashing her arm. A scream of pain erupted from the girl that made Dan feel like his ears were bleeding. He pounded against the glass wall, while Yamato kept cutting Alicia more and more._

"_Alicia!"_

_Yamato laughed as his knife ripped into Alicia's body. Blood dripped down from the wounds, splashing onto the floor. Dan didn't want to see this. It was too much. He wanted to die. He would rather be dead then suffer through all of this. Alicia's screams slowly getting weaker caused his body to shiver. The life began to fade from Alicia's eyes. Her voice trembled, muttering his name. "Dan… Dan…"_

* * *

"DAN!"

Dan woke up with a jolt as he shot up from the bed. He was breathing heavily and his heart was beating at a fast pace. His whole body was shaking from everything he had just witnessed. A hand touched his shoulder, making Dan turn his head to see Alicia staring at him with a concerned expression.

"Are you alright Dan? You were screaming in your sleep just now." She didn't get a verbal response, instead she received a sudden hug from Dan as he wrapped his arms around her tightly. "Dan? What's wrong?"

"You're alive…" Dan muttered, tears forming in his eyes. "You're alive, right? I'm not dreaming?"

"It's alright. I'm right here." Alicia told him, gently rubbing his back with her hand. "Did you have another nightmare?"

"I was so scared." Dan told her. "Yamato was there. He tortured Clair… then Luna… and then he was slowly torturing you."

"Shhh, it's alright." Alicia told him in a soothing voice as she hugged him. "It was just a bad dream. Everyone's fine. I'm fine." Alicia continued to embrace Dan for the next few minutes as he gradually calmed down. When he finally settled down, Alicia gently pulled him down onto the bed. She kissed his forehead. "You're safe Dan. All of the fighting's over now."

Dan showed a soft smile as he put an arm around the girl he loved. "Thanks Alicia. I love you."

"I love you too, Dan." Alicia told him as she snuggled up next to him. The couple slowly closed their eyes and drifted off to sleep.

**A/N: I was honestly surprised how long this chapter ended up being. I was expecting it to be a lot shorter, but I kept getting ideas here and there to add. The remaining chapters will all be out in the usual weekly basis.**

**For those of you wondering, the song I used in this chapter was "Perfect Two" by Auburn. Technically the song that was recommended was a mashup between this song and "I'm Yours" by Jason Mraz, but I found it too hard to write out because of how it the lyrics overlap at some points. ****You can easily find the mashup on YouTube if you're curious. I honestly prefer the nightcore version over the original, but that's just me.**

**On another note, SAO Abridged finally updated... and got their video taken down by YouTube within 12 hours (seriously, I think that's a new record for them or something). For those of you that haven't seen the beautiful video they made, you can go on their Facebook page and watch it. I highly recommend it.**


	120. Going Our Separate Ways

**A/N: Hello readers! I'm coming to you all from college! I'm back at school. Unfortunately, that means I won't have as much time to update my other fics. This one will still be on the weekly update basis though.**

"Alright then mister Hiryo. A few more questions and I think we'll be done here."

Dan hid his sigh as he sat across from the woman speaking with him. She was the psychiatrist he had been advised to see twice a week for the past month. Apparently she was a friend of the counselor for the SAO Survivor School. All of their meetings had been held in the counselor's office after school. It wasn't that Dan disliked her or anything, he could tell she honestly wanted to help him move past everything that had happened. But the constant meetings had cut a bit into his free time, which was already limited due to him getting ready for graduation.

The woman spoke to him. "How have you been this past week? Anything new to report?"

"Not really." Dan said with a shake of his head. "Everything's more or less gone back to normal."

"And the nightmares?"

"They're gradually becoming less frequent. I'm guessing they'll go away for good soon."

"Very well then." the woman scribbled some notes on her clipboard. "Well mister Hiryo, as far as I can see, you've done a good job recovering from this whole ordeal. I don't think we'll need to meet anymore."

Dan let out a relieved sigh. Finally it was over. His injuries had almost completely healed during the past few weeks and he was finally getting the ok that he was mentally stable. All in all, things were wrapping up nicely.

Dan left the counselor's office and headed down to the school gate to head home for the day. The psychiatrist soon walked out as well, where the counselor was waiting for her. "So how'd it go?"

"It's surprising how quick he's recovered from the ordeal he was put through." the psychiatrist said. "Most people would have taken much longer to recover mentally."

"Considering the things he and the other kids in this school have been through, I don't find it surprising at all." the counselor said with a smile. "They're strong kids. I'm sure they'll do great in the world one day."

* * *

Dan stretched his arms as he walked up to the school gate. The meetings always took so long. But at least he was finally done with them. Now he could focus on other things. More important things.

"Hey Dan!"

Dan looked over to the school gate to see Alicia waving towards him with a smile on her face. He walked up to her. "Were you waiting for me this whole time?"

"Of course. I thought we could walk home together."

"I was in there for an hour. You didn't have to wait so long for me."

"Are you saying you don't want to walk home with your girlfriend?"

"N-No, of course not! I-I just-"

Alicia giggled at her boyfriend's flustered face. "Relax, I'm joking." She grabbed his hand and the two of them began to walk home together. "So are you finally done with the sessions?"

"Yep, thank god for that." Dan said. "Now I can get back to more important things."

"Such as?"

"This for example." Dan replied, leaning in and giving Alicia a surprise kiss on the cheek. Alicia blushed, but still smiled as they walked through the streets.

Several minutes passed by as the couple talked about various things. Eventually the topic shifted to ALO. "I was thinking, Dan. We should have one last big adventure in Alfheim Online. You know, before we're all off to college."

"I actually had something in mind for that." Dan said. "There's one thing I want to do in ALO before we all leave."

"What's that?"

Dan leaned in and whispered his idea into Alicia's ear. Her eyes lit up with excitement as she heard it. "That sounds interesting. Do you think you'll be able to do it?"

"Honestly, I'd say my odds are 50/50 at best." Dan said. "But I need to at least try. I want to test myself and see how far I've come."

"Well I think you can do it." Alicia told him. "And I'll be right by your side to support you. All of us will."

Dan gave his girlfriend a heartfelt smile as he leaned in and kissed her. "Thanks Alicia."

* * *

Hyde and Lilina walked together along the riverbank. At their side was the small gray dog Koro. His fur had never seemed cleaner and Hyde had never seen his animal friend happier in his life. Koro yipped happily as it walked along the riverbank, while Lilina held the leash.

"He really is a playful fella, isn't he?" Lilina smiled.

"Yeah." Hyde said with a nod of his head. "I still remember when he and I met all those years ago. After we got out of Sword Art Online, I wasn't sure if he'd still be here anymore. But when I came back here, there he was." A small smile appeared on Hyde's face. "Thinking back, other than Dan and Shirou, Koro was my only friend before SAO."

"How was he when you told him you got a girlfriend?" Lilina teased, nudging his shoulder. "Was he afraid I'd steal his best bud away from him?"

Hyde let out a chuckle. Today was shaping up to be a nice day as the sun began to set in the afternoon sky. "Who would have thought how much our lives would change just by logging into a video game?"

Lilina nodded. "Yeah, it's pretty crazy when you think about it. But I'd still go back and do it all over again if it meant meeting you."

"Same here." Hyde replied. He smiled and hugged his arm around Lilina's waist and pulled her closer to him as they walked. "So, are you getting ready to go to college?"

"Yep. I'm gonna take the business world by storm! And all the sweet rewards are gonna fall right into my lap!" Lilina said with a wide grin. She stared up at the sky. "It's funny. A few years ago, getting rich was all I could think about. I wanted to live a life of luxury. But now I have things much more important to me. Friends… memories… and you. I never would have imagined things would turn out like this for me."

"I guess you got pretty lucky, scoring the best guy in all of Aincrad."

"If by best you mean the one with the biggest ego of them all."

"Hey!"

Lilina giggled as she gave her boyfriend a peck on the cheek. "You'll always be the best guy in my book Hyde. No contest." She looked at Koro running around playfully and her mind drifted to something else. "Hey Hyde… what do you think our future is going to be like?"

Hyde looked at his girlfriend with a puzzled expression. Lilina had never been the type to go into deep topics of conversation like this. He thought to himself about the question. "Well I imagine we'll be living together, have our own place-"

"Other than the obvious, you dofus." Lilina told him. "You ever think about… starting a family?"

"... You don't mean now do you?"

"Of course not you dummy!" Lilina exclaimed with a pout. "One teen pregnancy scare was enough for me! I meant later on in life."

Hyde smiled and nodded. "Yeah. After we're married and everything, starting a family would be nice."

Lilina showed a teasing smile. "That might not be too far off. After all, we are engaged now."

Hyde began to sweat a little as he rubbed the back of his head. "Yeah, but we need to wait until after we're done with school and everything."

"Or maybe we could do a secret wedding, like in Romeo and Juliet."

The promises Hyde had made both with Lilina's mother and his own parents echoed inside his head. Dealing with the wrath of even one of them would be hell itself. To his relief though, Lilina giggled at him. "Relax Hyde, I'm joking."

Hyde let out a small sigh of relief, making his girlfriend giggle even more. She held his hand as the two of them continued to walk together. Hyde didn't really have a clear image of what his future would be. But one thing he did know for certain was that he wanted Lilina to be in it.

* * *

Emi laid on her bed as she read through a book. The end of the school year was right around the corner. Once that came, she'd have the whole summer off. A few months of no classes, fun in the sun, relaxation. And after that she'd be back at school. Not her and her guild. Just her.

It wasn't as if all of her friends were leaving her. Kazuto still had another year before graduation, and Keiko was in the same year as her. Most of her other friends that didn't go to her school, such as Shino and Suguha, weren't off to college either just yet. But Dan, Alicia, Hyde, and Lilina… they'd all be gone.

Slowly but surely, Wyvern's Inferno would be breaking up as a guild.

The only ones in the guild not going to college come fall would be her and Clair. Things were going to be a lot lonelier without the others around. That rift had already shown its presence with everyone thinking about their futures.

'_What about my future?'_ Emi thought to herself. '_What do I want in life?'_

Thoughts flooded her head, and Emi found herself unable to concentrate on reading so she put her book down. What was she looking for? Obviously she wanted something nice for her future. A relationship with someone she loved, like what Alicia had. But what else?

Emi thought about what advice her sister might give her. She always looked towards her for advice. She always looked up to her. But soon she wouldn't have that advice at her side. She'd need to become a lot more independent.

A text alert sounded from Emi's phone in her pocket. She pulled out her phone and took a look at a text from Clair.

_You free this weekend? Dan says he'll be busy and I've got nothing to do. Plz respond when you get the chance. -Clair_

Emi thought to herself. She didn't have anything going on this weekend so it would be a good chance to relax. As she was about to text back a reply, she felt a spark go off in her mind. Everyone was so busy, but she was free. She had thought that she needed to catch up to everyone as a result, but was that really the case?

"There's a reason I'm the most carefree in the guild." Emi told herself with a smile. "I've still got my youth. I still have a ways to go before I need to be up there with everyone else." She texted Clair back with a yes. Looking out the window, Emi stared outside. The sun was slowly setting on the day.

'_Just like these past few years are ending for me.'_ Emi thought to herself. A smile appeared on her face. '_But a brand new set of years with a brand new set of adventures for me is just beginning.'_

* * *

As Shino walked towards the front gate of her school she could clearly see the group of girls gathered around. And she knew full well what that meant, since it had already happened a few times already.

"So Shirou, what do you think about Shino Asada?" one of the girls asked.

"Um… that's not really-"

"You two are going out, aren't you?" another girl asked. "So? Have you gotten to first base yet? Come on, tell us!"

Shirou felt a nervous sweat go down his back as the girls from Shino's school bombarded him with questions. When he finally saw Shino walk over to him, he was relieved. That relief was also accompanied by fear though when he saw the look his girlfriend was giving him.

"You sure seem to be having fun, Mr. Popular."

"Sh-Shino I…"

"Come on Shino, we're just curious." one of her classmates said. "Tell us the details. We wanna know what's going on between you two."

"What's going on is that we're dating and the rest is none of your business." Shino said firmly. She grabbed her boyfriend by the arm and began to drag him away. "Come on you. Let's get going."

"Y-Yes ma'am." Shirou replied nervously.

As they turned the corner, Shino let out an annoyed sigh. "Honestly Shirou, you could have at least told me you were coming."

"Sorry about that. I wanted to surprise you." Shirou told her as he rubbed the back of his head. "But then those girls came up to me and… well you know the rest."

"I wonder what Hyde would say to you being such a ladies man." Shino said with a teasing grin.

"He'd find some way to make a smart ass comment I'm sure."

Shino giggled at the comment. "Yeah I'm sure he would."

As they chatted, the two of them went back to Shino's apartment. It wasn't often that the two of them hung out there due to its small size, but it was still cozy. The two of them talked about various things on the way there.

"So how's school going for you?" Shino asked.

"Pretty well. I've adjusted nicely, considering I transferred only a few months ago. I've still got another year there before I head off to college."

"Same with me. It must feel weird that a lot of your friends are going off to college a year before us, doesn't it?"

"A little." Shirou agreed. "But it's not like we'll never see each other again. And who knows, maybe Hyde will get some compassion at college."

Shino rolled her eyes. "Fat chance of that happening."

"So have you decided what you'll be going to college for?"

"Yes actually." Shino nodded. "I want to try and become a police officer."

Shirou widened his eyes in mild surprise. "A police officer? Really?"

Shino nodded her head. "I know I've been bad with guns IRL for a long time. But I want to overcome that fear. And I also want to be able to help others. I feel like a job with the police would be able to help me do both."

An encouraging smile formed on Shirou's face. "You can do it Shino. I know you can."

"Thanks." Shino replied with a small blush. Her apartment building came into view. "Here we are."

The two of them walked inside. Shino went to pour some tea while Shirou sat in her room. He looked around, seeing various books on the shelf. Most of them seemed to be about legends and whatnot. He knew Shino was a fan of them so it made sense. His eyes wandered and looked towards a picture lying on Shino's desk. It showed her when she was about seven or so. She was smiling happily alongside an older woman.

"Nice picture, isn't it?"

Shirou turned his head to see his girlfriend standing at the entrance to her room with two cups of tea. A small smile was on her face as she walked over and sat down at her desk, placing Shirou's cup on the wooden surface and sipping her own in her hand. "That's my mother and me when I was younger. Back before the incident at the post office."

"Shino…"

"It's been awhile since we last saw each other." Shino said. "After that day… she just couldn't look at me the same way. I know she didn't mean to, but we began to drift apart partially because of that. I moved out here on my own because I wanted to escape all of those bad memories. I talk to her every now and then, but I really want to see her again. And tell her face to face all of the things that've happened to me. Everything I've learned." She looked towards Shirou and widened her smile. "And I'd really like her to meet you too."

Shirou chuckled nervously. "You sure she won't lay into me about dating her daughter? Parents can be really scary, especially my mother when she gets mad."

"She didn't seem that way when you introduced me to her."

"That's because you were there. You should have heard her after you left. She went on saying stuff like 'I hope you aren't doing anything inappropriate with that nice girl' and 'Make sure you treat Shino right'."

Shino giggled at that. "Sounds like a smart woman."

"Yeah, but scary as hell at the same time." Shirou sighed. "Just to be sure, I am treating you right, aren't I?"

"Let me answer you with this." Shino grinned as she pulled her boyfriend in close and pressed her lips against his. Shirou kissed her back as the two of them stayed together, trapped in their own special moment.

* * *

Kazuto parked his motorcycle in front of his house. He had just dropped Asuna off at her place, which gave him the rest of the day to do whatever he wanted. The only question was what to do.

As he walked through the front door, Kazuto heard Suguha's voice from the kitchen. "You're late Kazuto! What took you so long?!"

"Sorry. I was dropping Asuna off at her house." Kazuto apologized.

"Going off and playing Romeo like always, eh bro?" Suguha said with a roll of her eyes. "By the way, I brought in the mail. There's a letter here for you."

"Really? Let me see." Suguha hand over the letter to Kazuto and he opened it. His eyes scanned the letter, reading it start to finish.

Suguha looked over her brother's shoulder. "What does it say?"

"It's a challenge letter." Kazuto said. "Someone's challenging me to a one on one duel in Alfheim Online."

"Seriously?" Suguha asked. "Who is it?"

Kazuto shook his head. "No clue. They know my identity IRL and where I live so it's safe to assume they're an SAO Survivor and probably go to the same school as me."

"Interesting. A secret challenge." Suguha grinned. "Looks like your popularity is rising even higher."

"Don't say it like that." Kazuto said. "The challenge is in the ruins outside of Arun in three days."

"Sounds exciting. You gonna do it."

"Of course. I couldn't really call myself a gamer if I ran away from a challenge like this."

Suguha giggled. "Yeah, that sounds like you. Hopefully it turns out to be an interesting duel."

Kazuto nodded his head. "I hope so too."

* * *

Three days passed by fairly quickly. Kirito stood on one of the terraces in the floating ruins near Arun. His black sword was sheathed at his back as he waited for his mystery challenger to show up. Over by one of the floating islands, Leafa and Asuna stood a watched. Both of them were looking forward to the upcoming duel.

"Hey guys!" The two girls turned their heads to see Liz, Silica, Klein, Saki, and Quint all land on the island they were on. "Has the duel started yet?"

"No, we're still waiting for the mystery challenger to make an appearance." Asuna told them.

"I hope you don't mind if we join and watch too then?" another voice asked. Everyone watched as Sakuya, Eugene, and Alicia Rue all landed on the island as well.

"You guys?" Leafa said in mild surprise. "How'd you hear about the duel?"

"That Spriggan merchant girl Dagger told us." Sakuya explained. "Charged us all a hefty amount of Yld, but it was well worth it."

Asuna groaned. "Great, so now everyone's gonna show up for this. Kirito even said he wanted it to be as private as possible."

"I wouldn't worry." Eugene said. "Believe it or not, she said she'd only be selling the info to us. And she even charged us extra to keep us from telling anyone else."

"That sounds like Dagger all right." a new voice spoke up. Everyone jumped as they realized Argo sitting near them, seemingly appearing out of thin air.

"Argo?! When did you get here?!"

The Cait Sith showed a smirk in response. "Any info broker worth their name is a master of stealth. Besides, do you guys really think I'd miss this?"

The group all stood around and waited as time went on. Another group soon landed on the island, this one being the members of Wyvern's Inferno along with Sinon.

"Looks like everyone else is already here." Mai said. "Your lucky you didn't make us late Helios."

"Oh zip it squirt." Helios responded with a roll of his eyes. "We got here before the duel started, didn't we?"

"Hey guys." Asuna greeted with a wave. She suddenly noticed one of the guild members missing from the group. "Where's Ren?"

Alice showed a grin to her friends as she pointed down at the terrace Kirito was standing on. "Should be any second now."

The players all collectively turned their heads down towards the terrace below them, seeing a hooded figure fly over and land across from Kirito. Asuna looked back at Alice, realizing who Kirito's opponent was. "Don't tell me…"

"Yep." Alice nodded. "He just couldn't help himself, but to do this before leaving."

Down at the terrace, Kirito watched as his opponent landed. The violet wings on his back gave him a good idea of who his challenger was, but when he removed the hooded cloak he was wearing, it confirmed it. Standing across from him with the legendary blade Ragnarok sheathed at his back was Ren.

"I'll be honest, I wasn't expecting you to be the one challenging me." Kirito said with a grin.

Ren grinned right back at the Spriggan. "Sorry. I just wanted one final fight to test myself before I head off to college. I won't be able to return to this world for awhile, so I wanted to see just how far I've come."

Kirito nodded understandingly. An immense feeling of pressure was emanating from the two of them as they stared each other down. This was it. The last big moment for everyone before they all went their separate ways. One final fight between two of the best swordsmen Alfheim had ever known.

"Let's do this Kirito."

"With pleasure."

**A/N: Alright everyone, it's the fight you've all been looking forward to. Time for one last fight to wrap it all-**

**Dagger: Yeah, yeah, move it along. I've got work to do.**

**Me: Dagger I don't think- Hey! No pushing!**

**Dagger: You're taking too long! *Shoves author aside* Ladies and gentlemen! It's time for the fight of the century! The battle between the Black Swordsman and the Crimson Flash is about to get underway! Place your bets now!**

**Me: Hold on Dagger, you can't just-**

**Dagger: *Gags author to silence him* Ignore the idiot here. As I was saying, this is the last fight of the story, so place your bets folks! See you all next week for the results!**


	121. Ren vs Kirito

**A/N: Alright everyone. Time for the fight you've been waiting all week for! The legendary battle between Ren and Kirito! You've all placed your bets, and now it's time to see who's gonna win! Enjoy everybody.**

The group all stared down at the terrace where Ren and Kirito stood across from each other. Even from the far distance they were from the two swordsmen, the aura they were giving off could be felt loud and clear. There was no way of knowing who would win this fight. The only thing that was clear was that it was going to be one of the greatest fights ALO had ever seen.

"Hey guys! Did we miss anything yet?!"

The sudden shout caused everyone to look as Asami and Yaksha descended onto the island to watch. They were soon followed as Ayumi landed with Kai. Asami ran up to the edge and looked down, letting out a sigh of relief. "Good. They haven't started yet."

"We cut it pretty close though." Klein added as he joined the others and landed on the island.

Asami glared at Klein. "That's cause you gave us the wrong directions!"

Klein let out a nervous chuckle as he rubbed the back of his head. "Sorry, my bad."

Alice waved over to the new arrivals. "Looks like you guys came to see this too."

"Of course. I'd never miss such an important duel involving my rival." Yaksha said as he stared down at Ren.

"Same here." Kai grinned. "I'm glad Ayumi here told me about this. Ren's one of the few people to ever beat me in a race. And then I hear he's gonna be in the toughest fight he's ever had? I just had to come watch, even if I take a day off from racing in Galaxy Star Online."

"Ren's gonna win for sure." Asami stated. She cuffed her hands and shouted down to the terrace. "You can do this Ren! Take him down!"

"Go Kirito! You can win!" Asuna cheered.

Down below the group of players, Ren and Kirito stared silently at each other. They blocked out the voices coming from their friends. All the two of them could focus on was each other. Looking back, this was going to be the first time the two of them had ever dueled. They had fought alongside each other countless times in SAO and ALO. But not once had they ever dueled each other. The closest they had ever come to fighting was in the real world, when Zane and Laughing Coffin had forced them to fight. But neither one of them had been giving it their all in that fight. This was what both of them wanted. A fight where they could go all out, not worrying about anything else, and let their warrior spirit cry out to their heart's content.

Ren recalled back when Sword Art Online had first started. Kirito had been the player to teach him the basics of the game and how to fight effectively. Thinking about it now, that may have been the reason Ren had survived and made it as far as he did. He had been a coward and a loner for so long. But now because of everything that had happened, he was who he was today. As SAO progressed, he watched Kirito astonish him again and again with his skill. He had never been able to reach that point during the death game. But now he stood here because he had full confidence that he could finally win against the legendary Black Swordsman.

Kirito also looked back on the past between him and Ren. He and Klein had both declined his offer to team up with him after SAO was revealed to be a death game. Kirito threw away his heart and abandoned them to save himself. That was an action he had always regretted. But thinking back, maybe it had been for the best. Ren had built a name for himself all on his own. He formed a guild, trained hard, and became a legend as the fastest swordsman in all of Aincrad. If Ren had joined Kirito, how differently would things have turned out? Would Wyvern's Inferno have been formed? Would Kirito have become a beater? Such questions were pointless. Thinking about what might have happened didn't matter. They were here now, as who they are. That was all that mattered.

Both players unsheathed their swords from their backs. Ren narrowed his eyes at Kirito. "What do you think you're doing?"

"What do you mean?"

"Bring out your second sword. I want to fight you at your absolute best." Ren told him.

Kirito's eyes widened slightly. He could tell how serious Ren was from the look in his eyes. Kirito told himself that he would only use his hidden weapon to help his friends. But this was what Ren wanted. A serious fight with Kirito giving it everything he had. Maybe it was that loophole or maybe it was the fact that Kirito wanted to see how Ren would fight against him at full power, but he opened his menu and equipped Excalibur to himself. The shining golden sword appeared on his back and Kirito removed it from its sheathe. Kirito couldn't remember the last time he had fought someone while using two swords.

"You wanted my best Ren, so don't go crying when you lose." Kirito smirked.

"Same to you, Kirito." Ren countered with a smirk of his own.

The two players got into their beginning stances as they stared each other down. Silence filled the area, everyone waiting for it to begin. Then with a flash of light, it started.

Ren charged at Kirito at full speed. He swung his blade forward, but Kirito quickly blocked it. Ren didn't stop there and unleashed a relentless assault of lightning fast slashes. Kirito put all of his reaction speed into dodging and blocking the barrage of sword strikes. A few small openings showed themselves where he attacked as well, but Ren managed to dodge them with his speed. Everyone gasped at Kirito being forced to go on the defense.

"Amazing. Usually Kirito goes guns blazing right from the start." Liz said in awe. "But he's actually been forced to fight defensively."

"Ren's speed really is incredible." Sinon nodded. "His STR stat might be lower than Kirito's but he's able to put on the pressure because he's so much faster."

"But Kirito's reaction time allows him to see the attacks coming." Asuna added. "They're both so evenly matched. Neither one can get a hit in."

Ren roared as he kept up his assault on his opponent. Kirito was slowly being pushed back bit by bit. He was getting closer towards the edge of the terrace. He placed all his bets on a single upwards slash with both of his swords. Ren blocked the attack with Ragnarok, but found himself pushed back slightly. Kirito used the opening to backflip away and dive down below the terrace. Once Ren regained his footing, he spread his wings and flew after him. He dived down, but gasped when he saw no sign of the Spriggan. He realized what this meant too late as he turned his head directly under the terrace, only to see Kirito already right next to him. Kirito unleashed a sword skill, cutting through Ren's avatar and sending him crashing down into one of the other floating parts of the ruins. He gave chase as he flew down, but gasped when Ren sped out from the debris cloud from the crash and thrusted his sword forward with the sword skill Vorpal Strike. Kirito tilted his body away enough to avoid getting stabbed through the chest, but the blade still cut his avatar, depleting his HP slightly. Both Ren and Kirito hovered in the air, taking the brief opportunity to catch their breath as they stared at each other. But after only a few seconds, they charged at each other and traded strike after strike.

Watching from afar, Ren and Kirito looked like two out of control comets, clashing over and over again as they flew through the sky. Kirito had more of his HP left than Ren, but it was still clear that neither of them had the edge in the fight. Eventually, the two of them landed on one of the floating islands and sped at each other. Their blades skidded across each other, making sparks erupt from the metal weapons. The clash ended with them speeding past each other, but they quickly turned around and did the same thing. This time Kirito attempted to use his second sword to cut Ren down as their blades skidded across. Ren however saw this coming and swept his leg under Kirito, making the Spriggan lose balance and fall over. He looked up to see Ren drive down Ragnarok at him, but he managed to roll out of the way just in time to avoid getting impaled.

Alice watched as Ren and Kirito clashed, neither one giving an inch in the fight. She clasped her hands together and prayed. '_Come on Ren. You can do it.'_

With blinding speed, Ren dashed towards Kirito. The raven haired swordsman swung his sword in to stop Ren but he gasped as Ren vanished with a dash to the side. Kirito anticipated his next strike as he turned around to block Ren's incoming attack from behind. Almost immediately after their swords connected, Ren vanished again. Kirito put his senses on high alert as Ren kept appearing and vanishing like a phantom, each of his strikes being blocked by Kirito. He knew he wouldn't be able to hold out forever against Ren's speed like this so Kirito did the only thing he could do to stop him. He spun his swords around like a twister, blocking an attack from any direction. Ren was forced to jump back, but as he landed, he already knew his next move. He got into his stance the second his feet hit the ground.

Kirito looked at Ren and gasped when he recognized the stance. Ren's sword glowing a bright red color confirmed it. '_No way…'_

Asuna also recognized the skill Ren was about to use and stared in disbelief. "Impossible… There's no way… That skill..."

A smirk became stretch on Alice's face as she looked at Ren. There was only one move he could be planning with that stance. She whispered softly as he eyes gleamed with hope that Ren could win. "Go Ren. Finish it."

"Take this!" Ren yelled as he sped at Kirito. His speed was surpassed any other level of speed for every sword skill known throughout Alfheim. He closed the far distance between him and Kirito in merely a second. Kirito knew what was coming. A sword skill thought to be lost after Aincrad was destroyed.

Crimson Flash.

Two swift upwards diagonal slashes ripped through Kirito's avatar, followed by two downwards ones in the opposite direction. His health plummeted into the red and an X-shaped gash was present on Kirito's chest as Ren prepared to finish the skill. He sped past Kirito and delivered the last hit to the skill.

The players watching were all speechless. The Crimson Flash sword skill was part of the Unique Skill Ren had back in SAO. Even though his stats had been transferred over to his ALO avatar, none of the Unique Skills from SAO had been carried over. It was the same with Kirito not being able to use any of his Dual Wielding skills.

"How did he get the Crimson Flash sword skill again?" Asuna gasped.

Alice knew the answer, but only because Ren had told her. What he had pulled off just now wasn't the exact Crimson Flash skill from SAO, but was instead a replica of it in the form of an OSS. The real thing would have been much faster according to him. He had spent a lot of time training to recreate the skill from SAO. Ren knew every step, every motion to it. The problem was speed. He didn't have access to his Unique Skill, allowing him to go up to double his normal speed. There was also the fact that it was incredibly difficult to go full speed for any complex combo attack like sword skills. In the end, he was only able to get it to 70% of its original speed back in SAO. But that would be enough for him. Through the feature of the Original Sword Skill, he had access to his signature technique once again.

Ren breathed heavily as he stood still. Using the Crimson Flash now took almost all of his mental focus to pull off. With it, he would be able to finish off Kirito's HP and end the duel.

That was what he thought at least.

Kirito let out a chuckle, not turning around to look at Ren. The two swordsmen had their backs to each other. "Damn Ren, you really are something. I never thought you'd be able to recreate that move."

"It wasn't easy, let me tell you." Ren said. "I thought I had you there, but I didn't think you'd be able to pull off that last minute block."

"So you noticed?"

Ren had seen it. At the very last second for his final slash with the Crimson Flash skill, Kirito had managed to push Ren's sword out of the way with his own blade. The hit still connected, but only partially. If it hadn't been for that, the last sliver of HP Kirito still had would be gone.

Both Ren and Kirito turned around to face each other. They were both at their limit. One more hit would finish either of them. This was it.

Everyone watched as the two swordsmen charged at each other. They both let out a powerful shout as they swung their blades forward. "RAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!"

The clash started with Ragnarok and Excalibur slamming into each other. The two blades were caught in a deadlock, neither one giving in. But Kirito still had his second sword. With Ren's Ragnarok busy holding back Excalibur, there was no way for Ren to block the next slash. Kirito swung the sword horizontally to cleave Ren in two. He gasped however when he saw Ren tilt his sword slightly, forcing the two blades to skid across each other. Ren used the slide to his advantage and slid down under to avoid Kirito's second slash. Ren thrusted his sword up at Kirito's head. Even with his incredible reaction time, Ren knew that there was no way Kirito would be able to dodge this hit.

He knew he was wrong when his blade only connected with the wind as his opponent managed to tilt their head away from the incoming sword. Ren let out a sigh, knowing then what the result would be.

Kirito roared as he swung his sword down at Ren, slashing through his avatar and taking out the rest of his HP. Flames engulfed Ren and all that was left afterwards was a flickering violet remain light.

Silence. That was what followed as everyone stared at Kirito and the remain light next to him. The fight had the most intense duel any of them had seen in Alfheim. But it had finally ended with Kirito as the victor. When their minds finally snapped back into reality, the first one to break the silence was Asuna as she cheered for her in-game husband.

"That was amazing Kirito!"

The raven haired Spriggan was soon surrounded by his friends as they congratulated him on his victory. Over by Ren's remain light, Mai was busy chanting a spell to revive him with the rest of Wyvern's Inferno standing around their defeated guild leader. The flames erupted and swirled around when she finished, returning Ren back into his regular Imp form. None of Wyvern's Inferno knew what to say to their guild leader.

Before any of them could figure out what to say, Ren let out a sigh. It sounded disappointed, but he still had a grin on his face. "Even after all that work, I still couldn't beat him. Man, that stinks."

Alice frowned, thinking about how depressed Ren must have felt. "Ren…"

Ren looked at his guild members and noticed the expressions on their faces. "Come on guys, don't be like that. I might have lost, but that was by far the most exciting duel I've had in a long time."

"But you worked so hard." Himiko said.

"Yeah and losing after all that sucks, I know." Ren looked over towards Kirito as he talked with the rest of the group. "But I came pretty damn close if I do say so myself. I'm satisfied with how the fight turned out."

Helios cracked a smirk as he looked at Ren. "And you're supposed to be our leader. How are we supposed to be inspired to work hard if you go and get your ass kicked?"

"Can it Helios!" Alice growled as she drove her foot down on his boot. The Salamander winced in pain as he held his injured foot.

Kirito walked over towards Ren. The raven haired Spriggan held out his hand. "That was a great fight Ren. You really surprised me with some of your moves back there."

Ren accepted the handshake and looked his friend in the eyes. "Same to you, Kirito. But you better not go losing to anyone now. I don't want my reputation going down any further."

"I'll be sure to keep that in mind." Kirito said with a smile. The group of players gathered around Ren and Kirito, complementing them both on the amazing battle they had fought.

* * *

_-A few weeks later-_

The auditorium of the SAO Survivor School was crowded with people. Students from the graduating class were lined up at the front while parents and other relatives watching the event were at the back of the room. One by one, students were called up to receive their diplomas.

The principal called up the next student. "Dan Hiryo."

Dan stood up from his seat and walked up onto the stage. The principal handed him his diploma. At the back of the room, Mrs. Hiryo was recording the entire moment on a video camera.

"Oh this is so exciting. My baby boy is finally graduating."

Clair rolled her eyes at her mother's childish behavior, but she was happy for her brother. It felt a little sad that he would be leaving for college soon, but she couldn't be the adorable little sister that depended on him forever. The one part of him leaving that scared her was the fact that her mother would be trying to embarrass her all the time instead now.

The students of the graduating class continued to be called up. After a long thirty minute session of handing out diplomas, the graduation ceremony still had one last thing to do.

"And now a speech from the class valedictorian. Asuna Yukki."

Asuna stood up from her seat and went to the stage. Looking at the large crowd of people would usually have intimidated her. But her time as Vice Commander of the Knights of the Blood Oath had made her give countless speeches before. To be honest though, it was still somewhat nerve wracking considering she hadn't done it for nearly two years.

"It's been a long hard road for all of us these past few years." Asuna began. "Ever since leaving Sword Art Online, we've fought to reestablish ourselves into society. Today shows that we have achieved that goal. We are all here, gathered as graduates just like any other high school." Asuna took a deep breath. So far, so good. "To be honest, I wasn't a gamer before I logged onto SAO. I used to think gamers were people wasting their lives away, and I actually was conceited enough to believe they were below me. But SAO taught me just how wrong I was. So many of you have shown just how strong gamers are, and that they aren't to be looked down on. SAO made a gamer out of me too. It was because of that death game that I became who I am today, and that I met all of the wonderful people in my life that I am proud to call my friends. And I'm so grateful because of that. I know there's a lot of us who have bad memories from SAO, and that we'd rather forget it ever happened. But I'm sure that each of you gained and learned something from your two years in there. So don't deny who you are. Show the world that you're SAO survivors, and that you're gamers, and be proud of that fact. Be proud of who you all are."

Cheers and claps echoed throughout the room as everyone congratulated Asuna on her speech. The graduation ceremony soon concluded as the principal wished everyone the best of luck. People began to exit the auditorium, meeting up and chatting outside of the school.

Soon the outside of the school was crowded with students in their graduation robes as well as their friends and family. Asuna was introducing her brother to some of her friends. Lilina was talking with Hyde while their parents talked with each other. Neither Hyde nor Lilina knew whether to consider their families conversing with each other a good or bad thing. For the most part though, everyone was heading home. Slowly but surely, people were starting to leave.

Dan and Alicia walked together in their robes. A sudden flash of light blinded them for a moment. Dan groaned when he realized it was the flash of a camera and who was holding it. "Mom, do you really have to do this now?"

"As a matter of fact, yes I do. Now smile for the camera." Another flash came from the camera Juna was holding. There was no way out of it, so Dan and Alicia were soon forced into taking several pictures with their friends. After that was done, then it came time for the pictures with just the two of them. The most embarrassing one in Dan's mind was when he had to hold Alicia bridal style.

It took a long while, but Dan was finally able to get his mother to stop taking pictures. He waved goodbye to his friends and got in his mother's car along with Clair. As they drove away, he took one last look at the SAO Survivor School. After leaving SAO, this was where he had been for so long, and made so many friends. And now that chapter of his life was closing.

'_And the new chapter for the next part of our lives are just beginning.'_ he thought to himself.

**A/N: Hope you all liked the fight between Ren and Kirito. I thought it was a nice way to wrap things up before this story begins to go into its last couple chapters. There's only two chapters left after this. I want to thank all of you that have stuck by me this long, especially those of you who've stayed since the original I Will Not Bow cause I have to admit the original kinda sucked.**

**Now then, a lot of you have been asking me if I'm going to do fics with Ren and the others for Ordinal Scale and Lost Song. I'll tell all you guys my game plan currently. I will be making a separate fic that includes all AUs of this story (not including Hollow Inferno. That will be it's own fic). I'll separate the stories for the AU by signalling their chapters (i.e. Ordinal Scale Ch1, Ordinal Scale Ch2, and so on and so forth. When the next AU starts, I'll call it Ch1 of whatever AU it'll be). I won't be doing Lost Song however. I just don't feel that there was enough story for me to go on and write an entire fic for it. However, I have had some suggestions for 'what if' stories that I will be including in the AU fic. I'll go into more detail in the first chapter of the fic when it eventually comes out. **

**Anyway, there's going to be a bit of a time skip of a few years between the end of this chapter and the start of the next chapter. I think that's enough of a hint to tell you what next chapter is going to be. See you soon, readers!**


	122. After All These Years

**A/N: Alright everyone. It's time or the moment that you've all been waiting and asking for. I'm sure most of you have guessed what this chapter will entail. So without further adieu, here it is.**

People flowed into the church as the sound of organ music echoed through the halls. Everyone was dressed in very formal attire. It only made sense after all since they were all here for a very formal occasion.

Emi looked at the crowds of people coming into the church. She was now 19 and much taller than she was back in the days of Sword Art Online. She had outgrown the condescending names like shrimp or squirt. The brunette hair she had was slightly longer, reaching slightly past her shoulders. Her chest hadn't grown as much as she would have liked, but at least she had her decent height. Beggars couldn't be choosers as the saying went.

"Hey squirt. What's up."

Of course there was a certain _someone_ who still called her by that condescending name every now and then. Emi groaned and let out a sigh as she turned around to face Hyde, who had Lilina at his side as they walked up to her.

Lilina frowned at her fiance. "Come on Hyde, can't you be nice today? It's a very big occasion and I'm sure Emi has enough on her plate helping Alicia."

Hyde rolled his eyes. "Fine. I'll let the squirt go for today."

Looking at Hyde and Lilina now, both of them had grown quite a bit. Hyde still had his muscular braindead look, as Emi and sometimes Rika put it, but they had to admit the Raging Psychopath had matured at least somewhat since high school. Lilina was a lot different from her old childhood days too. Outside of her job, Lilina had more or less given up on scamming random people. She was more focused on more important things, like her fiance.

Lilina let go of Hyde's hand and began to walk away. "I'm going to find Asuna and the other bridesmaids so we can get set up." She gave a stern look at Hyde. "Be nice, got it? You're the best man today so try not to ruin today for Dan and Alicia."

"Yes ma'am." Hyde moaned. He soon walked away after Lilina left. If he couldn't tease the squirt, he didn't have much reason to be near her.

Emi let out a relieved sigh that at least one of her headaches today was gone. Hyde was dealt with and Lilina and Asuna would be able to handle with all of the bridesmaid stuff. Now all that was left was one thing. Getting her sister and soon-to-be brother-in-law to the altar without anything going wrong.

A hand tapped her on the shoulder, and Emi groaned. "Hyde, I don't care if Lilina isn't here to see it. I am too busy today for any of your crap."

"Well it's a good thing I'm not Hyde then."

Emi recognized the voice of the person behind her and turned around, grateful at who it was. "Clair, thank god it's you."

Like Emi, Clair had also grown up a lot. Both of them were in college, but they managed to remain the best of friends and hung out often. Clair's brunette hair and grown and now fell to her waist with a smooth sheen to it. Unlike Emi though, Clair had gotten more development in the chest area, something Emi had a bit of jealousy about.

"How's Alicia and my brother doing?" Clair asked.

"Dan's in the restroom and Alicia's in another room in the church, both of them trying to get over their anxiety for today." Emi explained. Both girls rolled their eyes at how their older siblings were acting. "I'll take Alicia and you take Dan?"

"Sounds good." Clair nodded as both of them walked off.

* * *

Dan took a deep breath as he stood in the bathroom. He knew today was going to be stressful for him, but it was getting to the point where he was beginning to sweat a little. Kazuto and Shirou stood in the room with him, doing their best to get the groom to calm down.

"Dan, just relax." Kazuto told him. "You're gonna do fine. Everything's gonna go smoothly."

"Easy for you to say." Dan retorted. "You were pretty nervous back when you and Asuna got married last year if I remember correctly."

"You got me there." Kazuto admitted. "But everything still turned out fine, didn't it? You have nothing to worry about."

As Dan was about to argue, the door to the restroom opened. The three men all turned and widened their eyes as Clair walked into the room.

"Clair, what are you doing here?! This is the men's restroom!" Shirou exclaimed.

"Then don't drop your pants and we won't have a problem." Clair told him. "Better yet, both of you get out."

Despite Kazuto and Shirou's arguments, both of them found themselves shoved out of the room by Clair before either of them knew what was going on.

Dan watched as his sister walked over to him. "Clair, why exactly are you-" He was cut off as he received a painful slap from Clair. "Ow! What the hell was that for?!"

"For being a braindead moron." Clair told him. "Why are you stressing yourself out? Everything's gonna go fine and you know it."

"I know Clair. It's just-"

"You remember all those times when I was younger and you'd tell me things were going to be alright, even when they seemed scary?" Clair asked. "Well now it's my turn to tell you that. Everything! Will! Be! Fine!"

Dan stared at his sister. It was rare that she ever told him off like that. He cracked a small smile. "You've really grown up a lot if you're the one comforting me now."

Clair grinned at her brother. "Well someone has to deal with you when you act stupid and Alicia sure can't do it right now."

Suddenly a new voice came from the door to the bathroom. "You've both grown up a lot." Both siblings turned their heads to the door and saw their mother walk in. "You're not little kids like you used to be. You've both matured so much."

Dan stared at his mother, waiting for her to add on something. "... That's it? No embarrassing comment?"

"Not today." Mrs. Hiryo said as she walked up to her son. She fixed his tie and took a look at him. "You've truly grown into a fine young man. If your father were here, I'm sure he'd be proud."

"Not being here now, or for most of our lives was his choice." Dan muttered grimly, his father still being a sore spot.

Juna let out a small sigh, understanding Dan's resentment. "I still don't know why your father left us. Maybe he was just stressed because of the hard times we were facing. But I know without a doubt that he loved you and your sister. And he'd be just as proud of the people you've become as I have."

Dan decided to let the subject of his father go for now. He was going to be busy enough dealing with the wedding today. He let out a deep breath. "Alright. I'm ready."

Mrs. Hiryo smiled and nodded at her son. "You'll do fine, Dan. I know it."

* * *

In a separate room in the church, Alicia stood with Asuna, Keiko, and Shino. All three girls were helping the bride with some last minute touches to make her look perfect. It was finally time for her wedding and Alicia was more than a little nervous.

Looking at herself in the mirror, Alicia had to admit the compliments her friends had been giving her so far on her appearance were far from hollow. The elegant white wedding dress she had on and her beautiful hair that took over an hour to get absolutely perfect made her beauty glow more than it ever had before.

Suddenly the door opened and Lilina entered the room. The sight of Alicia made Lilina let out a girlish squeal. "Oh Alicia, you look so beautiful!"

"Thanks." Alicia said with a small smile. "Now if I could only calm down, everything would be fine."

"You'll be fine, stop worrying." Asuna told her. "I've double checked everything personally. There's nothing wrong and your wedding is going to be amazing."

"I know, but-"

Alicia was cut off as the door to the room opened again and Emi entered. The younger of the two Tsuki sisters walked up to Alicia. She looked her up and down. "So Alicia, how do you think you look?"

The comment caught Alicia off guard slightly as she paused for a moment wondering where Emi was going with this. "It looks good to me, why do you ask?"

"Well I personally think you look perfect right now." Emi said with a grin. "You look drop dead gorgeous, everyone is ready, so why are you worrying so much?"

"I'm afraid I'm going to mess up and look stupid in front of everyone, especially Dan." Alicia explained.

"You think you… ugh, you are such an idiot sometimes." Emi groaned. "I've been with you throughout this entire engagement. I know you've been practicing and planning out every single moment for this day. You are going to be fine. And the thought of Dan even thinking you would look stupid even IF you messed up only adds to that stupidity."

"... If you're trying to pep-talk me sis, I don't think calling me stupid is helping."

Emi looked at her sister in the eye. "Alicia, I have full confidence you are going to go out there, marry Dan, and have the wedding of your dreams. Now take a deep breath."

"Emi I-"

"I said deep breath." Emi watched as Alicia followed her instructions. "Good. Feel any better?"

Alicia nodded her head. "A little. Thanks Emi."

"Anytime." Emi smiled. "Now let's get going. Time for the big moment."

* * *

People filled the rows of seats in the chapel. Family and friends were all gathered together for the big event. The groomsmen and bridesmaids were both up front by the altar. The groomsmen consisted of Kazuto, Shirou, Yaksha, and Hyde with the former raging psychopath himself as the best man. The bridesmaids were made up of Asuna, Lilina, Rika, Shino, Keiko, and Hikari. Lilina stood up at the front of the girls as the maid of honor.

Deciding on the best man and maid of honor had been somewhat of a challenge. Alicia, Lilina, and Asuna each wanted to be the maid of honor for at least one of the times when the three of them each got married. It had been a long and difficult struggle, but they had finally agreed on a solution. Alicia got to be the maid of honor at Asuna's wedding, Lilina got to be it for Alicia's, and Asuna would have the role for Lilina's. And although Hyde's behavioral issues had been a topic of discussion when choosing him as the best man, Dan and Alicia had decided to let him do it. The two of them just prayed they wouldn't regret it.

Dan stood at the altar, waiting for the big moment to finally happen. All of a sudden, the sound of the organ playing filled the chapel as the doors opened. Alicia walked forward in her beautiful white wedding dress as the music played. She held her father's hand as they made their way to the altar.

Beautiful. That was the one word that came into everyone's minds as they watched Alicia walk down the aisle. The black haired girl stared at her soon-to-be husband standing at the altar. Both of their eyes locked and they smiled at each other. This was the moment that both of them had been dreaming of for a very long time. Alicia still remembered the day that their dream of getting married in the real world became so much closer than she could have ever hoped for.

_-A few months ago-_

_Dan and Alicia sat together, laying against the trunk of the large oak tree behind them. The park that Dan had chosen for their date was nice and serene. A refreshing breeze blew through the air as they ate lunch together. Both of them were out of college, but they were still working on finding an apartment for just the two of them. It wouldn't be like their home in Lunet back in ALO, but neither of them cared about that. As long as they were together, nothing else mattered._

"_This place reminds me of our secret spot back in Aincrad." Alicia said as she leaned against her boyfriend._

_Dan nodded his head. "Yeah. I still remember showing you that place on our first date."_

"_Sweet memories." Alicia smiled. "We haven't been to ALO in a while, have we?"_

"_It's been almost a year since we last logged on I think."_

"_Do you ever miss the fun times we all had in there? Back in the days of Wyvern's Inferno?"_

"_Yeah. Sometimes I do miss them." Dan nodded. "But I've got something much more important right next to me."_

"_Oh you." Alicia giggled._

"_I mean it. There's no one I'd rather be with than you." Dan told her. He moved his arm and reached into his pocket. "And that's why I want to ask you something."_

_Alicia eyed Dan curiously. "Dan, what are you-" She fell silent as she saw him pull out a small black box from his pocket. Dan got out of his seating position and kneeled down in front of Alicia. Both of Alicia's hands went to her mouth to cover her gasp as Dan opened the box and revealed a shiny silver ring._

"_Alicia Tsuki… Will you marry me?"_

_-Present Day-_

Dan and Alicia stood next to each other at the altar. After all these years of waiting, it was finally going to happen. The dream they both shared.

The priest stepped forward, bible in hand. "Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to celebrate the union between Dan Hiryo and Alicia Tsuki. If there is anyone here that believes these two should not be together, speak now or forever hold your peace." After a short pause of silence, the priest continued. He turned to face the groom. "Do you, Dan Hiryo, take Alicia Tsuki to be your wife?"

"I do."

"And do you, Alicia Tsuki, take Dan Hiryo to be your husband?"

"I do."

"Then by the power invested in me, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride."

The veil covering Alicia's face was lifted as Dan leaned in and kissed her. Cheers and applause filled the church as the newlyweds shared a long kiss together. A few of the guests were even tearing up at the scene.

When their lips finally separated, Dan smiled at his Alicia. "Welcome to the family, Alicia Hiryo."

Alicia smiled back at her husband as she leaned in and kissed him again. "Glad to be here."

* * *

_-One year later-_

Dan sat in the Dicey Cafe, enjoying a drink along with the rest of his friends. It had been a long time since they had all last come to the bar owned by their friend Agil. The group chatted amongst themselves as they waited for the rest of the gang to arrive.

"This place brings back so many memories." Asuna said. "We came here all the time when we were younger."

"Yeah, since it was a lot nicer than that dump of a shop Agil had back in Algade." Kazuto commented with a smirk.

"I heard that, Kazuto." Agil said as he walked in from the kitchen. "You sure don't seem too appreciative of the fact that I let you crash there for free before."

"So? It was still a dump." Kazuto shrugged. He soon received a hit to the arm from Asuna. "Ow!"

"Honestly Kazuto, even after all these years you still tend to be the densest man I know." Asuna scolded. "Agil did a lot for players back in SAO. Now apologize to him or you're not getting dinner tonight."

Fear flashed through Kazuto's eyes at the threat. He quickly turned back to Agil and bowed his head. "Please forgive me."

Agil let out a hearty laugh. "Seems Asuna has you completely trained. I'm surprised you're not wearing a leash."

As Kazuto grumbled to himself, Asuna looked over at Dan who was sitting next to her at the bar. "So why'd you tell us all to meet up, Dan?"

"I'll tell you guys once everyone gets here. We're just waiting on two more people." Dan explained.

"Ugh, where the heck are Hyde and Lilina anyway? They're late." Rika grumbled. "Those two haven't changed at all."

"Well screw you too, Rika." Hyde's voice said as he and Lilina walked through the front door.

Almost upon making eye contact, Rika and Hyde started glaring daggers at each other. Asuna quickly stepped in to break it up. "Alright you two. No killing each other. You're both adults now."

Hyde and Rika looked away from each other with a 'Hmph', causing everyone to roll their eyes at their childish behavior. Lilina took a seat at one of the tables. "So what's with the surprise meeting."

"Well now that everyone's here, I guess I can tell you." Dan said as he walked over and turned around to face the whole group. "I'm sure a few of you have guessed it by now, but I thought we'd make it official." He called out to the other room of the bar. "Alicia, you can come out now."

All heads turned as Alicia walked into the room. When she came into full view, several gasps and grins filled the bar. They were all staring at Alicia's stomach, where a small bump was beginning to show.

"Surprise everyone." Alicia said with a shy smile as she blushed slightly. "We're expecting a baby."

**A/N: I know Alicia just said it, but SURPRISE! Next chapter is going to be the finale of this story and will be more or less an epilogue of everything, mostly focused around Ren and Alice. I know some of you probably want to shout out what you want the baby to be named, but it has already been decided. Feel free to shout out guesses for the name and/or gender of Ren and Alice's second child (I say second because Luna will always be their first in my mind). One week from today, the finale of this story will be posted and you'll all get to see it. See you all then.**


	123. THE END

**A/N: Well it's been a long time coming, but here it is. The final chapter of Blazing Revolution. Hope you all enjoy it.**

They say childbirth is a miracle. That for one short moment in time, you forget all the dangerous and terrible things in the world. Two people help give life to another. One small tiny infant that they can call their child. It's a beautiful, wonderful moment they say.

In Alicia's mind, whoever said that obviously never gave birth themselves.

Loud cries of pain and gasps for breath escaped Alicia as she laid on the bed in the delivery room. The pain was excruciating as she breathed deeply and prayed for her baby to be born soon. The only other people in the room were doctors and her husband that stood at her side. Outside in the waiting room, there friends and family were gradually arriving.

"Dan…" Alicia moaned.

"I'm right here, Alicia." Dan told her as he held her hand. "Don't worry. I'm not going anywhere."

The doctor stood at the other end of Alicia. "Alright Mrs. Hiryo, you're doing great. Just give us a push."

Alicia followed the doctor's instructions. She could barely endure the pain from labor, but she could feel the baby inside her nearly on the verge of coming out. Her hand squeezed Dan's tightly, so much so that she was almost afraid there wouldn't be any feeling left in it after this was all over. But her mind was too focused on she pain she was feeling to be concerned about her husband's hand.

"You're doing fine, Alicia. Just a little more." Dan said, cheering her on.

"It feels like I'm soloing against ten Skull Reapers." Alicia groaned as she gave another push.

"I can see the head." the doctor told her. "Keep it up. You're almost there."

"You hear that Alicia? You're nearly there. You can do this." Dan said in the most soothing voice he could muster.

Alicia pushed again. She did so over and over again as she breathed heavily. The second she felt that the baby was out of her, she gasped for breath as if she had run a marathon. The sound of crying and wailing not far away from her was music to her ears.

"Congratulations Mrs. Hiryo." the doctor said. "You've just given birth to a healthy baby girl."

A soft smile appeared on Alicia's face. It was finally over, and hearing those words from the doctor made all of the pain up till now so worth it. A baby. A healthy baby girl. That was all she could ask for.

Dan rubbed the top of Alicia's hand gently and smiled at her. "You did great, sweetie. Our baby is finally here."

Tears formed in Alicia's eyes as she stared at her husband. "I'm so happy right now. She's here. Our baby is here."

The doctor soon walked over to the couple with the newborn girl wrapped in a blanket. He handed her over to Alicia. As the baby girl laid in the blanket held by her mother, the wailing gradually began to settle down. Soon afterwards, the baby fell asleep. Alicia stared at the little bundle of joy in her arms. A peaceful expression could be seen on the baby girl's face as she slept while Alicia held her.

"She's so beautiful." Alicia said as tears continued to roll down her cheeks.

"Just like her mother." Dan told her with a smile on his face. "Everyone outside is waiting. I'm gonna go tell them the good news."

Alicia nodded her head and Dan got up. He walked out of the room to inform their friends and family in the waiting room about their newly born daughter.

* * *

After Dan broke the news to everyone over by the waiting room, they all congratulated him and Alicia on their new baby. They were allowed in to see her only a few at a time since they didn't want to crowd the newborn with too many people.

Dan and Alicia's families were the first to be allowed in. Emi and Clair oogled at the little baby girl they were both now aunts to. The baby's grandparents then took a look at her. Nobody seemed to be immune to the cute face she had.

"So what are you two going to name her?" Clair asked.

"We're still deciding on that." Alicia told them.

After a few more minutes, Kazuto and Asuna walked into the room along with Hyde and Lilina. To everyone's surprise, even Hyde seemed to oogle slightly at the baby. The usual tough guy persona he had fell to pieces at the sight of the adorable little girl in Alicia's arms.

"Hey there, Hydette." Hyde said as he stared down at the baby.

"Hydette?" Emi questioned.

"What? Obviously they're going to name the baby after her godfather."

"Silly Hyde." Lilina said as she wagged her finger. "No one would name their kid such a ridiculous name. Obviously it's going to be Lilina Jr."

"Excuse me." Alicia interrupted. "Whoever said we chose you two to be the godparents?"

"Well it's obvious isn't it? We're two of your closest friends. You DID choose us, didn't you?"

"Hell no!" Alicia said in a slightly raised whisper so she wouldn't wake her daughter. "We picked Kazuto and Asuna as her godparents."

Hyde and Lilina seemed surprised at the information. "Why?!"

Alicia gave a stern look at the couple as she held her daughter protectively. "I'm scared enough about you two, especially you Hyde, raising your own kid when the time finally comes."

"Oh come on, what's the worst that could happen?" Hyde asked. Several seconds passed by as everyone in the room gave him skeptical looks. "On second thought, don't answer that."

"Besides, Kazuto and Asuna already have experience parenting with Yui." Dan added. "They seemed like the best choice."

"Aww, that is so sweet." Asuna said. "And Kazuto and I are happy to accept."

Emi took another look at her new niece. She only seemed to grow cuter each time she looked at her. "Well since you guys decided on godparents, don't you think you should consider names? I don't know about you, but I'm not a fan of Hyde and Lilina's suggestions."

"Hmm…" Alicia thought about it as she stared down at her daughter. Suddenly, an idea came to her head. "What about Rin?"

"Rin…" Dan said, repeating the name in his mind. It wasn't a bad choice. "What made you think of that?"

"Well it's kinda like a mix of the names of our old avatars." Alice explained. "We have Ren, but just replace the 'e' with the 'i' from Alice."

The more Dan thought about it, the more the name seemed to grow on him. "Rin Hiryo... it has a nice ring to it."

"Then it's decided." Alicia said. She looked down at their little bundle of joy with a smile on her face. "Welcome to our world, Rin. You're going to love it here."

* * *

_-Several years later-_

Alicia typed away on the computer in her study. Her fingers moved around on the keyboard effortlessly as she wrote up the finishing touches on her latest novel.

Looking at the clock, she still had a few more minutes before she would have to leave. That would be enough time to finish up another paragraph or two.

_When my eyes connected with his, at that moment Sword Art Online was finally over for me. We had fulfilled our promise to each other and met up in the real world. All the exhaustion I felt from my rehabilitation exercises left me for that one moment. He was there. Right in front of my eyes. The player Ren whom I felt so lucky to fall in love with. I threw myself at him and cried. That was the happiest moment of my life. Well, second happiest actually. The happiest moment comes several years later when-_

The sound of the door to the study opening caused Alicia to pause her typing as she turned around. Standing at the doorway was a little girl with brunette hair. She gave a bright smile at Alicia, which she returned with a smile of her own. "Hey Rin."

"Hi mommy!" Rin said with a gleeful laugh as she ran over to her mother. Alicia picked her daughter up and sat her on her lap. Rin stared at the computer screen curiously. "What are you doing?"

"Oh, just telling everyone about the happiest day of my life."

"Is it when you and daddy met?"

"Nope, but that's a close one." Alicia told her with a smile. "You wanna watch as I write it out?"

Rin answered with an energetic nod of her head. Alicia went back to typing as her daughter sat on her lap.

_The happiest moment comes several years later when Ren and I married. A lot had happened between the end of Sword Art Online and then, but that's a story for another day._

Rin let out a giggle. "Silly mommy. Daddy's name isn't Ren."

"No, but that was the name he went by when I first met him." Alicia explained to her daughter. "You can think of it as his secret identity."

"Really?! Was daddy a superhero?!"

Alicia giggled at the comment. "To me he was."

Rin gasped in awe. "Cool! Daddy was a superhero!" She stared at the computer screen and continued to read. A certain term caught her eye. "Mommy, what's Sword Art Online?"

Alicia smiled as she looked down at her daughter. "It's the place where your father and I first met. It was a world with a floating castle called Aincrad. That was the place where the two of us had all kinds of adventures."

"That sounds amazing!" Rin said in awe. "Can I go there too?"

"I doubt it sweetie." Alicia told her. "That place isn't around anymore. But maybe one day I can show you the next best thing. It's a place called New Aincrad."

"And a magical place at that." a new voice said from the door to the study. Alicia and Rin looked over to see Dan walk in. Down at his side was another girl, a year and a half younger than Rin. She had brunette hair like Rin's, but it was much lighter.

"Daddy! Lilly!" Rin said in an excited voice as she jumped out of her mother's lap and ran over to them.

Dan smiled as he kneeled down and patted Rin on the head. "Hey Rin. You ready to get going?"

"Mhm. All set daddy."

"Good girl." he said. Dan got back to his feet and walked over to Alicia. "How about you? You ready yet?"

"Just a second. I need to finish writing this last part here."

Dan looked over his wife's shoulder and read her work as she typed. A smile appeared on his face and he kissed her on the cheek. "That was the happiest moment of my life too."

"I would hope so." Alicia told him with a teasing grin as she kissed him back. She wrote in the finishing touches to the finale of her latest novel.

_Now Ren and I live together, married and happier than we could have ever dreamed. We were blessed with two wonderful daughters that both of us couldn't love more._

After a few more paragraphs, Alicia closed her laptop. "There, all done. Once I go over and edit it later, I'll send it into the publisher and see how they like it."

"Considering what a hit your first novel was, I'm sure they'll love your second novel just as much." Dan told her. "Any ideas on the title?"

"Well although it's from my perspective, a lot of it involves a certain reckless idiot that never gave up."

"I wonder who that could be." Dan asked sarcastically.

Alicia giggled as she kissed her husband. "Anyway, because of that I was thinking of calling it something along the lines of I Will Not Bow."

"Hmm… that has a nice ring to it." Dan said. "But as for now, we should really get going. We'll be late at this rate."

"Alright, just let me get my coat." Alicia told her husband. She got up and walked out of the room with her husband and their two daughters.

The family of four got in the car and Dan drove them to their destination. Throughout the car ride, Lilly held tightly onto her teddie bear that she had brought along. She tended to be somewhat shy around people outside her family, but she seemed to have an easier time whenever Rin was with her.

Alicia smiled as she glanced at her two daughters talking together in the back seat. It reminded her of when she and Emi were younger. She was glad that Rin and Lilly got along together so well. Rin always seemed to help Lilly break out of her shell, while Lilly held Rin back from getting too energetic.

Finally the family arrived as Dan parked the car. "Here we are."

Alicia got out of the car and began helping her daughters out of their seats. "It's been awhile since we last saw everyone."

"You're right." Dan nodded. "And it's been even longer since we last came here I think."

The family walked towards the building with Lilly having one of her arms wrapped around her teddie bear and the other holding onto Alicia's hand. Rin walked on the opposite side of her mother with Dan close by. They walked through the door and the familiar sound of the bell the Dicey Cafe had chimed. "We're here."

Agil greeted the couple with a wave of his hand. "Yo, what's up you two?"

"Nothing new to report." Dan told him. "I see you haven't managed to go bankrupt with this place yet."

"Very funny." Agil said. He looked over behind Alicia and noticed Lilly hiding behind her mother's legs. He let out a hearty laugh. "Well if it isn't Lilly. I haven't seen you since you were just an infant."

Lilly seemed to still be scared of Agil's towering size. Dan smiled as he kneeled down next to his youngest daughter. "It's alright Lilly. Agil may look big, but he's really nice."

"That's right. Your parents used to call me the gentle giant." Agil said. "Can I get you anything to drink?"

"Can I have an apple juice?" Rin asked.

"Sure thing." Agil nodded. He called out into the kitchen. "Samantha, can you bring out a cup of apple juice?"

"You got it, dad." a voice said from behind the closed doors to the kitchen.

Agil smiled as he worked on polishing some of the glasses. "Ah, that girl. My pride and joy."

"How old is Sam now anyway?" Alicia asked, taking a seat at the bar counter.

"She'll be turning fourteen in two months." Agil said. He looked over at Rin. "What about you, Rin? How old are you now?"

"Six." Rin replied with a big grin. "And Lilly just turned five."

Soon the door to the kitchen swung open and a teenage girl walked out, carrying two glasses of apple juice. Samantha handed one of the glasses to Rin, who gratefully accepted it. Next she walked over to Lilly and held out her arm with the second glass. "Here you go. I thought you might be thirsty too."

"Thank you…" Lilly mumbled quietly as she accepted the glass and took a sip.

Suddenly a small chuckle came from the other end of the bar. "I see Lilly is as shy as ever." Ren and Alice looked over and saw Kazuto and Asuna sitting together at a table. A hologram version of Yui in her navigation pixie form sat on top of the table. Also sitting at the table was a young girl with chestnut hair like Asuna's, though it was much shorter.

"Yui! Strea!" Rin said with an ecstatic cheer.

The young chestnut haired girl known as Strea ran over to Rin while Yui flew over with her wings. The girls all smiled as they talked. Lilly also walked over and talked with the two Kirigaya sisters. They didn't see each other often, but they had played together enough times for Lilly to act normal in front of them.

Dan and Alicia walked over and took a seat at the table where Kazuto and Asuna were. Alicia smiled at the couple. "It's been awhile you guys."

"Maybe for you, but Dan and I end up running into each other pretty often." Kazuto said.

"Only due to my job." Dan said.

"That's right! How's Yui's body coming along?" Alicia asked.

"It'll be at least six months before it's ready, but everything's going smoothly so far." Kazuto explained. "And your husband's the main reason for that."

"Come on, you know that's not true." Dan said. "I may be on the project for helping create the body, but the theories and everything behind it were Kazuto's doing."

"Speaking of work, how's your job coming along anyway?" Asuna asked.

"It's been going great. I really have to thank you again Asuna for putting a good word in."

Asuna shook her head. "Don't sell yourself so short Dan. It wasn't like my brother only hired you because of my recomendation. Some of the research and work you did in college really impressed him."

It was nearly eight years ago that Asuna's brother Kouichirou took over as CEO of RECT Progress. Asuna's father had retired from the position after the ALO Incident, so the Yuuki family had only been linked to the company financially for several years. Kouichirou climbed the corporate ladder and eventually secured his position as CEO of the large scale electronics company. Not long after Dan graduated from college, Kouichirou offered him a job in the company's technology and engineering department. He had asked Kazuto for any people he knew for the position and that had been when Asuna had recommended Dan for it. After looking over the work he had done while in college, he seemed more than satisfied with selecting him for the position.

Additionally, Kazuto had recently come up with a way to create an artificial body for Yui to have. He had made an android body to download her consciousness in, but he wanted something more permanent. An actual body to make Yui human, or at least as close to human as possible. Once he came up with the idea, Kouichirou was more than happy to volunteer RECT to help him with the project. Besides helping his sister and her husband, the idea of creating an artificial body could have astounding impacts on the world of science. Since Dan knew Kazuto, Asuna, and Yui very well, he had been put on the team for helping bring the body to life. Through RECT's technology and the ideas Kazuto had come up with, they were now very close to finishing the body for Yui. The only issue was the length of time it took for the body to fully grow and be ready for Yui's consciousness to be put into it.

Yui had been very excited at the news that she would be able to have a real body and be in the real world as much as she wanted with her parents, and her sister Strea. Strea was the biological daughter of Kazuto and Asuna, but they still viewed Yui as their daughter as much as they always had. Strea also viewed Yui as an older sister and the two got along just as any sisters would.

Soon the door to the Dicey Cafe opened again. "What's up everyone? Time for the stars of the party to arrive."

Dan cracked a small grin as Hyde and Lilina walked in. "I see you still have that ego of yours Hyde."

"And I see you're still the same brainy nerd you've always been." Hyde countered.

Lilina rolled her eyes at her husband. Walking at her side was a young boy who was slightly younger than Rin. His red hair matched that of his mother, but other than that everyone seemed to see Hyde's image in his physique.

"Hey Naoki!" Strea waved. "Come play with us."

"Coming!" Naoki called back. He looked at Lilina. "Mom, can I go play?"

"Of course, Naoki." Lilina replied with a smile. She watched as her son ran over to the girls. "Honestly, he's as hyper as you were, Hyde."

"Yep. Just like his old man." Hyde grinned proudly.

"I'm not sure that's something to be proud of Hyde." Alicia commented dryly.

Over by the kids, Naoki took notice of the object Lilly was holding onto. "You're still carrying that thing around? Aren't you a bit old for that?"

"Hey, she can bring her bear around if she wants to." Rin said, defending her sister.

Alicia showed a soft smile as she watched Rin and Naoki argue. "Reminds you of when we were younger, don't you think?"

"Oh please. My insults had a little more pizazz than Naoki simply pointing out Lilly's too old for to be carrying around a teddie bear." Hyde said.

The group rolled their eyes at Hyde's behavior, including Lilina. Several minutes passed by as the old friends talked amongst themselves. Eventually two more groups entered the cafe. The first was Shino and Shirou, accompanied by their son Tetsuya. His blonde hair was similar to that of Shirou's, though the father admitted he saw a lot of Shino in him, most notably his eyes. The second couple to arrive were Rika and Yuya, who had their daughter Sayaka with them. Her hair was a light tan color.

"Tetsuya! Finally another guy to talk to!" Naoki called out. "Come tell Rin she's wrong about this."

"I am not wrong! It's not childish for Lilly to still have her teddie bear!" Rin argued. "Tetsuya will agree and so will Sayaka!"

Tetsuya and Sayaka ran over to the other kids to play with them while their parents sat down with the others. Shino had graduated from the police academy and was now a full fledged officer. Rika had worked at an antique shop not long after graduating college. She was now the owner of it, along with her husband.

Next to arrive were Keiko and Ishida, who had just recently gotten married a few months ago. Keiko still had her animal loving personality and worked at a shelter for animals, a job that she loved with all her heart.

The last of the group to make their appearance were Emi and Clair, who both arrived not too long after one another. Neither one of them were married yet, but both had each been dating their current boyfriends for quite awhile now, something that they made sure to remind Hyde of whenever he teased them.

But of course, that didn't stop all his insults.

"Where's your boyfriend, Emi? He run away already?" Hyde joked.

Emi scowled at Hyde. "For your information, I'm still dating him. He was just busy with other stuff today. And when are you going to grow up? You're still the same insufferable jerk you were as a kid."

Hyde and Emi glared at each other, but were soon broken up as Kazuto stood up. "Alright you two. That's enough. Now that we're all here, why don't we officially start the party?"

"Sounds good to me." Alicia said.

"Me too." Lilina added.

Kazuto cleared his throat and raised his glass. "Alright then. Happy anniversary to clearing SAO! Cheers everybody!"

"Cheers!" they all shouted together.

**A/N: Well it sure has been a wild ride everyone. I honestly can't believe this fic lasted this long. I had planned to stop at so many points, but new ideas just kept flowing into my head. But now it's finally done. I hope all of you enjoyed the final chapter and the small look at the kids for all my OCs.**

**I know I said this before, but I want to give a special thank you to all of you that have stayed with this story from the beginning. It means a lot to me. Seriously you guys rock. And a big thank you to all of you that have reviewed throughout this story and got it up to over 300 reviews. Currently, in ranking for most reviewed SAO stories, this is ranked 17th. I never would have been able to make it this far without all of your support so thank you. As much as I want to do a full list for thanking all of the people that reviewed like I did at the end of Secret's Revealed, that would be a VERY long list, so I'll just leave you all with a thank you.**

**P.S. I will try to have the first chapter of the AU stories out in about a week or so. It'll be a one chapter thing for the first one where I'll go into more detail about how it will work. Don't expect frequent updates for it though. New stuff will only come out when the corresponding things for them like Ordinal Scale or the Alicization anime come out.**


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